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Case Summary for:
Submission No 204: Singing Starling Aplonis cantoroides, Boigu Island, Torres Strait, 22 December 1987. Submitted by Greg Roberts. Verdict: Accepted This submission provides detail of a sighting of six starlings feeding in a fig tree in the midst of the main village on Boigu Island, Torres Strait, North East Queensland 22 December, 1987. Boigu Island is situated approximately six kilometres from the mainland of Papua New Guinea and surrounded on three sides by extensive areas of mangroves. The birds were in view for approximately one hour and were still present the following day. The description provided is very brief describing two adults with bright red eyes and glossy greenish-black plumage. The remainder were red-eyed juveniles, with creamy underparts heavily marked by dark-brown streaking. All the birds had short, blunt-tipped tails, a feature which immediately distinguishes the species from Metallic Starling A. metallica. It was also correctly pointed out by the observer that the call of Singing Starling is distinctive - a high pitched, musical note with a slight downwards inflection. Members commented that at just a few lines, the description provided is not as detailed as one might expect for a sighting of an Australia first. However, in this case we are not dealing with a vagrant but rather, with a species apparently within its normal range and one made ‘rare’ only by the fact that Boigu is politically part of Australian avifauna. Given the fact and considering (A) that the observer is a reliable birder well-known to the birding community, (B) has considerable experience with Singing Starling and its confusion species in Papua New Guinea and (C) that apparently all recent (1996-8) visits to Boigu have reported Singing Starlings to be present in some numbers and in identical circumstances (i.e. feeding in fruiting trees; Mike Carter & Peter Lansley pers. com), there is little doubt as to the authenticity of the record. Although meager, the description does accurately describe the basic attributes of both adults and first-year birds and mentions the diagnostic short blunt-tipped tail, the committee therefore votes to accept this record as a new bird for Australia.
References and Bibliography
Tony Palliser |