Memorandum to: The Director of Birds
From: Birds Australia Rarities Committee
(BARC)
Date: 21st February 2007
Voting Members: Danny Rogers Mike Carter
Niven McCrie John Hatch
Tony Palliser Andrew Silcocks
Glenn Holmes Rohan Clarke
cc. David Stewart
Submission No. 497: House Swift Apus
affinis. Bunya, Brisbane, QLD. 17th December 2005
Verdict: Not Accepted
This submission relates to the possible sighting of two House Swift Apus affinis at Bunya, Brisbane, QLD on the 17th December 2005. The birds were circling ahead of a storm approaching from the north-west.
The sighting was brief, involving two birds that were clearly swifts similar to the familiar White-throated Needletail but considerably smaller, the tails were described as ‘blunt-edged, short and without a forked tail’, and the wing tips were rounded, lacking the narrow winged appearance of Fork-tailed Swift. The white throat was not seen so the identification in this instance relies heavily on a process of elimination.
Members generally agreed that this sighting may well have involved House Swift, but the brevity of the sighting and the lack of any corroboration resulted in most members voting against acceptance and found it difficult to rule out Fork-tailed Swift in tail moult. A sighting of this magnitude requires that little bit more, if the white-throat had been seen or the birds were seen accompanying Fork-tailed Swift or White-throated Needletail the case would likely have achieved a more postive result.
To date, there are only two
confirmed
References and Bibliography:
·
Chantler, P. & Driessens, G., (1995), Swifts;
A Guide to the Swifts & Treeswifts of the World. Pica,
·
Cramp, S. (Ed.) (1985), Handbook of the Birds
of
·
Robertson, D.G. 1980. First record of the House
Swift Apus affinis in
·
Sibley, C.G. & Munroe, B.L., Jr. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the
World.