'S (01 British Ornithologists’ Club r THE NATURAL history museum "6 JUN 2012 presented L : 1 Volume 132 No. 2 June 2012 FORTHCOMING MEETINGS See also BOC website: http://www.boc-online.org MEETINGS are open to all, not just BOC members and are free. Evening meetings commence with the talk at 6.00 pm. After the talk the cash bar opens and at 7.30 pm there is a light buffet supper (sandwiches etc.) costing £15 per person which must be ordered in advance. Vegetarian and gluten-free options can be ordered. The meetings are in Tower Rooms, Section A, Sherfield Building, Imperial College, South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ. The entrance is opposite the OupptVs Tower in the main quadrangle. The nearest Tube station is at South Kensington. For maps, see: http://www3. imperial.ac.uk/campusinfo/southkensington 12 June 2012 at 5.15pm in room SALC3 (5th floor of Sherfield building)— Annual General Meeting; 5.40pm— Special General Meeting At 6.00 pm — Hein van Grouw— What colour is that bird? How to recognise and name colour aberrations in birds For details, see the March Bulletin. It may be possible to make a late booking for supper if you contact the Chairman (see below) by 7 June 2012 Entry is free but those wishing to attend must notify the Chairman no later than Monday 11 June 2012 18 September 2012 at 6.00 pm— Prof. Graham Martin— Through birds' eyes: insights into avian sensory ecology Abstract: Sensory ecology investigates the information that underlies an animal's interactions with its environment. My talk will illustrate how information from different sensory systems in birds may complement each other or how there may be trade-offs within a sensory modality in the achievement of particular tasks. The emphasis will be on foraging, but other behaviours such as locomotion and predator detection are also addressed. Examples will include: (1) perceptual challenges of nocturnal activity in owls, kiwis and penguins; (2) interaction of tactile and visual information in foraging by probing birds and skimmers; 3) visual information used to guide stealth-foraging in herons, and how vision is influenced by filter-feeding techniques in ducks and flamingos; (4) case studies, exploring: (a) restrictions on information available to guide foraging in turbid waters by cormorants, and (b) application of a sensory ecology approach to understanding why birds collide with artefacts that intrude open airspace. Overall, the world through birds' eyes is quite different from that seen through human eyes, but there are many different 'bird's eye views'. Biography: Emeritus Prof. Graham Martin's research has focused on the sensory worlds of birds. He undertook graduate work at the Univ. of Exeter into the sensory bases of nocturnal activity in owls, followed by post-doctoral studies at the Univ. of Sussex on the function of coloured oil droplets in the colour vision of pigeons. At the Univ. of Birmingham he established the Centre for Ornithology and established the M.Sc. programme in Ornithology, the only such programme in Europe. He has travelled and collaborated widely in his career, publishing comparative research on >60 diverse species of birds. In retirement he continues his research and has just stood down as editor of Bird Study after seven years. He is Vice-President of the BOU and Council member of the European Ornithologists' Union. Those wishing to order the buffet supper should apply to the Chairman (address below) by Tuesday 4 September 2012 Entry is free but those wishing to attend must notify the Chairman no later than Monday 17 September 2012 23 October 2012 — Indian ornithology, British botany and Allan Octavian Hume (1829-1912): the scientific legacy of a founder of the Indian National Congress A one-day conference in the Flett Theatre, Natural History Museum (NHM), South Kensington organised by the NHM, and the South London Botanical Institute, supported by the Linnean Society of London and the British Ornithologists' Club. (See Club Announcements for further information.) The Chairman: Helen Baker, 60 Townfield, Rickmansworth, Herts WD3 7DD UK. Tel. +44 (0)1923 772441. E-mail: helen.baker60@tiscali.co.uk Club Announcements 73 THE NATl^L B.O.C. J012 132(2) HISTORY MUSEUM -6 JUN 2012 Bulletin of the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS* CLUB PRESENTED Vol. 132 No. 2 Published 6 June 2012 CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS Indian ornithology, British botany and Allan Octavian Hume (1829-1912): the scientific legacy of a founder of the Indian National Congress to be held at the Flett Theatre, NHM, South Kensington, Tuesday, 23 October 2012. A one-day meeting organised by the Natural History Museum (NHM) and South London Botanical Institute (SLBI), supported by the British Ornithologists' Club and the Linnean Society of London. Start 10.30 am (coffee available from 10.00 am). The conference will require advance booking and there will be a registration fee of £25 (includes buffet lunch and teas / coffees). Booking is being organised through the SLBI and details will appear on the BOC and SLBI websites in June. Planned talks: Allan Octavian Hume: a remarkable man— Honor Gay (NHM, London) Hume's ornithological activities in India— Nigel Collar (BirdLife International) Hume's Indian network of ornithologists— Robert Prys-Jones (NHM, London) The scientific legacy of Hume's ornithological studies— Pamela Rasmussen (Michigan State University Museum, USA) Hume and the Great Hedge of India— Roy Moxham (London) Hume's significance in Indian political history — Sriram Mehrotra (Shimla, India)— talk presented by Alice Moulton Ahead of his time and still relevant: Hume's legacy of administrative and philosophical initiatives— Edward Moulton (University of Manitoba, Canada) Possession and obsession: Hume's botanical collections— Keith Spurgin (Truro, Cornwall) Hume's final project: the South London Botanical Institute— Petra Broddle (SLBI, London) When booking, conference attendees will also be able to signify their interest in behind-the scenes tours to the South London Botanical Institute (founded by Hume and containing his botanical collections) on the preceding day (Monday, 22 October 2012) and to the Natural History Museum at Tring (where Hume's bird collections are stored) on the following day (Wednesday, 24 October 2012). Although places on these free tours will be restricted to those who have paid the conference booking fee, necessary constraints on numbers mean that participation will be subject to confirmation. The 968th meeting of the Club was a joint BOC, Neotropical Bird Club, Natural History Museum meeting on Birds of South and Middle America— recent advances in knowledge. It was held at the Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD on Saturday 29 October 2012. This was the first of a planned series of joint meetings to be held by the BOC and NHM in conjunction with various regional bird clubs. The day's programme was scheduled as six 45-minute talks, three before lunch and three after. The morning got underway with an illuminating talk from Natalie Seddon entitled Understanding biodiversity: insights from Amazonian birds. This was a last-minute change from the published title but it proved to be a fascinating insight into recent advances in our knowledge of taxonomic relationships and the incredible diversity of birds in Amazonia. She was followed by Huw Lloyd who spoke eloquently about conservation of high- Andean forest birds in Peru and the problems resulting from the fragmentation and degradation of high-altitude Polylepis woodlands. After two serious and thought- provoking presentations, James Lowen treated us to a glorious celebration of the wildlife of the Pantanal. This was no ordinary travelogue, however, and his beautifully illustrated and informative talk left me with an immediate desire to go there. After lunch Cristina Banks-Leite demonstrated how the understorey bird community of the Atlantic Forest of Brazil responds to habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation, based on a programme involving the capture of 7,000 birds of 140 species. The final talks took us to the most diverse country in the Neotropics. Robert Prys-Jones described the tri-national Project BioMap initiative whose aim has been to digitise and georeference all specimens of Colombian birds around the world. Cataloguing >200,000 skins has provided a valuable conservation resource, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses Club Announcements 74 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) in our knowledge of bird distribution in Colombia. Finally, Thomas Donegan explored recent advances in knowledge of Colombian birds, describing some of the new discoveries and discussing changes to Colombia's ever-increasing bird list as a result of taxonomic research. He also highlighted some of the steps being taken to conserve the country's birds and habitats. The organisers should be congratulated for putting together such an interesting and diverse selection of talks. The tone was academic but accessible, ensuring a broad appeal. The one talk that was more pictorial than academic was brilliantly conceived and delivered, and all of the speakers were well chosen. The chairing of the meeting could have been a little tighter, but overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable symposium and I look forward to others covering different regions of the world. Nigel Redman The 969th meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday 17 March 2012 in the Sherfield Building, Imperial College, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ. Sixteen members and 12 non-members were present. Members attending were: Miss H. BAKER (Chairman), K. F. BETTON, Cdr. M. B. CASEMENT, RN, S. E. CHAPMAN, F. M. GAUNTLETT, A. GIBBS, Dr J. G. GREENWOOD (Speaker), G. P. JACKSON, K. HERON JONES, R. R. LANGLEY, D. J. MONTIER, Dr R. P. PRYS-JONES, R. PRYTHERCH, P. RUDGE, S. A. H. STATHAM and M. J. WALTON. Non-members attending were: Ms J. BEAMISH, R. COLE, R. COWSER, I. EVISON, Mrs M. H. GAUNTLETT, Dr H. GREENWOOD, Mrs J. HERON JONES, T. KITTLE, Mrs M. MONTIER, Mrs A. J. MCDONALD, P. NIXON and Ms H. TYRRELL. Julian Greenwood's presentation A long-term study of Black Guillemots in Ireland commenced by examining the history of his study colony in Bangor, Co. Down, where Black Guillemots Cepphus grylle have nested for >100 years. Despite crowds of holiday makers, reconstruction of the harbour, powerboat competitions, ferry movements, sailing events, predation by Hooded Crows Corvus corax corone and nest-site competition from feral pigeons, the birds have bred successfully (mean 1.0 young per pair). Success has come, in part, from the provision of nesting boxes— there are now c.60 nesting sites in the harbour, c.50% of which are used per annum. Julian has been working with Black Guillemots for 27 years, during which he has discovered that the Bangor birds behave somewhat differently from information provided in the literature. For instance, the pre-breeding season starts in October of the previous autumn when prospecting birds make their first visits and continue to visit constantly throughout the early mornings. These visits become earlier (in relation to sunrise) as winter turns to spring. First-egg dates have averaged 21 May (though egg laying has become earlier in springs with warmer sea temperatures). Socially, Black Guillemots are monogamous, but biologically they are not, with several examples of birds changing mates between seasons (sometimes returning to previous mates) as well as moving between sites within the colony. Ringing of young has shown movement from the Irish Sea to Donegal and Cork as well as to Scotland and England. There is a gap in ringing recoveries along the western Irish coast— a project for ringers in the future. Ninth Conference of the European Ornithologists' Union 2013 (28-31 August 2013, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK) The European Ornithologists' Union (EOU) has been founded as an equal partnership among avian biologists across Europe to provide an international forum for the advancement of European ornithology in all its aspects. The bi-annual conferences provide ideal platforms to make contact, exchange ideas and disseminate knowledge. The Council of the EOU and the local organisers cordially invite you to join the 9th EOU conference to be held at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, on 28-31 August 2013. The event will be jointly organised by the British Trust for Ornithology, British Ornithologists' Union, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the University of East Anglia. The conference aims to bring together a wide range of researchers in ecology, behaviour, evolution, physiology, morphology, systematics and conservation biology of birds to exchange ideas and develop future research projects. Information on the conference venue, deadlines, registration fees, excursions, contacts etc. are available and will be further updated at http://www.norwich.eounion.org. International Ornithological Congress of Southeast Asia Phuket, Thailand, 27-29 November 2012 We invite all professional and amateur ornithologists, local or international, interested in any aspects relating to birds in South-east Asia to join us at an International Ornithological Congress in Phuket, peninsular Thailand, in November, 2012. This congress is the first organised specifically for South-east Asian birds. We hope that it will become a regular event in future years. Please register online and submit your abstract at http://www.harrison-institute.org/IOCSEA/index.html. Deadlines are as follows: regular registration 16 May-15 July 2012 and late registration until 15 August 2012. Deadline for Abstract submission is 15 June 2012. Lars Svensson 75 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) A new subspecies of Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis and criteria for separating Western from Eastern Orphean Warbler S. crassirostris by Lars Svensson Received 8 January 2012 Summary. — A distinctive new subspecies of Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis, a species previously regarded as monotypic, is described. The new subspecies breeds in a restricted area in north-east Libya. This population has previously been treated as either intermediate or, more usually, belonging to S. crassirostris (Eastern Orphean Warbler). Criteria helpful for the separation of Western and Eastern Orphean Warblers are presented, including biometrics and details of an almost invariably diagnostic tail pattern. For c.100 years, the Orphean Warbler was regarded as a polytypic species comprising 3-4 subspecies ranging from Iberia and north-west Africa to southern Central Asia. With a better appreciation of differences in vocalisations, morphology, moult and genetic markers, in recent years it has been treated as Western Orphean Warbler S. hortensis and Eastern Orphean Warbler S. crassirostris, either as two allospecies (Shirihai et al. 2001, Kirwan et al. 2008) or two biological species (e.g. Svensson et al. 2009, Porter & Aspinall 2010). The dividing line between them runs through central Europe east of Switzerland and Italy, south in the Adriatic Sea and across the Mediterranean Sea to somewhere in northern Libya. Following the split. Western Orphean Warbler was judged to be monotypic, whereas Eastern is polytypic with 2-3 subspecies depending on adopted taxonomy. The two species differ by as much as 6.4% in mitochondrial DNA (three samples each of hortensis and crassirostris, Shirihai et al. 2001; H. Shirihai in litt. 2011), considerably more than is typical for subspecies. Other important differences are: diagnosably distinct songs, different tail pattern, nearly always different undertail-coverts pattern and a few more subtle differences in plumage which at least when used in combination are diagnostic for all birds. There are also differences in mean bill length (although there is considerable overlap; Table 1) and sometimes bill colour. Subspecies and geographical range The following is the taxonomy commonly employed in various recent checklists and field guides (see references above), and to be adopted in the forthcoming Handbook of Western Palearctic birds (Shirihai & Svensson in prep.). Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis (J. F. Gmelin, 1789).— Type locality: France. Range: Iberia, southern France, northernmost Italy and, locally, Switzerland. Also breeds in north-west Africa from Morocco east to Tunisia and at least in part of Libya. Eastern Orphean Warbler Sylvia c. crassirostris Cretzschmar, 1826. — Type locality: Nubia [winter]. Range: Slovenia east through the Balkans and Asia Minor, probably reaching western Transcaucasia; south to the Levant. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Lars Svensson 76 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Sylvia c. jerdoni (Blyth, 1847).— Type locality: South India [winter]. Range: Eastern (or possibly all of) Transcaucasia, Transcaspia, Iran east through Pakistan to extreme north-west India, north to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Differs from nominate in having darker and better-marked cap in males, in particular towards nape, paler and greyer, less drab brown rest of upperparts and paler, more cream-white underparts, less tinged pinkish-grey. Bill averages longer. (Syn.: balchanica Zarudny & Bilkevitch, 1918.) Vaurie (1954) recognised balchanica from Transcaspia and much of Iran (except the south-east) with type locality Great Balkhan in western Transcaspia. He claimed that this form differed sufficiently by male plumage having a more distinct and extensive cap than crassirostris, and in being paler above with a proportionately longer tail, though not quite as pale and black-capped as typical jerdoni. However, when recently comparing long series' of all taxa it was difficult to agree with Vaurie's view. All Eastern Orphean Warbler populations form a dine from west to east with increasing distinctness of male cap, paler upperparts and subtly paler underparts, and proportionately longer tail, and it becomes a matter of how many taxa to formally recognise along this dine. In my opinion, it is in this case sufficient to name the ends of the dine. The overall differences are anyway rather slight. The male cap becomes on average more distinct and blackish at the rear somewhere in Transcaucasia (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, though some birds as far west as the Taurus Mountains, south central Turkey, can possess a quite distinct cap, too), and Transcaucasia can be seen to form a comparatively narrow transition zone between the two main forms, crassirostris and jerdoni. The mainly Iranian ' balchanica ' is much closer in appearance to jerdoni than to crassirostris , and best included within it. This agrees with Williamson (1968). Tail pattern in the Orphean Warbler complex To test the diagnostic value of the tail pattern I examined a large number of well- prepared specimens of Western and Eastern Orphean Warblers at the Natural History Museum, Tring (BMNH) and American Museum of Natural History, New York (AMNH), and in the collections in the Paris, Leiden, Copenhagen and Stockholm museums (total numbers measured can be seen in Table 1, although many more were examined for plumage characters). This revealed that the tail pattern is invariably diagnostic for adults (Figs. 4-7, 11), and provides 99% separation of juveniles with practice (Figs. 8 and 10). A few Western and Eastern juveniles possess a more similar pattern but can still nearly always be separated given the tendency in Western to mirror the pattern of the adult, with a long and narrow pale wedge on the inner web of the outermost rectrix, with the pale area not widening distally, whereas in the most similar juvenile Eastern there is frequently a hint of a more obtusely widening pale tip on this feather, again recalling adult pattern. As Figs. 8 and 10 demonstrate, a tiny number of juveniles or first- winters can have very nearly the same tail pattern, and identification of these requires careful attention to plumage colours and bill (see below and Table 1). In adults, a narrow, pointed and long white wedge on the second outermost rectrix occurs only in Western Orphean Warbler (Fig. 11), whereas the white tip to this feather in adult Eastern is typically short and square. Such a long, narrow wedge is not always present on the second outermost rectrix in Western— some possess just a small white tip— but when it is present it has high diagnostic value. A few Western Orphean Warblers even possess a narrow white wedge on the inner web of the third outermost rectrix. In Shirihai et al. (2001: 166), three drawings of the tail pattern in the Orphean Warbler complex are presented. Unfortunately, all three legends are incorrect and should read from left to right: hortensis (juv.), crassirostris (ad.) and hortensis (ad.). The error is repeated in the main text. © 2012 The Authors; foumal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Lars Svensson 77 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) I CjjMniUctL, Jtjr, Figure 1. Holotype (lower) and syntypes (upper three) of Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis cyrenaicae (L. Svensson / © American Museum of Natural History) Figure 2. Holotype (lower) and syntypes (upper three) of Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis cyrenaicae (L. Svensson / © American Museum of Natural History) Figure 3. Holotype (lower) and syntypes (upper three) of Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis cyrenaicae (L. Svensson / © American Museum of Natural History) Figure 4. Holotype of Sylvia hortensis cyrenaicae showing tail pattern typical for all adult Western Orphean Warblers with long narrow white wedge on inner web of outermost rectrix and smaller narrow wedge on second outermost feather (L. Svensson / © American Museum of Natural History) Figure 5. Tail of Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia h. hortensis from Oran, western Algeria, April; note long narrow white wedge on inner web of outermost rectrix (L. Svensson / © American Museum of Natural History) Figure 6. Tail of adult Eastern Orphean Warbler Sylvia c. crassirostris from Mostar, Bosnia, May; note clear difference from Western Orphean Warbler S. hortensis in that white wedge on inner web of outermost