HOW MANY SPECIES OF BIRDS HAVE BEEN RECORDED FOR
NSW?
Morris, McGill & Holmes (1981) A Handlist of Birds in
New South Wales, lists 529 species for the State. With the publication of
Christidis & Boles (1994) The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of
Australia, three Pardalote species were removed from the NSW List (viz
Yellow-rumped, Eastern Striated & Black-headed Pardalote) and two species
were split and so the Rufous Fieldwren and the Russet-tailed Thrush were added
to the NSW List, bringing the number back to 528.
There was a Supplementary List of unconfirmed records
for NSW in the 1981 Handlist, of which five species now have been
confirmed as occurring in NSW viz Antarctic Petrel, Streaked Shearwater, Greater
Frigatebird, Painted Firetail and Metallic Starling, which brings the total up
to 533 species.
Since 1981, the following 28 additional species have been
recorded in NSW Viz Garganey, Northern Pintail, Marcaroni Penguin, Grey Petrel,
White-necked Petrel, Juan Fernandez Petrel, Audubon's Shearwater, Pink
Shearwater, Tristram's Storm-Petrel, Red-footed Booby, Pied Heron, Hudsonian
Godwit, Lesser Yellow Legs, Common Redshank, Little Stint, American Golden
Plover, South Island Pied Oystercatcher, Sabine's Gull, Black-naped Tern,
Bridled Tern, White-rumped Swiftlet, Banded Whiteface, Banded Honeyeater,
Yellow-bellied Sunbird, Shining Flycatcher, Black-backed Wagtail & Barn
Swallow, bringing the total to 561 species.
This species list does not include birds recorded on Norfolk
Island because that Island is not part of NSW, nor does it include observations
of Lord Howe Island, for while that Island is part of NSW, it has for a long
time had a seperate list maintained by Ian Hutton and others, and is
ofcourse 350 km to the east of mainland NSW. The Lord Howe Island list is
readily available, on the Net.
Thankyou to all those people who drew my attention to the
various species missing or incorrectly added to the List. I am happy to field
enquiries about what is on and or not on the NSW List.
Alan Morris
