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 Northern Ireland List is maintained by the Northern Ireland Birdwatchers’ Association (NIBA). 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 1999 to September 2000 inclusive, and is the eleventh to follow publication of the most recent Checklist of Birds of Britain and Ireland (6th edition, March 1992). The 26th Report appeared in Ibis 142 : 177-179. The last Checklist is available from the BOU office and specialist bookshops, price £2 (UK) and £3 (overseas) (prices inc. p&p).


The British List

A revised (3rd) edition of the BOU’s pocket-list The British List was published in August 2000, with generous support from Leica Camera Limited. This is based upon 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 It is intended for informal use and not for citation.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 addressed envelope.


The BOU website: 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.


Changes to the British List

The following changes have been made to the British List:

Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus
Previously treated as conspecific under the name Mediterranean Shearwater P. yelkouan, the Balearic Shearwater P. mauretanicus should be treated as a separate species from the Yelkouan Shearwater P. yelkouan. Details of this recommendation will be published elsewhere. Only the form now known as the Balearic Shearwater has occurred in Britain.

Monotypic. Breeds Balearic Islands, winters off NW Africa and W Europe. Occurs in British waters annually, mainly July to October. The first British specimen was obtained in Christchurch Bay, Hampshire (now Dorset) in August 1859.

Eurasian Teal Anas crecca
Green-winged Teal Anas carolinensis
Treat Eurasian Teal A. crecca and Green-winged Teal A. carolinensis as separate species (previously regarded as conspecific under the name Common Teal Anas crecca). Both belong on Category A of the British List. Details of this recommendation will be published elsewhere.
A. crecca: polytypic; species breeds commonly across most of the north and central Palearctic, wintering as far south as the Equator; common breeding species and winter visitor to Britain; doubtfully differentiated race A. c. nimia breeds on the Aleutian Islands.
A. carolinensis: monotypic; breeds commonly across most of the Nearctic and winters as far south as Central America; occurs annually in Britain. The first British specimen was obtained in Hurstbourne Park, Hampshire, about 1840.

Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus
Delete from Category A. Menai Straits near Bangor, Caernarvonshire (Gwynedd), winter of 1830-31, first-winter male, shot. Following review, this record is now considered to be inadequately documented. This was the only extant record for Britain, most subsequent claims having been considered likely to be escapes. A previously accepted British record, a sight record of a female at Willen Lake, Buckinghamshire, on 28-29 December 1983, was reviewed in 1992 and considered to be probably an escape (Brit. Birds 86: 465).

Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus (Gmelin)
Add to Category A. Juvenile, Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, 7-11 October 1999; sight record; photographed (Birding World 12: 408-411).
Monotypic. The species breeds from central France southwards into the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa, north to the Gulf of Finland and east to Lake Balkash and Iran, with populations also in the Indian Subcontinent and in the Lesser Sundas from Lombok to Timor. The western population winters in the Sahel zone of Africa.

Iberian Chiffchaff Phylloscopus brehmii (Homeyer)
Add to Category A. Brent Reservoir, Greater London, 3 June 1972; sight record; tape recording made of song (Brit. Birds 93: 329-332). P. brehmii was separated from P. collybita in 1998 (Ibis 138: 650-666). The Brent Reservoir occurrence is the first record for Britain. Several subsequent claims are now being assessed by the British Birds Rarities Committee (BBRC). There have been a number of reports well north of the breeding range, in, for example, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Monotypic. The species breeds in the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa. It apparently winters mainly within Iberia at low altitudes, although there are winter records from as far south as Mali and Burkina Faso (Clement 1995, The Chiffchaff, Hamlyn).

Common Redpoll Carduelis flammea
Lesser Redpoll Carduelis cabaret
Treat Common Redpoll C. flammea and Lesser Redpoll Carduelis cabaret as separate species (previously regarded as conspecific under the former name). Both belong on Category A of the British List. Details of this recommendation will be published elsewhere.
C. flammea : polytypic; occurs in Britain as a migrant and winter visitor.
C. cabaret: monotypic; breeds in the British Isles, in areas along the southern coast of the North Sea from northern France to southern Norway, also in central Europe, most birds wintering to south of breeding areas.


The following have also been considered:

Little Shearwater Puffinus assimilis elegans
Musselburgh Lagoons, Lothian, 9 December 1990 , found dead about 100-150 metres south (inland) of the seawall. Specimen now in the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh. This record was originally accepted by BBRC as a baroli Little Shearwater (Brit. Birds 84: 452). In 1995 a request was received by the Records Committee for its reassessment as the first Northern Hemisphere occurrence of the south Atlantic race elegans. The specimen has been examined by Peter Hayman and, whilst resembling elegans in appearance, there appears to be an inconsistency in the structure of its tail. Furthermore, an analysis of its mtDNA by Dr Jeremy Austin places it in the baroli clade and not with elegans. Further investigations are expected to take place. Until the outcome of these is available, the Committee has, for now, closed its file

Bufflehead Bucephala albeola
A review has taken place of all pre-1958 records (the year in which BBRC was established) following new information regarding the first accepted British record, an adult male shot near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, 1830. At the same time, subsequent records were reviewed in order to establish the first acceptable record on Category A of the British List. There were 17 pre-1958 records, most of which were either poorly documented or probable frauds. The review resulted in the rejection of all but one of these early records. The remaining acceptable record concerns a female or immature shot on the Great Pool, Tresco, Scilly, on 7 January 1920, sixteen years before the species was first imported from America. The specimen is still on display at the Isles of Scilly Museum. The first acceptable post-1958 record concerns a male at Foxcote Reservoir, Buckinghamshire, from 28 February until 8 March 1961 (Brit. Birds 55: 569). At least five subsequent records have not been considered by BOURC. Escape probability increased substantially through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s and occurrences now are more likely to be escapes.

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

Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica
Copeland Bird Observatory, County Down, Northern Ireland, 24 October 1971, trapped (Ibis 116: 578-579). Fair Isle, Shetland, 1-2 July 1992, first-summer, trapped and photographed (Birding World 5: 252-255).
The Copeland record was previously rejected by BOURC in 1972 on the grounds that the identification was unproven, and was similarly rejected by the Irish Records Panel. It has been reviewed at the request of NIBA, and has again been found to be unacceptable. The bird was examined in the hand but not seen in the field. The description, which was not supported by sketches or photographs, lacked the detail necessary to eliminate other species. The recorded bill measurement and weight were outside the ranges given for the species in the literature, in the case of the weight by a very large margin.
The Fair Isle record was not previously admitted to the British List (Ibis 136: 253-255) and a detailed account of the reasons for placing it in Category D were given (Brit. Birds 87: 247-252). The identification was accepted unanimously. The Committee was favourably disposed to consider the species to be a candidate for natural vagrancy, but the date of occurrence of this individual and the unquantified risk of escape from captivity led to serious doubts. The record does not conform to the existing pattern of occurrence of the species in western Europe, where there are now three records, all in September (BWP Concise, p.1349). The record has been reviewed, but with no new information relating to escape likelihood or vagrancy pattern, the Committee endorsed its previous decision.

Mugimaki Flycatcher Ficedula mugimaki
First-winter male, Sunk Island Battery, Stone Creek, Humberside, 16-17 November 1991 (Birding World 4: 392-395).
This record was not previously admitted to the British List (Ibis 136: 253-255) and a detailed account of the reasons for placing the record in Category D were given (Brit. Birds 87:247-252). The identification was accepted unanimously. The Committee was favourably disposed to consider the species to be a candidate for natural vagrancy, but it occurs in captivity in this country and on the Continent, having been first noted as being advertised for sale in Britain in 1989 and 1990. At the time of the record, there was no established pattern of vagrancy to the west of the breeding area, there being no accepted records in Europe. There are still no accepted records in Europe, and the species was still being advertised in the trade in the Netherlands as recently as the spring of 2000. With no apparent diminution in the volume of birds being imported into Europe from the Far East, and with new routes being opened up through the former Soviet Union, there is no change in the high escape likelihood for this species. The record has been reviewed, but with no change in the situation in captivity, and with no further records in Europe, the Committee endorsed its previous decision.

Palm Warbler Dendroica palmarum
Delete from Category D. Adult male, Walney Island, Cumbria, tideline remains, 18 May 1976 (Ibis 120: 409-411).
The record was reviewed as the only species in Category D not recorded alive in Britain, to consider a transfer from Category D to A or E. The specimen had been found in a desiccated state and the description reveals that traces of red paint had been found on some of the bird’s feathers. The Committee considered that the bird had most likely died on a ship and been thrown or washed overboard. It seems possible that it had died outside British waters, and the decision was made to reject the record and remove the species from Category D.


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.

Cape Gannet Morus capensis
Bass Rock, Lothian, May 1831 (Ibis 122: 567). Review following receipt of new information.

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.

Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea
Review of the first Category B record, and of the records from the apparent invasion in 1994 to consider the species’ eligibility for inclusion in Category A.

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

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

Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus
Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire, 11-24 September 1999 and same bird, Seal Sands area, Teesside, 29 September-30 October 1999.

Black Tern Chlidonias niger surinamensis
Weston-super-Mare, Avon, 3-11 October 1999.

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

Nightingale Luscinia megarynchos hafizi
Fair Isle, Shetland, 30 October 1971; Spurn, Humberside, 6-14 October 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.

Red-headed Bunting Emberiza bruniceps
Review of all records of this species.

"The Tadcaster Rarities"
Review of three records referred to in Brit. Birds 92: 523 under the heading ‘Looking back’, an extract from Zoologist 7: 2588-2589, October 1849; ix. Three additions to the British List: Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata, Ross’s Gull Rhodostethia rosea and Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis (a pair said to be breeding), all associated with the same taxidermist (Mr Graham of York) and apparently obtained in the area around Tadcaster in Yorkshire.


List Totals

With the treatment of Green-winged Teal and Lesser Redpoll as full species, the addition of Short-toed Eagle and Iberian Chiffchaff to Category A, and the deletion of Hooded Merganser from Category A, the decisions reported here increase the British List by three to 555. 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 deletion of Palm Warbler reduces the total in Category D to 15. Those species in Category D (and more in Category E) do not form part of the British List.

Category Number
A 533
B 13
C 9
Total 555

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).


Changes to the Manx List

The following change has been made to the list of birds for the Isle of Man:

Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens
Add to Category A. Castletown, 22 December 1998, found, apparently unable to fly, in a field by a member of the public. Taken into care, but died in October 1999.


Changes to the Northern Ireland List

The following change has been made to the list of birds for Northern Ireland:

Franklin’s Gull Larus pipixcan
Add to Category A. Nutt’s Corner, Co. Antrim, 5 June 1998, adult (Northern Ireland Bird Report, 1998).


Publications from members of BOU Records Committee relating to the British List since the last report (Ibis 142: 177-179).

Bradshaw, C. & Marr, B.A.E. 1999. Comments on ‘Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler in Scilly: new to Britain and Ireland’ by T. J. Wilson and C. Fentiman. Br. Birds 92: 519-523.

Bradshaw, C. & Marr, B. A. E. 2000. Comments on ‘Iberian Chiffchaff in Greater London: new to Britain and Ireland’ by L. A. Batten. Br. Birds 93: 329-332.


Association of European Rarities Committees

The Association of European Rarities Committees (AERC) confirmed at its meeting in September 1999 that it wished to prepare a European List. In July 2000 the BOURC prepared information relating to the British List for integration into the European List, which will be held on the AERC website (aerc.mypage.org).


Taxonomic Sub-committee

The last report set out the membership of the enlarged Taxonomic Sub-committee, which had been expanded from three to six members to deal with additional workload. Four of its members also constitute the Taxonomic Advisory Committee (TAC) of the AERC. The two committees have worked closely together through the year on the shortlist of species for priority taxonomic action which was drawn up at the AERC meeting in September 1999. In December 1999 the TSC members met together for the first time, during the winter meeting of the Records Committee. They agreed the first draft of guidelines for assigning species rank, and started work on the first group of species to be considered, putting these guidelines into practical effect, and refining them in the light of experience.

Good progress was made over the ensuing months, and a number of recommendations were put to the Records Committee at its summer meeting in June. These were all accepted, and are set out in the ‘Changes to the British List’ earlier in this report. Further proposals are expected to be made in about six months, and at similar intervals thereafter.


Acknowledgements
We receive a great deal of assistance with our work from a variety of people. We particularly wish to thank the following: Mark Adams, Dr Jeremy Austin, Dr Robert Prys-Jones, Harry Taylor, Cyril Walker and Mrs F E Warr (Library) (all of the Natural History Museum), Peter Allard, Ralph Anderson (Canterbury City Museums), Vicky Barlow (Mansfield Museum and Art Gallery), Dr David Bertie (Peterhead Museum), Hugh Clark, Peter Colston, David Cottridge, Nick Gordon (Saffron Walden Museum), Peter Hayman, Dr Anthony Irwin (Norwich Castle Museum), Dr Gerald Legg (Booth Museum, Brighton), Bob McGowan (National Museums of Scotland), Prof David Parkin (Nottingham University), Ian Robertson (Highland Council, Wick), Hadoram Shirihai, Will Wagstaff, Robert Walker, Dr Bernie Zonfrillo (Glasgow University), Jemima Parry-Jones, Duncan McNiven and Mark Thomas (RSPB Investigations Section), and Tim Inskipp. For continuous help throughout the year, we are especially grateful to Ian Dawson (RSPB Librarian) and Mike Rogers (BBRC Secretary).


Committee Membership
For the second year running, vacancies were advertised in birding and scientific journals. Since publication of the last Report, Ken Shaw has retired from the Committee, and his place has been taken by Andrew Harrop. The Committee is very grateful to Ken Shaw for his hard work, common sense and unfailing sense of humour during his years of service. The following served on the Committee during the period covered by this report (with expected year of retirement):

Tony Marr (Chairman) (2002)
Dr Tim Melling (Secretary) (2007)
Ken Shaw (2000)
Dr Alan Knox (2001)
Paul Harvey (2003)
Dr Roger Wilkinson (2004)
Dr Tony Prater (2005)
Ian Lewington (2006)
Eric Meek (2008)
Andrew Harrop (2009)
Prof Colin Bradshaw (BBRC Chairman, ex-officio)

British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee
The Natural History Museum
Akeman Street
Tring
Hertfordshire HP23 6AP
United Kingdom

E-mail: bourc.sec@bou.org.uk