rectrix is short and broad, widening at tip, and white tips to fourth and fifth rectrices are invariably short, broad and obtuse (L. Svensson / © American Museum of Natural History) © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Lars Svensson 78 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Variation in bill size and bill colour Differences in bill length and bill colour between Western and Eastern Orphean Warblers have frequently been exaggerated in the literature. The bill of Eastern averages longer and the base of its lower mandible is more often contrastingly pale bluish compared to the slightly shorter and more darkish bill of Western, but there is considerable overlap in bill length (Table 1) and the amount of pale blue is linked to bill length, shorter bills having less. Within Western Orphean Warbler a certain clinal variation in bill length can be observed as already noted by Watson (1964). Breeders in Europe have subtly shorter bills than those in North Africa. Mean bill lengths (to skull) in my material are for presumed breeders (collected in May-early August) in Europe 16.8 mm (15.1-18.2 mm; n = 34, SD 0.76), Morocco to Tunisia 17.4 mm (16.0-18.7 mm; n = 29, SD 0.83) and Cyrenaica 19.2 mm (18.5-20.3 mm; n = 7, SD 0.64). It can be seen from these measurements that there is very little overlap between the north-west African and the Cyrenaican populations (although sample size of Cyrenaican birds is small). If four presumed birds presumed to belong to this population based on bill size, general plumage coloration and tail pattern are added, two collected in May in Niger and singles in October and November in Mali (BMNH 1932.8.6.412, 1932.8.6.414, 1932.8.6.417 and 1932.8.6.418), the statistics for bill to skull of the Cyrenaican birds become 19.1 mm (18.5-20.3 mm; n = 11, SD 0.53). Judging from specimens and photographs. Western Orphean Warblers of the nominate subspecies have on average a somewhat darker bill than Eastern Orphean Warblers. There is some overlap, but quite a few Western with a shorter bill (bill measurements in the lower half of the range of variation) appear to possess all-dark bills. Those with a slightly longer bill can show a small pale blue-grey base, and some, including all Cyrenaican birds examined, possess a larger pale base and appear largely inseparable from Eastern Orphean Warbler using this trait alone. Bill length in Eastern Orphean Warbler varies, too. Eastern jerdoni has a markedly longer bill than the nominate race (Table 1). Also, within the nominate race slight variation is apparent, with birds from the Levant having the shortest bill (mean 17.6 mm, 16.4-19.6 mm, n = 19, SD 0.91), breeders in Greece and the Balkans being intermediate (mean 18.2 mm, 17.0-19.1 mm, n = 19, SD 0.67) and those from Turkey having the longest bill (mean 18.4 mm, 17.8-19.6 mm, n = 5, SD 0.73). Note that in the Levant sample the bird with a bill measuring 19.6 mm, and indeed others in this sample, could have been migrants to Turkey since for this group birds from late March and April were included. Both bill length and bill colour of the Cyrenaican birds are similar to those found in Eastern Orphean Warbler, mean length and colour pattern falling between crassirostris and jerdoni. The population in north-east Libya Hartert and Hilgert discovered a small breeding population of Orphean Warblers near the town of A1 Map (formerly Merg or Barce) in north-eastern Libya during their two- month visit to Cyrenaica in 1922 (Hartert 1923). This was the first breeding record of the species in this part of Libya. They collected four birds, now at AMNH, which they identified as crassirostris (nowadays Eastern Orphean Warbler of the nominate race). Hartert probably was influenced in his diagnosis by the long, bicoloured bills. He remarked on their rather simple song, comparing it among other species to Common Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus, but did not draw conclusions from this observation. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Lars Svensson 79 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Subsequently, in 1952, Stanford (1954) visited Wadi al Kuf and Messa c.20 km east of Benghazi, also in north Cyrenaica, where in April he, too, observed the birds in question and collected three, now held at BMNH. He regarded them as intermediates between hortensis and crassirostris. He also commented on the song, which like Hartert he considered simple. Based on his description it is reasonable to assume that the song is very similar to that of hortensis. Stanford reported: 'I shot a male singing in oak trees ..., a four-syllabled song, constantly repeated, which was notably distinct, and reminded me of some notes of a Blackbird/ The few notes and the repetitive nature of the song match only Western Orphean Warbler. Eastern Orphean Warbler has a longer, more complex and pleasing song, often likened to that of Common Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos, and quite different to the rather monotonous short strophe of Western Orphean Warbler, at times compared to the song of Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus. Vaurie (1954) and Williamson (1968) referred the Cyrenaican breeders to crassirostris, following Hartert. Most authors mention the mix of characters from both Western and Eastern populations noted in these birds. Haffer & Glutz von Blotzheim (in Glutz von Blotzheim & Bauer 1991) state that the Cyrenaican population is intermediate, but under the range description Isenmann, responsible for most of the Orphean Warbler account, clearly states that all Libyan breeders can be referred to western hortensis (pp. 737-739, loc. cit.). This latter suggestion was not followed by Shirihai et al. (2001), at least not whole- heartedly. In dealing with the range of Western Orphean Warbler (p. 157), this is given as 'NW (also NE?) Libya', indicating that the Cyrenaican population had been considered possibly belonging to the western species. However, later in the same book (p. 167) the Cyrenaican range is firmly placed within the eastern species. In a note ('N.B. T, p. 168) we read: 'Those from further east in Cyrenaica, NE Libya . . . are closer to crassirostris overall (including bill characters), but darker and have underparts mainly like nominate . . . They were regarded as S. [h.] hortensis by Isenmann (1991), but bioacoustic evidence appears to be lacking.' As related above, song descriptions do exist. The taxonomic assessment of the north-east Libyan birds in Shirihai et al. (2001) is therefore at best undecided. In summary, all authors have noted the intermediary character of the north-east Libyan birds, but only Isenmann in Glutz von Blotzheim & Bauer (1991) clearly referred them to the western species or, as it was before the split, the western subspecies. Following the split— a taxonomic change that seems unusually well founded based on DNA, song and morphology, which goes back to early research by Shirihai et al. (2001, and pers. comm.), and has been adopted by the Association of European Records and Rarities Committees (AERC 2010)— it is no longer possible to regard the north-east Libyan population as intermediate or as a bridge between hortensis and crassirostris, it must be referred to one or the other. During my work with the above-mentioned handbook, I took a critical look at the seven specimens, the three in BMNH and four in AMNH. It was soon evident that these birds belong to Western Orphean Warbler, based on tail pattern (see above) and undertail-coverts pattern, in both respects the same pattern as found in all populations of hortensis examined (including birds from Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Spain, France and Italy) and in contrast to the plumage of crassirostris. Supporting evidence comes from the published descriptions of the song. The birds in north-east Libya differ sufficiently from all other populations of the Western Orphean Warbler to constitute a separate subspecies, which I here name: Sylvia hortensis cyrenaicae, subsp. nov. Holotype. — Adult male, AMNH no. 595763, collected by E. Hartert & C. Hilgert near Al Marj ('Merg') c.85 km north-east of Benghazi, c.18 km from the coast, in north-east Libya, on © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Lars Svensson 80 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Figure 7. Tail of adult Eastern Orphean Warbler Sylvia crassirostris jerdoni from Sirax, south of Tedzhen, south-east Turkmenistan, March; note similar tail pattern to nominate Eastern in Fig. 6. (L. Svensson / © American Museum of Natural History) Figure 8. Tail of first-winter Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia h. hortensis from Sidi Moussa, Mazagan, Morocco, September; although white portions are more sullied and off-white, and patterns diffuser, the typical pattern of adult Western is still clearly visible with long and narrow whitish wedge on outermost rectrix (L. Svensson / © American Museum of Natural History) Figure 9. Tail of first-winter Eastern Orphean Warbler Sylvia c. crassirostris from Nabulus, Palestine, September; although the white portions are more sullied and off-white in a young bird, and patterns diffuser, the typical main pattern of adult Eastern is already visible (L. Svensson / © Natural History Museum, Tring) Figure 10. Tail of first-winter Eastern Orphean Warbler Sylvia c. crassirostris from Port Sudan, Sudan, December; this bird is more difficult to identify using tail pattern, but note that a large part of the tip of the outermost rectrix is mainly whitish, the dark portion on inner web stopping well short of the tip; cf. Fig. 8 (L. Svensson / © Natural History Museum, Tring) Figure 11. Tail of adult Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia h. hortensis from Eluzzus River, Air, Niger, October; note deep, pointed white wedge also on second outermost rectrix, a fairly common variation in Western but usually not seen in Eastern Orphean Warbler S. crassirostris (L. Svensson / © American Museum of Natural History) © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Lars Svensson 81 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) 9 May 1922. The sex and age are evident from plumage colours and wear. Measurements: wing length (max.) 79 mm, tail 65 mm, tarsus 21.3 mm, bill to skull 19.5 mm, bill depth at feathering 5.2 mm. Sooty black cap with diffuse rear edge, pale drab to greyish-olive mantle and back, whitish underparts with vinaceous-buff tinge to flanks and vent, pale vinaceous- buff undertail-coverts lacking darker grey centres (or with only diffuse light drab centres). (Colours after Ridgway 1912.) Bill long and pointed with about half of inner lower mandible pale bluish-grey (bluish-grey colour becoming straw-yellow on dried specimens). See Figs. 1-3. Label.— On one side in print: Rothschild Museum. Written in ink: Merg, Cyrenaica. 11/5/1922. S s. Hartert & Hilgert coll. On other side: Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 595763. Sylvia orphea crassirostris Cretzschm. Paratypes.