birding-aus

Fw: Christidis & Boles 2008 Australian Checklist

To: "BIRDING-AUS" <>
Subject: Fw: Christidis & Boles 2008 Australian Checklist
From: "Mike Carter" <>
Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2008 14:33:08 +1100
The Main List contains 853 species of bird currently extant in Australia, 9
species from Australia now extinct in the world and 5 species now extinct in
Australia but extant elsewhere in the world, giving a total of 867 Australian birds

COMPARISONS with the 1994 CHECKLIST

64 species are added to the main list. Of these:
11 are the result of taxonomic splits -
           Vanuatu Petrel - one specimen but ID not assessed by BARC
           Linchi Swiftlet
           Variable Goshawk
           Short-tailed Grasswren
           Kalkadoon Grasswren
           Kimberley Honeyeater
           Western Wattlebird
           Arafura Fantail
           Pacific Robin
           Buff-sided Robin
           Green-headed Yellow Wagtail
1 is due to extended coverage to include the Australian Antarctic Territory -
           Kerguelen Pintail - specimen record not assessed by BARC
1 introduced bird now with viable established populations -
           Barbary Dove
2 introduced birds with viable populations upgraded from Supplementary List -
           Helmeted Guineafowl
           Green Junglefowl
9 upgraded from the Supplementary List because of  BARC accepted records -
           Atlantic Petrel
           Laysan Albatross
           Grey Heron
           Green Sandpiper
           Nordmann's Greenshank
           American Golden Plover
           Brown Shrike
           Pechora Pipit
           Singing Starling
5 upgraded from the Supplementary List though not assessed by BARC
           Kerguelen Shag - specimen record
           Corncrake - specimen record
           Lesser Black-backed Gull - band recovered from dead bird
           Buffy Fish-Owl - specimen record
           House Crow - specimens in WA Museum & other reports
2 new species not assessed by BARC
           Tiger Shrike - specimen record
Black-billed Magpie - 2 reports but no specimens so NOT admissable
33 BARC accepted new species - too numerous to list here.


Removals are:
1. - 4 Species from the Main List on taxonomic grounds -
Snares Penguin - a peculiar decision?
Gould's Bronze-Cuckoo - always contentious
Lesser Sooty Owl
Black-backed Wagtail

2. - 15 Species in 1994 Supplementary List: Their reasons and some guesses
at possible thinking!
Baikal Teal - likely confusion with Garganey?
Amsterdam Albatross - not now regarded as full species.
Chinese Egret - no real evidence?
Eastern Marsh Harrier - surprising as must be a possibility.
Oriental Hobby - confusion over species involved in claim on Christmas
Island (Eurasian Hobby intended). Another erroneous claim.
Eurasian Curlew - surprising, as at least one only just failed acceptance.
Long-billed Dowitcher - original claim shown to be Short-billed Dowitcher.
Western Sandpiper - lacked even rudimentary evidence.
Temminck's Stint - several claims not pursued.
Cox's Sandpiper - shown to be a hybrid.
Rusty-tailed Gerygone - shown to be a variant of another species.
Tawny Pipit - shown to be an error.
Gray's Grasshopper Warbler - surprising as there have been several claims.
Pale-bellied Myna - escapees and failed introduction
Hill Myna - escapees and failed introduction

3. - Species reported between 1994 and 2008 omitted or overlooked for
inclusion in the Supplementary List:

Grey-headed Goshawk; [likely confusion with very pale form of local race of
    another perhaps undescribed Goshawk]
Chinese Goshawk - ID too difficult?
Japanese Sparrowhawk - ID too difficult?
Dark-rumped Swift - ID too difficult?
Mossy-nest Swiftlet - ID too difficult?
Frill-necked Monarch - specific status not confirmed.
Northern Wheatear - surprising because evidence was quite strong.


So now to my list!
           I've recorded 794 or 795 from the Main List which means there
are 59 or 60 possibles that I haven't seen - (not sure whether to count
Bayside's Barbary Doves!) plus 7 from the new Supplementary List - Western
Reef Egret, Eurasian Hobby, Saunders's Tern, Brown-backed Needletail (not
accepted by BARC), Middendorff's Warbler, Asian Brown Flycatcher (already
accepted by BARC) and Streak-headed Mannikin, plus 2 occurrences since the
deadline for this tome, Eurasian Curlew and Fairy Pitta.
           That totals 802/3.

Mike Carter
30 Canadian Bay Road
Mount Eliza  VIC 3930
Tel  (03) 9787 7136

===============================
www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com

To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 
===============================

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU