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Records Committee (BOURC)

26th Report (October 1999)

The reports of the Records Committee contain additions, corrections and modifications to the lists of birds of Britain and the Isle of Man maintained by the Committee on behalf of the BOU. Also included is information relating to Northern Ireland, although the NI List is maintained by the Northern Ireland Birdwatchers’ Association. As announced in our last report (Ibis 141: 175-180), information from the Republic of Ireland is no longer included in BOU Records Committee reports. Readers are referred to the Irish Bird Reports published annually in Irish Birds for information relating to that country. Our current report covers the period October 1998 to September 1999 and is the tenth to follow publication of the most recent Checklist of Birds of Britain and Ireland (Sixth edition, March 1992). The Twenty-fifth Report appeared in Ibis 141: 175-180. The last Checklist is available from the BOU office and specialist bookshops, price £2 (UK) and £3 (overseas) (inc. p&p).

The British List

A revised (2nd) edition of the BOU's pocket-list The British List was issued in August 1999, with generous support from Leica Camera Ltd. This is based on the list of birds of Britain maintained by the BOURC. It is intended for informal use and not for citation. Copies are available from the BOU office on receipt of a stamped (2nd class), addressed envelope.

The BOU website: http://www.bou.org.uk

The BOU website includes the British List, press releases and lists of recent decisions, together with a note of files currently in circulation. The website is for information purposes only and is not an official document or part of the permanent record. Any announcements of changes to the British List do not come into effect until published in Ibis.

The following changes have been made to the British List:

There are no changes to the lists of birds for Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.

Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus
Delete from Category B.
Ashbourne, Derbyshire, 4 June 1927, two, sight record (Ibis 120: 409-411).
This is the only record for Britain. Following review, it is no longer considered to be acceptable and the species is removed from Category B of the British List.

Olivaceous Warbler Hippolais pallida
Skokholm, Dyfed, 23 September to 3 October 1951, trapped, photographed (Ibis 113: 142-145); Portland, Dorset, 16 August 1956, trapped; Isle of May, Fife, 24-26 September 1967, specimen in the Royal Museum of Scotland.
   Following a BBRC review of all the British records of this species, the three listed above were examined by the Committee. After considerable debate, the 1951 Dyfed and 1956 Dorset records were no longer found to be fully acceptable and they have been rejected. The 1967 Isle of May specimen therefore becomes the first acceptable record for Britain.

Booted Warbler Hippolais caligata
Add subspecies rama (Sykes) to Category A.
Adult, Seafield, Lerwick, Shetland, 22 October to 9 November 1993; trapped, photographed (Birding World, 6: 437-438).
   This race breeds in South Central Asia (including Kazakhstan, Iran and Afghanistan) and winters in India. It has also occurred in Sweden and Israel.

The following have also been considered:

Canvasback Aythya valisineria
Cliffe, Kent, December 1996, sight record.
This record, pre-dating the accepted 1997 Norfolk individual (Ibis 141: 175-180), has been withdrawn by the observer.

Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus
Kilve, Bridgwater Bay, Somerset, October 1825, immature shot and another seen; Peldon, Essex, 28 September 1868, immature shot; Black Down, near Beaulieu Road Station, Hampshire, 16 June 1968, adult seen; Farlington Marshes, Hampshire/Sussex, 31 October to 1 November 1969; adult seen, later caught in Sussex; Donna Nook, Lincolnshire, 12 June 1970, adult seen.
   The species is currently in Category B. Following a review of the claims listed above, the Committee could find no good reason to doubt the two nineteenth century specimen records from Somerset in 1825 and Essex in 1868, though it could not uphold the sight record from Somerset. The species, therefore remains in Category B on the basis of the specimen records.
The species is and has been relatively commonly kept in captivity in recent decades. Of the three recent records, it was felt there were enough parallels with the record of a Monk Vulture Aegypius monachus in Wales in 1977-1978 (Ibis 135: 220-222) to place the 1968 Hampshire bird in Category D only. The circumstances of the 1969 occurrences in Hampshire and Sussex were such that the bird was considered likely to have escaped from captivity and the record is added to Category E. The 1970 Lincolnshire report was rejected for lack of documentation.

Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio
Sandscale Haws, Cumbria, 23-28 October 1997: sight record, photographed (Birding World 10: 399, 462-466).
   Unable to be assigned to race, possibly as a result of interbreeding in captivity. The species is widely held in captivity and a captive origin was thought likely. The record is added to Category E.

Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
Slapton, Devon, 22 April 1987. Previously not accepted (Ibis 136: 253-255). Reconsidered following receipt of further information. Identification was not considered proven and the record has not been accepted.

Booted Warbler Hippolais caligata annectens
Theddlethorpe Dunes, Lincolnshire, 12 October 1980.
Identification accepted as Booted Warbler, but the race annectens is poorly defined and better treated as a synonym of nominate caligata.

Files under consideration:

Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii
All records under review, including sight record in Cumbria, 17 April 1990, the latter accepted by BBRC.

Little Shearwater Puffinus assimilis elegans
Investigations continue into the origins and identification of a specimen found in Lothian, 1990.

Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus
Review of records from southwest England to consider their origin and eligibility for inclusion in Category C5.

Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber
Review of migration and movements to assess likelihood of natural vagrancy from both eastern and western populations.

Mute Swan Cygnus olor
Review of the feral status of the species in Britain in relation to the species’ position on Category A.

Wood Duck Aix sponsa
Review of records from southwest England to consider eligibility for transfer from category E* to A or D.

Bufflehead Bucephala albeola
Review of all pre-1958 records following receipt of new information regarding the first record, in Norfolk,1830.

Hooded Merganser Mergus cucullatus
Review of all British records.

American Kestrel Falco sparverius
Yorkshire, 1882 and Leicestershire, about 1899. Specimen records prior to current first record.

Oriental Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis meena
Spurn, Humberside, 1975. Only the nominate race is currently accepted.

Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos hafizi
Spurn, Humberside, 1991.

Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros
Review of all records of the eastern group of races ochruros/phoenicuroides/semirufus to eliminate possible Redstart P. phoenicurus x Black Redstart hybrids.

Iberian Chiffchaff Phylloscopus brehmii
Brent Reservoir, Greater London, 3 June 1972. Possible first British record.

Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica
Copeland Bird Observatory, Co Down, Northern Ireland, 24 October 1971 (Ibis 116: 578-579), to be reviewed at the request of NIBA.
   1st summer, Fair Isle, Shetland, 1-2 July 1992. Previously not accepted (Ibis 136: 253-255). Recirculation.

Mugimaki Flycatcher Ficedula mugimaki
1st summer, Stone Creek, Humberside, 16-17 November 1992. Previously not accepted (Ibis 136: 253-255). Recirculation.

Palm Warbler Dendroica palmarum
Adult male, Walney Island, Cumbria, tideline remains,18 May 1976. Currently in Category D (Ibis 120: 409-411). Recirculation to consider transfer from category D to A or E.

Red-headed Bunting Emberiza bruniceps
Review of species.

List Totals

The decisions reported here reduce the British List by one to 552, following the removal of Eurasian Griffon Vulture from Category B. The total does not include 'soft-plumaged petrel' Pterodroma mollis/P. madeira/P. feae as the birds were not identified to species level (Ibis 134: 380). The 16 species in Category D (and more in Category E) do not form part of the British List.
A 530  -- B 13 -- C 9 -- Total 552
One additional species is currently included in Category A of the Isle of Man List, and a further three in Category A of the Northern Ireland List (one of these is also in Category D of the British List).