— The following three specimens have been selected as paratypes. Adult male, AMNH no. 595762, 11 May 1922, A1 Marj, wing length 86 mm, tail 67 mm, tarsus 22.6 mm, bill to skull 19.7 mm, bill depth at feathering 5.3 mm; second year male, AMNH no. 595764, 9 May 1922, near A1 Marj, wing length 79 mm, tail 65.5 mm, tarsus 23.6 mm, bill to skull 18.7 mm, bill depth at feathering 4.5 mm; adult female, AMNH no. 595766, 9 May 1922, near A1 Marj, wing length 80.5 mm, tail 65 mm, tarsus 23.5 mm, bill to skull 19.0 mm, bill depth at feathering 5.0 mm. Distribution.— Known to breed only at the type locality and close to Benghazi, but presumed range probably includes similar habitats in adjacent areas of northern Cyrenaica. Birds further west, in northern Tripolitania in north-west Libya, are generally regarded to be nominate hortensis, but this may require confirmation. Bundy (1976) shows a similar range in northern Cyrenaica as here indicated. Stanford (1954) cites a R. S. M. Green (member of a lancers' regiment near Benghazi) to have observed the species 'on the north coast on 10 September', but this could of course have referred to a migrant from Europe. That the birds studied by Hartert, Hilgert and Stanford were breeding is beyond doubt. Hartert saw recently fledged young on 9 May, and on the label of one of the paratypes (AMNH 595764) enlarged testes are drawn in ink. Diagnosis.— Bo th sexes share the tail pattern of hortensis with a long and narrow white wedge on the inner web of the outermost rectrix reaching far towards the base without broadening distally, the dark innermost portion on the inner web reaching far out, close to the tip of the feather (Fig. 4). Also, the undertail-coverts are sullied cream-buff without the darker greyish centres typical of Eastern Orphean Warbler. Lower belly and vent are also faintly tinged vinaceous-buff rather than being whitish with a drab-grey hue. (Colours after Ridgway 1912.) It is thus clearly a form of Western Orphean Warbler. However, the new taxon differs from other hortensis populations in having a slightly paler mantle and back, and a longer and more obviously two-toned bill. Normally, Western Orphean Warbler has a somewhat shorter bill, sometimes all dark but more commonly with about a third or less of the lower mandible basally paler, whereas Eastern has a somewhat longer bill with a prominent pale base to the lower mandible, habitually the inner half of the lower mandible is pale blue-grey. In short, the north-east Libyan population resembles a pale hortensis with a crassirostris bill. The underparts are slightly paler than in typical hortensis, having only a somewhat subdued vinaceous-buff tinge to the flanks and vent, but certainly some appear similar. Darkness and distinctness of the sooty-black cap in males appears intermediate between Western and Eastern Orphean Warblers although closest to Western, the rear border being slightly diffuse. There is a fair degree of variation in darkness and distinctness of the dark cap in males in all but the eastern race jerdoni of Eastern Orphean Warbler, which invariably has a blackish and well-marked cap, hence this pattern is given limited importance in the diagnosis. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Lars Svensson 82 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) TABLE 1 Measurements (mm) for all taxa in the Orphean Warbler complex. Only specimens collected on presumed breeding sites included. All measurements taken by the author, following measuring standards presented in Svensson (1992). For all taxa, data are presented in the form mean ± standard deviation, (range) plus (n = sample size). Sexes have been combined since differences generally were within 1% and never exceeded 2%. Wing (max.) Tail Bill to skull Tarsus S. h. hortensis 80.1 ±2.99 65.6 ±2.76 17.1 ±0.86 22.6 ±0.62 (73.0-87.0) (n=80) (59.0-72.0) (n= 82) (15.1-19.0) (w=81) (21.0-24.0) (n=80) S. h. cyrenaicae 82.9 ±3.33 65.8 ± 1.22 19.2 ±0.64 22.9 ±0.87 (79.0-87.0) (n=7) (65.0-68.0) (n=7) (18.5-20.3) (n=7) (21.3-23.6) (n=7) S. c. crassirostris 80.5 ±1.94 66.6 ±2.42 18.1 ±0.76 22.9 ±0.60 (77.0-84.5) (n= 66) (61.0-74.0) (n=67) (16.4-19.6) (n=66) (21.5-24.2) (n=66) S. c. jerdoni 80.7 ±2.32 67.6 ±2.72 19.7 ± 1.04 23.0 ±0.69 (76.5-87.0) (n=40) (62.0-73.0) (n=40) (17.8-21.8) (n=39) (21.5-24.0) (n=34) From the labels of two of the syntypes we learn the colour of the soft parts: 'iris ivory-white, bill blackish-horn with base of lower mandible palest blue, feet brownish lead- coloured/ Etymology. —The proposed name refers to the restricted range, apparently confined to the north-eastern province Cyrenaica of Libya. Discussion The Cyrenaican population merits recognition as a distinct taxon, especially when the Orphean Warbler complex is split into two species. It is perhaps more of an open question to which species it should be referred. As related above, Hartert (1923) identified it as crassirostris and most authors since have accepted this. In my opinion there is compelling evidence for referring cyrenaicae to Western Orphean Warbler as already done by Isenmann in Glutz von Blotzheim & Bauer (1991). Based on existing descriptions the song is obviously of the simple, repetitive kind typical of Western Orphean. The tail pattern, as here shown, is the same as all other Western Orphean populations, as is the undertail-coverts pattern. That the bill size is larger than normal and the body plumage slightly paler can in my opinion be explained as two presumably more easily adaptable traits dependent on ecological factors than are the exact tail pattern and the undertail-coverts pattern, both most likely of more significant weight when relationships are estimated using external morphology. Bills of populations in more arid and warm climates often become larger (presumably because insect prey possess thicker shells or skin), and plumage colours are often paler in arid climates. Therefore, when all the evidence is considered, the Cyrenaican population should be referred to the Western rather than to the Eastern species. Acknowledgements My thanks are due to the staff in all visited museums for making material available, in particular to Joel Cracraft and Paul Sweet of AMNH, New York, where the type series is located. Mary LeCroy kindly provided material which was helpful when the first draft was sketched. My visit to New York was supported by a generous Chapman Collection Study Grant, for which I am very grateful. Hadoram Shirihai is thanked for commenting helpfully on a first draft. I am grateful also to Paul Isenmann, the first to fully appreciate the relationship of the Cyrenaican population, for some explanations and background material. Jan Bolding Kristensen helped with data on the Danish specimens, and Mark Adams and Hein Van Grouw were similarly helpful regarding Tring specimens. Martin Collinson and Alan Knox provided helpful comments during the review process. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Lars Svensson 83 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) References: Haffer, J. & Glutz von Blotzheim, U. N. 1991. Sylvia hortensis - Orpheusgrasmiicke. Geographische Variation. Pp. 731-732 in Glutz von Blotzheim, U. N. & Bauer, K. M. (eds.) Handbuch der Vogel Mitteleuropas, Bd. 12/11. Aula, Wiesbaden. Hartert, E. 1923. On the birds of Cyrenaica. Novit. Zool. 30: 1-32. Isenmann, P. 1991. Sylvia hortensis - Orpheusgrasmiicke. Brutgebiet. Pp. 737-740 in Glutz von Blotzheim, U. N. & Bauer, K. M. (eds.) Handbuch der Vogel Mitteleuropas, Bd. 12/11. Aula, Wiesbaden. Kirwan, G. M., Boyla, K., Castell, P., Demirci, B., Ozen, M., Welch, H. & Marlow, T. 2008. The birds of Turkey. Christopher Helm, London. Porter, R. & Aspinall, S. 2010. Birds of the Middle East. Second edn. Christopher Helm, London. Ridgway, R. 1912. Color standards and color nomenclature. Privately published, Washington DC. Shirihai, H., Gargallo, G. & Helbig, A. J. 2001. Sylvia warblers. Christopher Helm, London. Shirihai, H. & Svensson, L. in prep. Handbook of Western Palearctic birds, vol. 1. Christopher Helm, London. Stanford, J. K. 1954. Ornithology of northern Libya. Ibis 96: 606-624. Svensson, L. 1992. Identification guide to European passerines. Fourth edn. Privately published, Stockholm. Svensson, L., Mullamey, K. & Zetterstrom, D. 2009. Collins bird guide. Second edn. HarperCollins, London. Vaurie, C. 1954. Systematic notes on Palearctic birds. No. 11. Sylviinae: the genus Sylvia. Amer. Mus. Novit. 1692: 1-17. Watson, G. E. 1964. Ecology and evolution of passerine birds on the islands of the Aegean Sea. Ph.D. thesis. Yale Univ. Microfilms Inc., Ann Arbor, MI. Williamson, K. 1968. Identification for ringers, 3. The genus Sylvia. Second edn. British Trust for Ornithology, Tring. Address: Lars Svensson, S:ta Toras vag 28, 269 77 Torekov, Sweden, e-mail: lars@lullula.se © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 84 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Avifauna of the Foja Mountains of western New Guinea by Bruce M. Beehler , Jared M. Diamond , Neville Kemp , Edwin Scholes III , Christopher Milensky & Timothy G. Taman Received 9 September 2011 Summary. —We summarise the results of 105 days of ornithological field survey in the Foja Mountains of Indonesian New Guinea in 1979, 1981, 2005, 2007 and 2008, with observations ranging from the foothills at Kwerba (73 m) to one of the western summits at 2,175 m. Our results total 237 confirmed species, with another five requiring confirmation, and a new, distinct population of a Ducula pigeon. We provide notes on species of distributional, ecological or behavioural interest and also examine the presence / absence of montane bird species in New Guinea's northern coastal ranges, in which the Foja range occupies a central position. Foja harbours 46 confirmed montane bird species. By contrast, we obtained the following totals for adjacent northern ranges: Wandammen (33), Cyclops (19) and Bewani / Torricelli (28). The Foja Mountains are the third most species-rich outlying range in New Guinea, after the Huon uplands (72 montane species) and Bird's Head uplands (65). The only two species unexpectedly absent from Foja are Superb Bird-of-Paradise Lophorina superba and Midget Myzomela Myzomela adolphinae (which occur both to the west and east in the northern ranges). Further study should focus on the summits in the eastern sector and the lower montane zone at 800-1,200 m. Finally, the Cyclops and Wandammen mountains are under- surveyed and merit additional field work, which should generate many species additions to these isolated montane environments. Conservation efforts for the Foja Mountains should focus on preserving extensive contiguous tracts of upland forest to conserve both restricted-range upland biota and the ecosystem services generated by this extensive massif. New Guinea, the largest tropical island, exhibits an array of mountain ranges of varying height, extent and degree of isolation (Fig. 1). New Guinea's diverse physiography and equatorial situation has fostered avian speciation and subspecific differentiation highlighted over the last century by Mayr (1941, 1942, 1963), Rand & Gilliard (1967), Diamond (1972, 1985), Coates (1985, 1990) and Beehler et al. (1986). It appears that New Guinea's main cordillera and adjacent outlying ranges have together acted as an evolutionary engine (Diamond 1985) much like the Andes and its outliers (Garcia-Moreno