Memorandum to:                     The Director of Birds Australia

 

 

From:                                       Birds Australia Rarities Committee (BARC)

 

 

Date:                                        16th January 2008

 

 

Voting Members:                     Jamie Matthew              Danny Rogers

Glenn Holmes                Rohan Clarke

                                                John Hatch                    Tony Palliser

                                                Andrew Silcocks            Mike Carter

 

cc:                                            Ron Johnstone

 

 

Submission No 515 & 516: Blue-and-white Flycatcher Cyanoptila cyanomelana Christmas Island 2nd – 8th December 2006 (Unpublished).  Submitted by Alan Stuart et al.

 

 

Verdict: Accepted 

 

 

These cases relate to a sighting of two Blue-and-white Flycatchers at Christmas Island. Both birds were considered to be immature (first winter) males. The first was located north east of Grants Well (Case No 515) on the 2nd December 2006 and the second bird was located close to the sports ground (Case No 516) on the 3rd December 2006 and remained until the 8th December 2006.

 

Both birds were seen and photographed by a number of observers and a summary of the circumstances behind each sighting was presented to the committee.  Both birds displayed characters typical for immature male C. cyanomelana that is: a brown or brown-grey extending from the head down the back and breast, with variable deep blue colouring on the wings, tail and lower back and a pale belly and vent. The diagnostic white patches each side of the upper tail near its base when spread, were clearly noted. The second individual differed slightly (hence the need for two case numbers) by having a duller head, a larger pale throat patch, less intense blue colouring on the back and overall a slightly duller appearance.

 

Committee members voted unanimously in favour of acceptance agreeing entirely with the findings of the observers appreciating the high quality of the submission, both its presentation and analysis.

 

Blue and White Flycatcher breeds in the SE Palearctic and NE Asia, and winters in the Greater Sundas and the Philippines (MacKinnon & Phillips 1994). These are the 4th and 5th to be accepted by BARC.

 

 

 

 

References & Bibliography:

 

 

·         Coates, B.J. & Bishop, K.D. 1997. A Guide to the Birds of Wallacea. Dove Publications, Brisbane.

·         Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C. & Inskipp, T. (1998), Birds of the Indian Subcontinent, Helm, London.

·         Iozawa, H., Yamagata, N. & Yoshino, T. (2000), Japanese Bird 550: Landbirds, Bunichi General Publisher, Tokyo (in Japanese).

·         Johnstone, R.E. & Darnell, J.C (1996), ‘A Blue and White Flycatcher (Ficedula Cyanomelana), a new bird for Australia’, The Western Australian Naturalist 21, (1)

·         Kanouchi, T., Abe, N. & Ueda, H. (1998), Wild Birds of Japan, Yama-Kei, Tokyo (in Japanese).

·         Kazmeirczac, K. 2000. A Field Guide to the Birds of India. Pica Press, Sussex.

·         Kennedy, R.S., Gonzales, P.C., Dickenson, E.C., Miranda, H.C. Jr, & Fisher, T.H. 2000. A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines. OUP, Oxford.

·         King, B., Woodcock, M. & Dickinson, E. C. (1975), A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia, Collins, London.

·         MacKinnon, J. & Phillipps, K. 1994. A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali. OUP, Oxford.

·         Robson, C. 2000. A Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia. Princeton University Press, Princeton.

·         Wild Bird Society of Japan (1982). A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan. Wild Bird Society of Japan, Japan.

 

 

 

Tony Palliser

Chairman Birds Australia Rarities Committee (BARC)