Publications from members of BOU Records Committee relating to the British List since the last report (Ibis 141: 175-180)
  • Bradshaw, C. & Marr, B.A.E. 1999. Comments on "Red-throated Thrush in Essex: new to Britain and Ireland" by Brian Smith, Simon D. Wood & Simon Cox. Br. Birds 92: 40-46.
  • Bradshaw, C. & Marr, B.A.E. 1999. Comments on "Hume’s Warbler in Sussex: new to Britain and Ireland" by Peter Clement and R.E. Scott. Br. Birds 92: 96-100.
  • Lansdown, P. & Marr, B.A.E. 1999. Comments on "Egyptian Nightjar in Dorset: the second British record" by Grahame Walbridge. Br. Birds 92: 155-161.
  • Vinicombe, K. E. & Harrop, A. H. J. 1999. Ruddy Shelducks in Britain and Ireland, 1986-1994. Br. Birds 92: 225-255.
Association of European Rarities Committees

In September 1999 Colin Bradshaw, Alan Knox and Tony Marr attended the fifth meeting of the Association of European Rarities Committees (AERC) at Lednice in the Czech Republic. The Association exists to foster cooperation and to promote standardisation between rarities committees, and to support new rarities committees. The meeting discussed and agreed inter alia the updating of guidelines for rarities committees, the preparation of a European List, the publication of a shortlist of species for priority taxonomic consideration, and the establishment of an AERC website. Sessions were held on the problem of escapes and on identification problems.

English names

The International Ornithological Congress (IOC) is still working on the production of a coherent list of English names which might find international acceptance. The BOURC will be returning to this issue after the IOC completes its difficult and time consuming task.

Acknowledgements:

We receive a great deal of assistance with our work from a variety of sources which, on this occasion, have included Lars Svensson, Erik Hirschfeld, Dr Barry Taylor, Bob McGowan (Royal Museum of Scotland), Ian Darling (Isle of May Bird Observatory), David Saunders and Graham Thompson (Dyfed Wildlife Trust), Martin Cade (Portland Bird Observatory), Mrs Pat Conder, Dr Linda Birch (EGI), Dr W. R. P. Bourne, Dr J. S. Ash and British Birds as well as Michael Rogers (BBRC), the Natural History Museum (at Tring) and WildWings, who sponsored the Chairman’s travel expenses to the meeting of the Association of European Rarities Committees in the Czech Republic in September. We are grateful to them all.

Taxonomic Sub-committee

The Taxonomic Sub-committee of the BOURC has recently been expanded to deal with additional workload. For the first time, additional posts were advertised in the birding and scientific press, and filled from the applicants who responded. The sub-committee now comprises Dr Martin Collinson, Dr Andreas Helbig, Dr Alan Knox, Tony Marr (Chairman), Prof David Parkin, Dr Tony Prater and George Sangster. Alan Knox, Tony Marr and Tony Prater are also members of the BOURC.

Committee membership

For the first time, vacancies were advertised in the birding and scientific press. Since publication of the last Report, Richard Porter has retired from the Committee and Ian Dawson has resigned following his term as Secretary. Ian Lewington (co-opted July 1998, now formally appointed) and Eric Meek have joined the Committee and Dr Tim Melling has taken over the role of Secretary. The Committee is immensely grateful to Richard Porter and Ian Dawson for their hard work over the years, and particularly to Ian for the meticulous care and dedication he brought to the Secretaryship during his period of office.

The Committee currently consists of (with expected year of retirement):

Ken Shaw -- 2000
Dr Alan Knox -- 2001
Tony Marr (Chairman) -- 2002
Paul Harvey -- 2003
Dr Roger Wilkinson -- 2004
Dr Tony Prater -- 2005
Ian Lewington -- 2006
Dr Tim Melling (Secretary) -- 2007
Eric Meek -- 2008
Prof Colin Bradshaw (BBRC Chairman, ex-officio).

British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee
c/o The Natural History Museum, Tring, Herts HP23 6AP, UK
Email: bourc.sec@bou.org.uk

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