et al. 1999), albeit on a lesser scale. The outlying ranges of New Guinea constitute a frontier of ornithological exploration (Diamond 1969, 1982, 1985, Pratt 1982, Beehler et al. 2007, Beehler & Prawiradilaga 2010). Diamond (1985) reviewed many of the interesting aspects of New Guinea's 15 outlying mountain ranges, which has encouraged follow-up field and museum studies. Of particular interest are those isolated northern ranges (Fig. 1) that include, from west to east, the Wandammen, Van Rees, Foja, Cyclops, Bewani and Torricelli ranges— extending from northern Papua (Indonesia) into north-west Papua New Guinea (hereafter PNG). Here we refer to this central group of ranges as the 'north coastal ranges' (from which we omit the mountains of the Bird's Head [=Vogelkop] and Huon Peninsulas— two substantially higher and more extensive montane regions in New Guinea). Our particular focus is the 'upland' © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 85 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Figure 1. Locator map for the Foja Mountains and other outlying mountain ranges in central and western New Guinea. Note that the mountains of the Huon Peninsula lie off this map and are located c.100 km south-east of the Adelbert Mountains (at the far right of the map). (>300 m elevation) and 'montane' (>1,000 m) birdlife of the Foja Mountains in the context of these isolated ranges of central New Guinea. Because of its small extent, lower height and incomplete survey, we omit the Van Rees Mountains from this discussion. Following the taxonomic results of recent exploration of the Foja Mountains of western New Guinea (Beehler & Prawiradilaga 2010), here we summarise the distributional results of five surveys of these mountains— identified by Diamond (1985) as the least-known major outlying range on New Guinea. The initial ornithological reconnaissance field trips by Diamond in affiliation with the Worldwide Fund for Nature-Indonesia (Diamond 1982, 1985) were followed by a hiatus of 24 years, brought about by the logistical and political difficulties that Conservation International faced in mounting a formal biodiversity expedition into these very isolated mountains in Indonesian New Guinea. These follow-on 'RAPs' (Rapid Assessments) organised and led by Conservation International (Cl) in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution and the Indonesian Institute of Science were inspired by Diamond's discovery that the Foja Mountains were home to the Tost' Golden-fronted Bowerbird Amblyornis flavifrons — a. species described in 1896 by Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild from trade skins collected without geographic attribution (see Beehler & Prawiradilaga 2010). An overflight by BMB in a single-engine aircraft in 1987 provided an overview of the western summit region of the Foja range, where a boggy opening at 1,652 m appeared to offer the best means of helicopter access to the interior uplands. Planning continued on and off for two decades, including additional overflights in 1994 and early 2005. During this period. Cl established a field programme in the Mamberamo Basin and constructed a field station in Kwerba village, in the western foothills where the summit ridges lead down to the main flow of the Mamberamo River (Fig. 1). © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 86 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Field work and study sites 1979 (11-18 October).— Accompanied by a Dani man named Wiwor, JMD was dropped by helicopter onto a gravel riverbank at an elevation of 600 m on the southern slope of the range, and observed birds at 600-1,400 m along a trail that Wiwor cleared. 1981 (30 January-13 February).— Accompanied by the Dani men Wiwor and Oba and by the botanist H. Makabory, JMD was transported by helicopter to a boggy clearing at 1,621 m and surveyed birds at 1,000-2,027 m along trails that Wiwor and Oba cleared. Diamond's landing site may be the same bog that subsequent Cl expeditions visited, but coordinates differ sufficiently to make this assumption speculative (the field trip took place prior to the advent of GPS). 2005 (15 November-9 December).— The 14 scientists of the CI-RAP team arrived at Kwerba (73 m), which served as the expedition base. The hill forest team (with ornithologist NK) surveyed on foot from Kwerba to forest at 750 m, above the hill forest base at Hotice (700 m). The mountain team was ferried by helicopter to the Bog Camp (1,652 m) on 22 November and stayed until 7 December. The mountain team (with ornithologist BMB) operated from a single camp established at the Bog, but visited forests at 1,200-1,900 m (see Beehler 2006). 2007 (14-25 June).— The joint 60 Minutes / Cl-science team (ornithologists BMB & TL) arrived at Papasena village base camp on 14 June and went by helicopter to the Bog Camp on 15 June, staying until 25 June. All field work was conducted within 2 km of the Bog Camp. 2008 (27 October-26 November).— The second CI-RAP Team arrived at Kwerba on 27 October. BMB led a foothills reconnaissance up the Ibem River to 273 m elevation on 29 October-3 November. The mountain team (with ornithologists NK, TL, ES, CM & M. White) was ferried by helicopter to the Bog Camp on 6 November. Operations from the Bog Camp continued until 26 November, with two satellite camps established at higher and lower elevations for short periods. Upper Camp (1,970 m) operated 12-18 November with the highest point being a broad forested summit at c.2,175 m. Lower Camp (1,250 m) was occupied 19-24 November (see Oliver et al. 2011). Birds were mist-netted at the western summit, above Upper Camp on 16 and 18 November 2008. Foja Camp locations. — Papasena: 02°91.8'S, 138°54.8'E (48 m); Kwerba: 02°64.2'S, 138°40.9'E (73 m); Lower Camp: 02°59.2'S, 138°71.9'E (1,250 m); Bog Camp: 02°57.2'S, 138°71.7'E (1,652 m); Upper Camp 02°56.6'S, 138°69.2'E (1,970 m); Summit (mist-nets set, but no camp): 02°563'S, 138°68.0'E (2,175 m). Forest environments.— The forests of the Foja Mountains are probably typical of the north coastal ranges of New Guinea. They lie on poorly-lithified deepwater siltstones that are unstable, and which in areas of relief show much evidence of land movement and forest disturbance. The rivers flowing from of the south side of the Foja range gouge broad rocky flood ways with much exposed blackish siltstone. These siltstones, in turn, are underlain by igneous rocks found in the courses of interior riverbeds. The foothill forests are tall, festooned with vines, with many buttressed species, including Octomeles sumatrana, Intsia sp., Sloanea sp., Pometia pinnata, various figs, Caryota palms and many pandans, palms and canes. Van Heist et al. (2010) provided a quantitative description of the low foothill forests, noting many poorly known or still undescribed tree species. Montane forests are heavily disturbed because of the instability of the parent rock, and exhibit mossing as low as 1,200 m, evidence of persistent mist year-round. The presence of stands of the casuarina Gymnostoma sp., and the super-emergent Araucaria cunninghamii at middle elevations are visible from the air. Forests above 1,500 m are very heavily mossed, but quite well developed on plateau © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 87 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) areas, with tall, large-girthed canopy trees. During JMD's field work, H. Makabory noted that dominant trees at the 1981 bog camp included species of Calophyllum, Nothofagus, Syzygium and Podocarpus iieriifolius and Castanopsis accuminatissima. Climate seasonality.— The Foja Mountains lie in a zone of seasonal rainfall typical for most of New Guinea— with a dry season in June-August and peak wet season at the end of the calendar year. Rainfall accumulations are apparently moderate at low elevations and higher above 1,000 m, as evidenced by vegetation and mossing. Persistent rains flooded the upland Bog in November 2008. Methods We follow the taxonomy and sequence of Beehler et al. (1986) and for English names follow the IOC world bird list (http://www.v/orldbirdnames.org/names.html). Birds were surveyed by sight, sound and mist-net. In a few instances, hunters brought in birds that they had shot with bow & arrow (a cassowary, two forest rails, a woodcock and a mouse warbler). Networks of walking tracks were cut by the team for making observations at each camp. These were walked at various hours of the day and night. Mist-nets were operated day and night. Small collections of study skins and whole and partial anatomical specimens (2005, 2008) were made and currently reside at the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (now at Cibinong, Indonesia). In addition, sound and video recordings are archived at the Macaulay Library, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY. Results The five field trips confirmed 237 species of birds in the Foja Mountains, with an additional five species requiring confirmation (see Appendix). A total of 675 individuals of 59 species was mist-netted. Five species were recorded only by mist-netting, highlighting the importance of this tool. First sound-recordings of Amblyornis flavifrons and Bronze Parotia Parotia berlepschi were made. Video recordings were made of foraging behaviour of Dwarf Cassowary Casuarius bennetti at a bower of Amblyornis flavifrons; pair behaviour of Salvadori's Teal Salvadorina waigiuensis; display behaviour of A. flavifrons and Black Sicklebill Epimachus fastosus; and courtship behaviour of P. berlepschi. Bird sounds of >30 species have been archived at Cornell, and 260 specimens of 59 species were collected and now reside in the bird collection of the Natural Flistory Museum at Cibinong. Selected species accounts.— A compilation of all species observed in the Foja Mountains and their max. and min. observed elevational occurrence appears in the Appendix. Species featured below include those for which we provide novel distributional, ecological or behavioural data. SALVADORI'S TEAL Salvadorina waigiuensis Observed at the Bog Camp in a small watered channel within the bog in 2005, and a pair was filmed foraging and displaying on open water when the bog flooded in November 2008 (Macaulay Library Video catalog nos. 57905-914). ORNATE FRUIT DOVE Ptilinopus ornatus One trapped at the Bog Camp in June 2007. JMD recorded it above 1,621 m, encountering two birds nest-building in February 1981. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 88 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) IMPERIAL PIGEON Ducula cf. chalconota / sp. nov. A novel imperial pigeon was photographed in 2008 that is evidently a geographical representative of the Shining Imperial Pigeon Ducula chalconota lineage, but exhibits several plumage characters that distinguish it from D. chalconota. It will be described in a separate publication. D. chalconota has been recorded from the Wandammen Mountains to the west, but not in the Cyclops or Bewani / Torricelli Mountains to the east. DUSKY LORY Pseudeos fuscata During the 1981 field trip, each morning around 06.30 h, JMD observed several vocal groups of 2-10 birds flying over camp southwards, at a height of 5-100 m. Each evening, at c. 18.30 h (after sunset), groups flew back over camp towards the north. This exemplifies this species' remarkable long-distance foraging movements that remain poorly documented and unexplained. The phenomenon certainly merits additional attention. It is analogous to the large-scale movement of flocks of Papuan Mountain Pigeon Gymnophaps albertisi. MADARASZ'S TIGER PARROT Psittacella madaraszi Observed on three occasions by NK. This is the first record in the north coastal ranges of a species known from the uplands of the Huon Peninsula and the Central Range. Its sister form. Modest Tiger Parrot P. modesta is recorded from the uplands of the Bird's Head to the west. RUFOUS-THROATED BRONZE CUCKOO Chrysococcyx ruficollis Heard repeatedly and sound-recorded in 2005 at the Bog Camp (BMB) and also by NK in 2008. Also known from the Wandammen and Arfak Mountains (Beehler et al. 1986). 7MOUNTAIN KINGFISHER Halcyon megarhyncha ES & NK heard vocalisations they ascribed to this species at the Bog Camp in 2008 but were unable to locate the bird. Because of possible confusion with Cacomantis cuckoos, this species requires confirmation. 7YELLOW-EYED CUCKOOSHRIKE Coracina lineata In 2005, NK observed in the Foja foothills a cuckooshrike with a dark face and crisp ventral barring, which should be looked for by future field workers at fruiting fig trees below 1,200 m elevation. This species has a puzzling distribution, being patchy in the Central Range and is present only on some outlying ranges. MOUNTAIN MOUSE WARBLER Crateroscelis robusta With regard to the newly named population of this species from the Foja Mountains (Beehler & Prawiradilaga 2010), JMD was struck by the white throat of the Foja male, contrasting so strikingly with the rest of the bird's plumage that it seemed to 'shine' out in the dark understorey. The same was true of the throat of the Foja population of three other ground or understorey species, the white-throated Lesser Ground Robin Amalocichla incerta and the white-cheeked Spotted Jewel-babbler Ptilorrhoa leucosticta and Ashy Robin Poecilodryas albispecularis. It is worth considering whether there has been some signal convergence in these ecologically similar species that occur in the same understorey microhabitat. 7BICOLOURED MOUSE WARBLER Crateroscelis nigrorufa NK heard a distinct mouse-warbler song and 'pished' the bird to close range, observing its uniformly rufous underparts. Apparently, the same bird was observed on a subsequent day © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 89 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) by M. White. Future field workers should look for this species in a narrow elevational band at middle elevations near the lower boundary of the elevational range of C. robusta. ?GREY GERYGONE Gerygone cinerea JMD made one observation on 6 February 1981, an individual in the canopy of the forest in a bird wave at 1,258 m. JMD noted the very small size, short tail (e.g., shorter than in Sericornis), grey dorsal and clean white ventral plumage. As there were no additional sightings by the other field teams, this requires confirmation. SCRUB WRENS Sericornis spp. In the Foja Mountains, Perplexing Scrubwren S. virgatus and Large Scrubwren S. nouhuysi meet parapatrically at c. 1,400 m, below which elevation the former species was abundant and above which the latter was common. Their songs are similar to each other and to that of Green-backed Gerygone Gerygone chloronata, in being rapid, high-pitched, tinkling runs of notes up and down like a sine wave, but the song of S. virgatus has more notes, is more run together, conforms more closely to a sine wave, and is less tinkling and less high-pitched than is that of S. nouhuysi. Grey-green Scrubwren S. arfakianus was abundant up to 1,425 m and Buff-faced Scrubwren S. perspicillatus common down to 1,367 m, with minimal altitudinal overlap. S. arfakianus was the smallest of the Foja Sericornis species, almost always in groups of 2-3, with a squeaky call note and short fast energetic squeaky song. S. perspicillatus often called a distinctive dry chip and frequently gave a rapid ascending series of small scolding notes. JMD observed Pale-billed Scrubwren S. spilodera at 758 m and 10 m above ground. The species was also observed by the team in 2008 at 1,250 m (see Appendix). SMOKY ROBIN Peneothello cryptoleuca A nest with egg was located near the western summit at 2,170 m on 18 November 2008 by CM. The cup-shaped nest was sited c.2.5 m above ground in the fork of a small (7-cm diameter) tree. The cup was lined with ferns and woven plant fibres. The outside was covered in moss. The single egg was pale brown with a wreath of darker reddish-brown splotching on the broad end. 7VOGELKOP WHISTLER Pachycephala meyeri Observed at 1,600 m on 4 February 1981 by JMD; a pair foraged in forest vegetation at 3.5-18.0 m, and approached to within 4 m. Diamond (1985) noted it from below (upperparts not seen well) as a small-sized Pachycephala, with a distinctive song different from that of congenerics, with ventral plumage corresponding to specimens (subsequently examined) of P. meyeri. Both individuals were similar in appearance. Because this sexually monomorphic, poorly known species has otherwise been recorded only from the Arfak and Tamrau Mountains of the Bird's Head, this record requires confirmation. BLACK PITOHUI Pitohui nigrescens In 1979 and 1981 JMD reported that the species was almost silent and unobtrusive, but fairly common at 1,236-1,900 m. Fifteen were mist-netted in 2005 and 2008. In this dichromatic species, the majority (presumed males) were dull black (slate or charcoal, not glossy), while the minority (presumed females and immatures) were dull medium brown, paler ventrally. The brown form was superficially similar to female Amblyornis flavifrons but differed in being greyer, less olive and slightly smaller, as well as differing in its bill shape and behaviour. The bill was hooked, the rictal bristles pronounced and the body chunky. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 90 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) It perched stolidly upright at heights from the understorey to 12 m, moved sluggishly by short hops, and foraged by hover-gleaning. Usually the species was solitary, but JMD once saw a black individual feeding a begging brown individual, and twice saw the species in mixed-species flocks. SPOTTED BERRYPECKER Rhamphocharis crassirostris This rare and little-known species was observed in 1981, 2005 and 2008 at middle elevations. JMD observed a group of three at 1,688 m, foraging at heights of 9-27 m, feeding in a flowering or fruiting tree. The three were in different plumages. One, a presumed female, had heavy pale spotting below. A second (female or immature male?) had a brown head, sparse spots or mottling on whitish underparts, and the undertail white with a dark terminal band. The third, presumed male, resembled a male Fan- tailed Berrypecker Melanocharis versteri in its clear grey underparts and dark upperparts with some sheen, but had a long bill and dark medium-short tail. This is the only time these three distinct plumages were observed in one group. Their vocalisations consisted of a fast, sibilant, 'sucked-in', energetic, short outburst reminiscent of Red-collared Myzomela Myzomela rosenbergii, plus sibilant ts-ts-ts notes. OLIVE STRAIGHTBILL Timeliopsis fulvigula JMD recorded the species at heights of 2.5 m and 15 m in the vegetation. Movements were rapid hops of just a few centimetres. Foraging consisted of probing moss, gleaning and stretching forwards to glean. Vocalisations were ee-ee-ee sounds like a baby bird, slightly upslurred and with a somewhat rough quality, given at a rate of three per second. GOLDEN-FRONTED BOWERBIRD Amblyornis flavifrons Common in the mid-montane forest interior, with display bowers sited on rounded ridge- crests (Beehler & Prawiradilaga 2010: 283-284). This and the following species are the Foja Mountain Range's biogeographically most significant endemics. BRONZE PAROTIA Parotia berlepschi Details of the morphology, plumage, vocalisations, behaviour and systematics of this form will be treated in a separate publication. Video and audio files as well as many still images of male and female-plumaged birds were collected and all of this material has been archived at the Cornell Lab. Discussion Our discussion focuses mainly on the birdlife of the Foja Mountains and adjacent ranges— geographic distribution, elevational patterns of species-groups, seasonality and future research. Many bird species endemic to New Guinea are affiliated with mountain systems. These can be classified as 'upland', which we consider here to be mountain- associated species mainly distributed above 300 m, and 'montane', which we define as mountain-restricted species mainly or exclusively found above 1,000 m elevation. Any mountain range, such as the Foja Mountains, will be inhabited by (a) lowland species that also occur in the mountain forests to some elevation; (b) upland species that are generally absent from the surrounding lowlands, but which inhabit the lower (and sometimes upper) elevations of the range; and (c) montane species, which are mountain-restricted and are only found above 1,000 m. The Appendix classifies the birds of the Foja Mountains into these three categories and forms the database upon which the following discussions are based. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Wandammen, Foja, Cyclops, and Bewani / Torricelli Ranges Bruce M. Beehler et al Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Rhipidura atra atra atra atra atra atra atra atra Rhipidura albolimbata albolimbata albolimbata albolimbata albolimbata - albolimbata albolimbata Monarcha axillaris axillaris axillaris axillaris axillaris axillaris axillaris axillaris Machaerirhynchus nigripectus nigripectus nigripectus - - nigripectus nigripectus nigripectus Bruce M. Beehler et al. 92 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) — < s £ a a S' J3 5S a .5 .too JC 5 J5- 3 .So S too T3 3 K S' .fcb 3 >■» u 3 -SP £ 5 feo -2 t 2 C -a £ >> a o 2 !» a 50 -3 K O to) to. O a Q & Eto T3 «S O) PS CD T5 S .05 © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Lophorina superha superba - - - superha superha superba Parctia sefilata sefilata berlepschi taxon? - wahnesi wahnesi lawesii + carolae Drepanornis albertisi alhertisi albertisi - - - albertisi alhertisi Epimachus fastosus fastosus fastosus - fastosus - - fastosus + meyeri number present 46 33 46 19 28 18 46 49 Bruce M. Beehler et al. 93 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Distributional patterns. —Table 1 lists all 49 species of montane birds recorded either from the Foja (2,219 m), Wandammen (2,075 m), Cyclops (2,161 m), or Bewani / Torricelli Mountains (1,886 m). Max. elevations for each mountain range are extracted from Diamond (1985). Table 1 also shows whether these core 'north coastal' species also inhabit the other major mountain groups in New Guinea— from largest to smallest: Central Range (4,884 m), Huon uplands (4,122 m). Bird's Head uplands (2,930 m) and Adelbert Range (1,600 m). The Foja range is the highest and most extensive of the central north coastal ranges, and supports all but two of the core species (Midget Myzomela Myzomela adolphinae and Superb Bird-of-Paradise Lophorina superba). It is interesting to note that two much higher and more extensive outlying ranges, those of the Huon Peninsula (the Finisterre / Saru waged ranges) and Vogelkop Peninsula (the Arfak / Tamrau ranges), do not possess a larger share of this core north coastal avifauna (both support 46 species), despite being more species-rich overall. These two larger ranges are biogeographically distinct in several ways and also possess an array of additional montane species not found among the core north coastal ranges (such as a representative of the Belford's Honeyeater Melidectes belfordi superspecies, a Paradigalla, an Astrapia , a Lonchura, etc.). The overall montane species total for the Huon is 72 species and for the Bird's Head is 65 species. Perhaps the most notable finding contained in Table 1 is that different species and species-groups exhibit seemingly random and unpredictable patterns of occurrence / absence. While it is difficult to know the underlying causes responsible for this unusual pattern, we hypothesise that the stochastic nature of mountain-to-mountain dispersal compounded with sporadic pulses of extinction of small upland populations probably have contributed to the emergent pattern. Perhaps the most extreme example of this is Papuan Scrubwren Sericornis papuensis, which occurs on the Foja, Huon and Central Range, but is absent from the Bird's Head, Wandammen, Cyclops, Bewani / Torricelli and Adelbert ranges. Elevational sequences.