birding-aus

The Lesser Sooty Owl and Sooty Owl?

To: "'martin cachard'" <>, <>, "'birding-aus threads'" <>
Subject: The Lesser Sooty Owl and Sooty Owl?
From: "Tony Russel" <>
Date: Wed, 4 May 2011 11:08:45 +0930
I keep the Sooty and the Lesser Sooty Owls as two separate species. Anyone
who has seen them knows very well how different they are.

Tony

-----Original Message-----
From: 
 On Behalf Of martin cachard
Sent: Wednesday, 4 May 2011 10:10 AM
To: ; birding-aus threads
Subject: The Lesser Sooty Owl and Sooty Owl?


Hi Patrick
 
When you come up to FNQ & hopefully observe the local Lesser Sooty Owl, you
can't  'officially' count it as a new species tick (unless of course, you
are yet to see a Sooty Owl further south!!).
 
BUT, this 'lumping' by C&B 2008 is strongly disputed by many, including many
of us up here more familiar with this bird in the field than some
taxonomists. 
 
So Patrick,  come up here, find & enjoy the bird, record that you've
observed it, & in time,  I'm sure that you will find that this local bird
will be split again from the Sooty Owl & given the full species recognition
it deserves. Some of us up here are currently working on this to be
rectified....but there is much work still to be done on this one....(amongst
some other lumps/splits of FNQ birds).
 
As for further answers to your questions about what is tickable (or not) due
to a species' status, I'm sure someone else more qualified than me can help
to explain this to you. 
 
But for my own records list, I just make sure what birds I observe are
recorded to sub-species level - changes in the taxonomy of our birds, &
accordingly our official list (whatever the source of it), will continue to
occur. For now, I keep my records as per the current C&B species list as it
is defined in 2008 because this is the current official species list,
like/agree with it or not. I can update my full species list as the changes
to the official list occur since I have a record of the sub-species I have
seen & where. I think you will find that most Aust birders do the same thing
or similar.
 
Someone else I'm certain, will add a better & more scientific explanation
about your other questions - I,  for now, just wanted to put my gripe out
there about the poor lumping of Lesser Sooty Owl on behalf of several other
dismayed local FNQ birders !!
 
Obviously Patrick, as it stands now I haven't got a Lesser Sooty Owl on my
species list - just 2 sub-species/races of Sooty Owl....
 
Cheers
 
Martin Cachard
Cairns
0428 782 808
 
 

> Date: Wed, 4 May 2011 09:11:11 +1000
> From: 
> To: 
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] The Lesser Sooty Owl and Sooty Owl?
> 
> Hi All,
> After reading Sean Dooley's reply to Paul, I have been trying to figure
out
> what happened with the Christidis and Boles list with regards to the
Lesser
> Sooty Owl. In the guide books they are a different size and live in
> different parts of the country, so why is the Lesser Sooty Owl no longer
> counted as a separate species? Does this mean that if I am lucky enough to
> see the owl formally known as the Lesser Sooty Owl on the Atherton
> Tableland that I will be seeing the Sooty Owl? Can someone please explain
> this to me or at least if it makes no sense to others then, what is the
> official explanation? And I have been trying to figure out the conspecific
> term. C & D still have some species as separate (tickable) but as
> conspecific. Are they saying that as with the Western Wattlebird and
Little
> Wattlebird that at some stage millions of years ago they were one species?
> Thanks,
> Patrick Scully
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