Revised Annotated Checklist of the Birds of the ACT

[David McDonald <>]

Greetings. COG's web master, David Cook, has uploaded a revised Annotated Checklist of the Birds of the ACT. It is online in html and pdf formats at http://canberrabirds.org.au/CheckList.htm and replaces the 2003 list previously at that URL.

The amendments are detailed below. They include:

• Updated list of ‘unusual birds’.
• Updated Birds Australia atlas numbers.
• Application of Christidis & Boles' 2008 taxonomical order and nomenclature.
• The addition to the Main List of White-fronted Honeyeater, Black-chinned Honeyeater and Australasian Figbird.
• Crimson Chat moved from the Supplementary List to the Main List.
  
• Banded Lapwing, Grey-crowned Babbler and White-browed Babbler now classified as very rare vagrants, rather than extinct, in the ACT.
• Changes to the breeding status of some species.
  

I will be grateful if you will let me know of any errors or omissions that you identify.

Best wishes - David

Amendments to the Annotated Checklist of the Birds of the ACT
Version date: 22 Dec 2009

 

Main list

199	Magpie Goose Addition to Supp List	Anseranas semipalmata	Semi-captive population at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, plus record from brindabella Station 2003, presumably a stray from the TNR population.
135	Banded Lapwing * Changed status	Vanellus tricolor	Very rare breeding vagrant (awaiting publication) Previously presumed extinct in the ACT.
254	Rainbow Lorikeet Changed abundance & breeding statuses	Trichoglossus haematodus	Uncommon breeding resident. Becoming common, and breeding, in the Belconnen area.
216	Blue-billed Duck Changed breeding status	Oxyura australis	Rare vagrant in the ACT with breeding recorded from the Fyshwick Sewage Treatment Plant ponds.
051	Spotless Crake Changed breeding status	Porzana tabuensis	Rare breeding resident, recorded mostly in the warmer months, but occasionally in winter.
270	Major Mitchell's Cockatoo * Changed status	Cacatua leadbeateri	As there were a number of reports from Uriarra Crossing and around Canberra between 1960 and 1966, and few since, it seems likely that this species is a rare vagrant in the area. Escapees are also observed.
271	Little Corella Changed status	Cacatua sanguinea	Probably permanently established and breeds in the area. Its origin is uncertain and may have been from escaped cage birds.
347	Common Koel Now breeding	Eudynamys scolopacea	Uncommon breeding migrant in the ACT. Records have been more frequent since 1986.
045	Lewin's Rail Winter records changed	Rallus pectoralis	Rare, breeding summer visitor. Very occasional winter records.
443	Grey-crowned Babbler * Dis-extincted!	Pomatostomus temporalis	Very rare non-breeding vagrant. Previously considered extinct in the ACT.
445	White-browed Babbler * Dis-extincted!	Pomatostomus superciliosus	Very rare non-breeding vagrant. Previously considered extinct in the ACT.
594	White-fronted Honeyeater * Addition	Purnella albifrons	Very rare vagrant; first record for ACT Jun 2007.
580	Black-chinned Honeyeater * Addition	Melithreptus gularis	Very rare vagrant; first endorsed records Jun 2007.
449	Crimson Chat * Moved from the supplementary list (escapees) to the main list	Epthianura tricolor	Rare non-breeding vagrant.
432	Australasian Figbird * Addition	Sphecotheres vieilloti	(awaiting publication)  First ACT record Dec. 2009, from Curtin.
265	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Breeding status changed	Calyptorhynchus lathami	Uncommon breeding visitor.
302	Turquoise Parrot Changed status	Neophema pulchella	Rare vagrant or aviary escapee/releasee.
226	White-bellied Sea-Eagle Changed breeding status	Haliaeetus leucogaster	Occasional visitor; some breeding attempts reported.

 

Supplementary list

 

933	Long-tailed Jaeger * added	Stercorarius longicaudus	Accidental; remains found in a Peregrine Falcon nest 1994.
989	Spotted Turtle-Dove Status changed	Streptopelia chinensis	Escapee or released; one breeding attempt reported from the ACT. Established breeding population in Queanbeyan, NSW.
- - -	Yellow-crowned Parakeet * added	Cyanoramphus auriceps	Escapee or released.
902	Red Junglefowl (Domestic Chicken) * Changed species name	Gallus gallus	Feral or wandering domestic birds occasionally reported
661	Plum-headed Finch * Status changed	Neochmia modesta	Rare vagrant or aviary escapee/releasee.
- - -	Chukar Partridge * added	Alectoris chukar	Escapee or released

-- 
David McDonald
Canberra Ornithologists Group email lists manager
T: 02 6238 3706
M: 0416 231 890
E: m("canberrabirds.org.au","coglists-owner");">