— The Foja avifauna (see Appendix) includes at least 22 species' elevational sequences, in which closely related (congeneric) or ecologically similar species replace each other elevationally. Some of these sequences, especially ones involving sedentary territorial species, are sharp with little or no elevational overlap. Others, especially ones involving social non-territorial species that wander in search of flowering and fruiting trees, involve some overlap in altitude — as in the genera Charmosyna , Melanocharis, Zoster ops and Myzomela. Of these 22 sequences, six involve triplets of species: Little Bronze Cuckoo Chrysococcyx minutillus / White-eared Bronze Cuckoo C. meyeri / Rufous-throated Bronze Cuckoo C. ruficollis, Blue Jewel-babbler Ptilorrhoa caerulescens / Chestnut-backed Jewel-babbler P. castanonota / Spotted Jewel-babbler P. leucostica, Pale-billed Scrubwren Sericornis spilodera / Grey-green Scrubwren S. arfakianus / Buff-faced Scrubwren S. perspicillatus, White-rumped Robin Peneothello bimaculata / Slaty Robin P. cyanus / Smoky Robin P. cryptoleuca, Black Berrypecker Melanocharis nigra / Lemon-breasted Berrypecker M. longicauda / Fan-tailed Berrypecker M. versteri and Black Myzomela Myzomela nigrita / Red Myzomela M. cruentata / Red-collared Myzomela M. rosenbergii. The other 16 examples are pairs of species: Chestnut-shouldered Goshawk Accipiter buergersi / Meyer's Goshawk A. meyerianus, Red-flanked Lorikeet Charmosyna placentis / Fairy Lorikeet C. pulchella, Buff-faced Pygmy Parrot Micropsitta pusio / Rose-breasted Pygmy Parrot M. bruijnii, Red-cheeked Parrot Geoffroyus geoffroyi / Blue-collared Parrot G. simplex , Black-tipped Cicadabird Coracina schisticeps / Black-bellied Cuckooshrike C. montana, Rusty Mouse Warbler Crateroscelis murina / Bicoloured Mouse Warbler C. robusta, Perplexing Scrubwren Sericornis virgatus / Large Scrubwren S. nouhuysi, Sooty Thicket Fantail Rhipidura © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 94 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) threnothorax / Black Fantail R. atra, Chestnut-bellied Fantail R. hyperythra / Friendly Fantail R. albolimbata, Yellow-breasted Boatbill Machaerirhynchus flaviventer / Black-breasted Boatbill M. nigripectus, Rusty Whistler Pachycephala hyperythra / Regent Whistler P. schlegelii, Variable Pitohui Pitohui kirhocephalus / Flooded Pitohui P. dichrous, Black-crowned White- eye Zosterops atrifrons / Capped White-eye Z. fuscicapillus, Mimic Honeyeater Meliphaga analoga / Hill-forest Honeyeater M. orientalis, Clicking Shieldbill Peltops blainvillii / Tinkling Shieldbill P. montanus and White-eared Catbird Ailuroedus buccoides / Black-eared Catbird A. melanotis. It is through this elevational sorting that the avifauna of the Foja Mountains achieves its substantial level of species-richness. Seasonality.— We confine our discussion of seasonality to display activities of birds- of-paradise and bowerbirds. The data we have indicate a rather diffuse annual seasonality, with perhaps inter-annual variability related to multi-year El Nino / Southern Oscillation impacts on local rainfall. Epimachus fastosus was vocal and displaying in June 2007, but less active and moulting in November 2008. By contrast, Parotia berlepschi was displaying at its terrestrial court in December 2005, but not in June 2007 and infrequently in November 2008. A King Bird-of-Paradise Cicinnurus magnificus trapped at Lower Camp in November 2008 was moulting. Amblyornis flavifrons was actively displaying in February 1981 and November 2005, was moderately active in November 2008, but less active in June 2007. These observations indicate a display season that may extend from June to February, with a non-display period in the early half of the calendar year. In terms of rainfall, we found precipitation abundant in N o vember-December (2005, 2008) and relatively low in June (2007). We suggest future field workers visit in September-October to encounter the most display activity and best weather. Nesting is presumably commonest at the end of the calendar year. Conservation recommendation.— The entire expanse of the Foja massif— an area of c.300,000 ha, remains undeveloped (with no roads) and entirely unpopulated. This region is an important natural reserve for the 46 montane bird species living there, four of which (the imperial pigeon, honeyeater, bowerbird and bird-of-paradise) occur nowhere else on earth. This region, then, constitutes an immensely valuable resource for both nature conservation and ecosystem services provision. We recommend that decision-makers consider raising the level of national (and local) protection of the Foja Mountains region and work closely with local indigenous landowners to develop a long-term conservation and management plan for the northern verges of the Mamberamo Basin, for which the Foja uplands comprise an important sector. Intact upland forest blocks such as this one will become critical refuges for montane species under currently predicted regimes of climate change. Future research.— Based on our experience in the Foja Mountains, we believe there is considerable scope for productive distributional field work to be conducted in New Guinea's outlying mountain ranges. The Wandammen and Cyclops Mountains have never undergone intensive mist-netting. Others would benefit from both mist-netting and sound-based surveys. Future field work in New Guinea's outlying ranges should include (1) a more thorough survey (with major mist-netting effort) in the Cyclops Mountains, (2) an extended effort using similar methods at the highest elevations of the Wandammen Mountains, and (3) additional survey effort in the highest forests of the small and isolated Kumawa and Fakfak Mountains. Any additional work in the Foja range should focus on visiting the eastern high summits (above 2,000 m) and the lower and middle elevations (800-1,200 m). Correction.— The recent paper by Beehler & Prawiradilaga (2010) omitted three paratypes for P achy care flavogriseum lecroyae. We here correctly list the entire series of © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 95 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) paratypes, all at the American Museum of Natural History, New York: AMNH 829697, 829698, 829699, 829700, 829701, 829702, 829703, 829704 and 829705. Acknowledgements We thank the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI), the Local Forestry Offices (BKSDA) in Papua, the Dept, of Forests, Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation, and the Ministry of Interior, for permission to conduct field work in Indonesian New Guinea. We gratefully thank D. Damaedi, then Director of the Research Center for Biology of LIPI, for his strong support of the scientific collaboration between the Conservation International and his Indonesian scientific teams. Conservation International Indonesia provided abundant assistance and support of our field expeditions, especially Y. de Fretes, J. Supriatna, I. Budiningrum, Peter Kamarea and the Mamberamo field staff. Our field work in the Foja Mountains could not have proceeded without the hospitality and partnership of the people of Kwerba and Papasena villages, especially P. I. Tawani and P. T. Kawena. FleliMission made its helicopter available to us in 2005, and Nations Petroleum made their helicopter and superb pilot available in 2007, without which our upland field camp would have been impossible. We salute S. Richards, co-leader of the expedition in 2005, for all he did to make it possible. We also thank Marshall Maher, Deidre Fogg, Lela Stanley and Sarah Banks of CI-HQ for organising the 2007 field trip, as well as Draggan Mihailovich of CBS and his able and amiable film crew. We thank Walter Boles, Guy Dutson and Mary LeCroy for technical and editorial suggestions that improved the manuscript. The project was generously supported by grants from John Swift and the Swift Foundation, Merrick & Lorraine Darley, Tom Hormel, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Nations Petroleum, the National Geographic Society's Expeditions Council, the Global Environment Project Institute and Rampa Hormel. JMD thanks the National Geographic Society, World Wildlife Fund and Lievre Fund for support. References: Beehler, B. M. 2006. The lost world. Living Bird summer 2006: 15-24. Beehler, B. M. & Prawiradilaga, D. M. 2010. New taxa and new records of birds from the north coastal ranges of New Guinea. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 130: 277-285. Beehler, B. M., Pratt, T. K. & Zimmerman, D. A. 1986. Birds of New Guinea. Princeton Univ. Press. Beehler, B. M., Prawiradilaga, D. M., de Fretes, Y. & Kemp, N. 2007. A new species of smoky honeyeater (Meliphagidae: Melipotes) from western New Guinea. Auk 124: 1000-1009. Coates, B. J. 1985. Birds of Papua New Guinea, vol. 1. Dove Publications, Alderley. Coates, B. J. 1990. Birds of Papua New Guinea, vol. 2. Dove Publications, Alderley. Diamond, J. M. 1969. Preliminary results of an ornithological exploration of the north coastal range. New Guinea. Amer. Mus. Novit. 2362: 1-57. Diamond, J. M. 1972. Avifauna of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea. Publ. Nuttall Orn. Club No. 12, Cambridge, MA. Diamond, J. M. 1982. Rediscovery of the Yellow-fronted Gardener Bowerbird. Science 216: 431-434. Diamond, J. M. 1985. New distributional records and taxa from the outlying mountain ranges of New Guinea. Emu 85: 65-91. Garcia-Moreno, J., Arctander, P. & Fjeldsa, J. 1999. A case of rapid diversification in the Neotropics: phylogenetic relationships among Cranioleuca spinetails (Aves, Furnariidae). Mol. Phyl. & Evol. 12: 273-281. Heist, M. van, Sheil, D., Rachman, I., Gusbager, P., Raweyai, C. O. & Yoteni, H. S. M. 2010. The forests and related vegetation of Kwerba, on the Foja foothills, Mamberamo, Papua (Indonesian New Guinea). Blumea 55: 153-161. Mayr, E. 1941. List of New Guinea birds. