Case Summary for:

Submission No 261: Glossy Swiftlet Collocalia esculenta; Connells Point, Sydney NSW, 14th March 1999.

Verdict: Not Accepted

This case relates to a chance sighting of two small swifts from a residential garden at Connells Point, Sydney. The birds were seen very briefly as they circled at a height estimated at 50 metres. Light conditions were excellent, but optical aids were not available given the very short duration of the observation. The observer has had extensive field experience with the species, however, the amount of data obtained was understandably not sufficient to form a solid account desirable for a first record for NSW. Committee members voted against acceptance of the record, based on the following:

  • the extreme brevity of the sighting;
  • the absence of comparative species to confirm a judgement of size; and
  • a lack of corroborative notes, sketches or photographs containing adequate diagnostic evidence for the identification
As is often the case with single observer sightings of this kind, it is possible that the record does represent a first sighting of Collocalia esculenta in NSW and the experience of the observer suggests this. Regrettably, the sighting as mentioned produced only limited descriptive material, and it is not possible to confirm the record. At this date, the species has been confirmed as vagrant only to areas of the Torres Strait and North Queensland.

References and Bibliography

  • Carter, M. 1994. Birds of Australia's Christmas Island. Wingspan 13, 18-21.
  • Coates, B.J. & Bishop, K.D. 1997. A Guide to the Birds of Wallacea, Dove Publications.
  • Christidis, L & Boles, W.E. 1994. The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories. R.A.O.U. Monograph 2. RAOU, Hawthorn East.
  • Sibley, C.G. & Munroe, B.L., Jr. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale University Press, New Haven.
  • Somadikarta, S. 1986. Collocalia linchi Horsefield & Moore - a revision. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 106, 32-40.

Tony Palliser
Chairman Birds Australia Rarities Committee (BARC)