As for: I still don’t know why the triller has been
placed on the “Vulnerable Species “ list in the ACT!!!
Well yes it is odd. Or maybe not, so many of the woodland
north-south migrants are facing problems of reduced and fragmented habitats
throughout large parts of their range. This creates problems for them. I
heard a rumour that it was partly based on reading of that by chance the abundance
for this species was exceptionally high in year one of the GBS, thus The GBS
Report gives a graph that suggests a big decline. To interpret in this way
would appear to be flawed. It is not a fault of the GBS or GBS Report, nor is it
a trend as far as we can tell. It is just a function of that the records are
just a representation of the facts. Year 1 was clearly odd for that species and
unless it can be demonstrated (which it can’t) that year 1 was typical of
earlier years, it was just a random variation and what looks like a decline actually
isn’t. Steve Wilson’s book (1999 i.e. before GBS data was
available in any compiled way) doesn’t hint at the species ever being
more common than now but suggests “it seems possible from the records that
numbers are slowly declining”.
And I learn from this, that both species Scarlet Robin and
White-winged Triller are given the wrong species
name in The GBS Report. Oh well, a minor problem, done to conform with other
earlier publications. I think we know what was intended.
Philip
From: Mark Clayton [
Sent: Thursday, 21 May 2015 8:54 AM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] Scarlet Robin and White-winged Triller
Following on from my comment yesterday concerning the
scientific name of the Scarlet Robin, I was contacted by two very eminent,
world renowned Australian taxonomists who both confirmed that the scientific
name of the robin should be Petroica boodang and not P. multicolor
as has been given in the listing of the species by the ACT Government as a
Vulnerable species. One actually commented that “the ACT authorities name
is just behind the times by 15 years or so”.
The other name that has worried me for some time is that of
the White-winged Triller, Lalage sueurii. The correct scientific name
for the White-winged Triller is L. tricolor - this name is correct
in the latest COG Annual Bird Report – L. sueurii is the
scientific name of the White-shouldered Triller, a species found in the general
region of the Lesser Sundas. I still don’t know why the triller has been
placed on the “Vulnerable Species “ list in the ACT!!!
I realise that taxonomy of species is constantly changing
but it is not that hard to keep up with it. Groups like the IOC review their
listings about 4 times a year whereas checklists such as Christidis and Boles,
still being used by many Australian organisations, including COG, are out of
date the minute they are published.
Someone in the ACT Government needs to be aware of these
taxonomic changes and upgrades to the status of species listed in their
legislation. The status of the Swift Parrot, Lathamus discolor , for
example, is now listed as “Endangered” Federally and in all the
states where the species occurs but it is still listed as
“Threatened” in the ACT.
I have long maintained that any species on the NSW
Threatened Species List that occurs in the ACT should automatically be covered
by ACT legislation. After all, birds don’t recognise political borders.
Mark
