Re: Indonesian/Brown Honeyeater and Sand Martin sighting - Bali?!?

[Peter Lansley <>]

Hi Paul and birding-aussers,

 

I note with respect the reply of Peter Waanders to your questions, particularly about the Indonesian/Brown Honeyeater split/lump.

 

However, Peter's view appears to be a minority one these days:

 

1. HANZAB v. 5 (2001) lumps them.

2. Coates & Bishop (1997), the only field guide to the Lesser Sundas, lump them.

3. Inskipp et al. (1996) in their excellent Oriental region checklist, lump them, and state their reasons, "there is currently no published justification for separating limbata and the extralimital indistincta, although some morphological differences were described by Mees (1982a) and White & Bruce (1986).

4. Paul Andrew's Indonesian checklist (1992), lumps them.

5. White & Bruce, Checklist of birds of Wallacea (1986) lump them.

 

It seems only Sibley & Monroe (1990) and possibly HBW and Clements (I haven't got ready access to these last two) split these two forms. Of course, taxonomy is often subject to long term argie-bargie, for example in the recent issues of Emu regarding albatross and petrel taxonomy. The question needs to be asked - what is the science of the matter? And what species concepts or their variants (BSC biological species concept, or PSC phylogenetic species concept, do you follow and why?).

 

Having seen and perhaps more to the point, heard, the aussie and indo Brown Honeyeaters, I think they should be lumped. The calls were very similar if my somewhat hazy memory of 1991 serves me correctly.

 

Re: Sand Martins - I've not seen them, but they could make it to Australia and I think there's one PNG record, so Bali is certainly quite possible.

 

Cheerio.

Peter Lansley.

 

 

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