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., New York. Mayr, E. 1942. Systematics and the origin of species. Columbia Univ. Press, New York. Mayr, E. 1963. Animal species and evolution. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, MA. Oliver, P., Krey, K., Mumpuni & Richards, S. 2011. A new species of bent-toed skink ( Cyrtodactylus , Gekkonidae) from the North Papuan Mountains. Zootaxa 2930: 22-32. Pratt, T. K. 1982. Additions to the avifauna of the Adelbert Range, Papua New Guinea. Emu 82: 117-125. Rand, A. L. & Gilliard, E. T. 1967. Handbook of New Guinea birds. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London. Addresses: Bruce M. Beehler, Science and Knowledge Division, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202, USA, e-mail: bbeehler@conservation.org. Jared M. Diamond, Dept, of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1524, USA, e-mail: jdiamond@geog.ucla. edu. Neville Kemp, Ekologika, 61 Jalan Panglima Polim Raya, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta 12160, Indonesia, e-mail: nevskee@yahoo.co.uk. Edwin Scholes, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA, e-mail: edwin.scholes@cornell.edu. Christopher Milensky, Division of Birds, MRC 116, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20013-7012, USA, e-mail: milenskyc@si.edu. Tim Laman, Ornithology Dept., Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA, e-mail: tim@timlaman.com © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 96 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Appendix: species recorded in the Foja Mountains, New Guinea, during our field surveys Key: bold = upland form (>300 m elevation); bold with * = montane form (>1,000 m elevation) Species list Northern Cassowary Casuarius unappendiculatus Dwarf Cassowary Casuarius bennetti Pacific Baza Aviceda subcristata Long-tailed Honey Buzzard Henicopernis longicauda Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus Grey Goshawk Accipiter novaehollandiae Grey-headed Goshawk Accipiter poliocephalus Collared Sparrowhawk Accipiter cirrhocephalus Meyer's Goshawk Accipiter meyerianus Chestnut-shouldered Goshawk Accipiter buergersi Papuan Eagle Harpyopsis novaeguineae Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides Brown Falcon Falco berigora Raja Shelduck Tadorna radjah Salvadori's Teal Salvadorina waigiuensis New Guinea Megapode Megapodius decollatus Collared Brushturkey Talegalla jobiensis Wattled Brushturkey Aepypodius arfakianus Mayr's Forest Rail Rallicula mayri* Javan Woodcock Scolopax saturata * Gallinago sp. Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Brown Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia amboinensis Black-billed Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia nigrirostris Great Cuckoo-Dove Reinwardtoena reinwardtii Stephan's Emerald Dove Chalcophaps stephani Cinnamon Ground Dove Gallicolumba rufigula Bronze Ground Dove Gallicolumba beccarii * Pheasant Pigeon Otidiphaps nobilis Victoria Crowned Pigeon Goura victoria Wompoo Fruit Dove Ptilinopus magnificus Pink-spotted Fruit Dove Ptilinopus perlatus Ornate Fruit Dove Ptilinopus ornatus Superb Fruit Dove Ptilinopus superbus Beautiful Fruit Dove Ptilinopus pulchellus White-bibbed Fruit Dove Ptilinopus rivoli Claret-breasted Fruit Dove Ptilinopus viridis Orange-bellied Fruit Dove Ptilinopus iozonus imperial pigeon Ducula sp. nov?* 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 3 2 2 3 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 3 1 2 3 3 3 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 3 2 2 3 1 1 2 4 4 3 1 2 2 1 4 2 3 3 2 1 4 3 3 1 2 2 73-375 2 610-1,829 73 1 73-1,652 73 73 200-1,652 1,652 1 1,622-1,652 884-1,198 1 854-1,675 1,652 1,627 73 1 1,652 73 2 73-1,250 2 1,677-1,835 2 1,198-1,680 1 1,652-1,701 1 1,637 100-271 2 73-1,668 2 73-1,912 73-1,652 200 375-1,055 1 1,381-1,848 1 651-1,670 73-375 73-918 73-100 1 1,637-1,808 651-1,646 73-1,113 3 1,067-1,951 1 73-1,500 73-100 1 1,450-1,700 © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 97 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) £ On o £ o O £ £ CN LO vO £ 2 VO s o R in 2 IN o o CN c CQ In CN & .b CD £ tN Ov g oo ov XS s LD o o CN £ OO o o CN C/3 T3 o u CD Species list £ rs 5 £ re Q RAP I Al w Purple-tailed Imperial Pigeon Ducula rufigaster 2 73 Pinon Imperial Pigeon Ducula pinon 3 73-100 Zoe Imperial Pigeon Ducula zoeae 2 1 4 73-1,092 Papuan Mountain Pigeon Gymnophaps albertisii 1 3 1 2 610-2,040 Brown Lory Chalcopsitta duivenbodei 4 73-250 Dusky Lory Pseudeos fuscata 2 3 3 1 73-1,652 Coconut Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus 4 73-271 Black-capped Lory Lorius lory 2 4 73-732 Red-flanked Lorikeet Charmosyna placentis 1 73-271 Fairy Lorikeet Charmosyna pulchella 3 3 4 4 4 610-1,912 Josephine's Lorikeet Charmosyna josefinae 1 1 1 1 1 771-1,637 Yellow-billed Lorikeet Neopsittacus musschenbroekii* 3 2 3 2 1,149-2,040 Palm Cockatoo Probosciger aterrimus 1 73-271 Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita 2 1 2 1 73-1,235 Buff-faced Pygmy Parrot Micropsitta pusio 2 73 Rose-breasted Pygmy Parrot Micropsitta bruijnii* 3 3 2 2 3 692-1,851 Orange-breasted Fig Parrot Cyclopsitta gulielmitertii 1 73 Yellow-cheeked Fig Parrot Psittaculirostris salvadorii 1 73-111 Madarasz's Tiger Parrot Psittacella madaraszi* 1 1,652-1,921 Red-cheeked Parrot Geoffroyus geoffroyi 4 73-271 Blue-collared Parrot Geoffroyus simplex 2 2 2 2 1 1,047-1,921 Eclectus Parrot Ecledus roratus 4 73-271 Pesquet's Parrot Psittrichas fulgidus 2 1 2 1 1 73-1,637 Papuan King Parrot Alisterus chloropterus 2 2 1 1,047-1,677 Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis variolosus 2 3 2 884-1,220 Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo Cacomantis castaneiventris 3 2 3 2 1 610-1,756 Little Bronze Cuckoo Chrysococcyx minutillus 1 73 White-eared Bronze Cuckoo Chrysococcyx meyeri 3 1 1 927-1,238 Rufous-throated Bronze Cuckoo Chrysococcyx ruficollis* 3 3 1 1,652 White-crowned Cuckoo Caliechthrus leucolophus 2 73-150 Dwarf Koel Microdynamis parva 2 2 73-1,047 Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus 2 2 73-1,052 Ivory-billed Coucal Centropus menbeki 1 3 73-610 Black-billed Coucal Centropus bernsteini 1 73 Greater Sooty Owl Tyto tenebricosa 1 1 1 1 1,637-1,652 Rufous Boobook Ninox rufa 1 73 Jungle Boobook Ninox theomacha 1 4 1 73-1,637 Marbled Frogmouth Podargus ocellatus 2 1 73 Papuan Frogmouth Podargus papuensis 1 73 Feline Owlet-Nightjar Aegotheles insignis * 2 2 2 1,652 Mountain Owlet-Nightjar Aegotheles albertisi * 3 2 1 1,652 Large-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus 1 110 © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 98 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) B CTs 8 2 so B 8 o c4 O B R & S a SO o 8 § 6 K CN 8 5-h 15 8 On T3 § oo as T3 £ o LTj 8 CN B td hJ 5-h OO o o eg 2 8 o» Species list 6 td 5 B D RAP I 2 8 CQ RAP I > d> 3 Papuan Nightjar Eurostopodus papuensis 1 750 Moustached Treeswift Hemiprocne mystacea l 1 2 73-1,637 Uniform Swiftlet Collocalia vanikorensis l? 4 73- Mountain Swiftlet Collocalia hirundinacea 3 2 2 -1,652 Glossy Swiftlet Collocalia esculenta 2 1 1 1 610-1,698 Papuan Spine-tailed Swift Mearnsia noveaguineae 2 73-271 Galatea Paradise Kingfisher Tanysiptera galatea 2 1 73-111 Hook-billed Kingfisher Melidora macrorrhina 1 3 73-610 Shovel-billed Kookaburra Clytoceyx rex 2 73-100 Rufous-bellied Kookaburra Dacelo gaudichaud 2 2 73-793 Blue-black Kingfisher Halcyon nigrocyanea 1 80 Yellow-billed Kingfisher Halcyon torotoro 1 3 73-869 Chameleon Dwarf Kingfisher Ceyx lepidus 2 3 73-819 Azure Kingfisher Alcedo azurea 1 111 Blyth's Hombill Rhyticeros plicatus 2 1 4 1 1 73-1,200 Red-bellied Pitta Pitta erythrogaster 2 2 651-793 Hooded Pitta Pitta sordida 1 73 Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica 1 1 610 Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea 1 2 2 1 111-1,637 White-bellied Cuckooshrike Coracina papuensis 1 111 Stout-billed Cuckooshrike Coracina caeruleogrisea 1 1 1 1 111-1,384 Boyer's Cuckooshrike Coracina boyeri 2 73-111 Black-shouldered Cicadabird Coracina incerta 3 866-1,198 Black-tipped Cicadabird Coracina schisticeps 3 1 73-1,113 New Guinea Cuckooshrike Coracina melaena 2 2 111-924 Black-bellied Cuckooshrike Coracina montana* 2 2 2 2 1,171-1,652 Golden Cuckooshrike Campochaera sloetii 2 1 1 73-927 Black-browed Triller Lalage atrovirens 3 2 73-111 Scaly Thrush Zoothera dauma 1 625 Chestnut-backed Jewel-babbler Ptilorrhoa castanonota 3 1 610-1,171 Spotted Jewel-babbler Ptilorrhoa leucosticta* 3 3 3 3 1,205-1,860 Blue Jewel-babbler Ptilorrhoa caerulescens 2 73-750 Papuan Babbler Pomatostomus isidorei 1 2 111-651 Island Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus poliocephalus * 4 3 1 1 951-1,409 Emperor Fairywren Malurus cyanocephalus 1 73 White-shouldered Fairywren Malurus alboscapulatus 1 1 111-869 Broad-billed Fairywren Malurus grayi 2 1 866-1,067 Wallace's Fairywren Sipodotus wallacii 1 850 Rusty Mouse Warbler Crateroscelis murina 4 2 4 2 73-1,418 Mountain Mouse Warbler Crateroscelis robusta* 4 4 4 3 1,363-2,037 Pale-billed Scrubwren Sericomis spilodera 1 1 758-1,250 Grey-green Scrubwren Sericomis arfakianus* 2 4 1 1,113-1,433 © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 99 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) If ON o t-H NO s' o o s O 6 o £ s S CM in NO o £ s' LO CO is CD £ On oo ON LO o CD CN OO o o CM to XS Nh o Species list o £ n3 D 1 s Q Ph s CD 2 Ol QJ w Buff-faced Scrubwren Sericomis perspicillatus* 3 3 2 3 1,375-1,912 Large Scrubwren Sericomis nouhuysi* 3 3 4 2 1,442-1,991 Tropical Scrubwren Sericomis beccarii / Perplexing Scubwren S. virgatus 4 3 2 1 610-1,390 Papuan Scrubwren Sericomis papuensis* 4 3 3 3 1,537-2,040 Yellow-bellied Gerygone Gerygone chrysogaster 2 73-111 Green-backed Gerygone Gerygone chloronota 1 1 1 73-1,244 Fairy Gerygone Gerygone palpebrosa 3 2 1 732-1,317 Treefem Gerygone Gerygone mficollis 2 1 1 2 1,317-1,701 Large-billed Gerygone Gerygone magnirostris 1 111 Grey-streaked Flycatcher Muscicapa griseisticta 1 73 Sooty Thicket Fantail Rhipidura threnothorax 2 2 73-1,113 White-bellied Thicket Fantail Rhipidura leucothorax 2 73-111 Rufous-backed Fantail Rhipidura rufidorsa 3 2 73-723 Dimorphic Fantail Rhipidura brachyrhyncha* 2 3 2 1,390-1,701 Chestnut-bellied Fantail Rhipidura hyperythra 3 2 750-900 Black Fantail Rhipidura atra* 2 3 3 3 4 1,055-1,851 Friendly Fantail Rhipidura albolimbata* 3 3 3 4 1,265-2,040 Northern Fantail Rhipidura rufiventris 2 1 73-350 Black Monarch Monarcha axillaris * 4 2 2 1 1 732-1,290 Black-winged Monarch Monarcha frater 2 2 1 1 1,040-1,317 Spot- winged Monarch Monarcha guttulus 1 73-111 Hooded Monarch Monarcha manadensis 1 271 Golden Monarch Monarcha chrysomela 2 1 111-1,047 Rufous-collared Monarch Arses insularis 2 3 73-1,047 Shining Flycatcher Myiagra alecto 2 1 73-111 Yellow-breasted Boatbill Machaerirhynchus flaviventer 2 2 73-1,113 Black-breasted Boatbill Machaerirhynchus nigripectus* 2 3 2 1 1,390-1,912 Torrent Flyrobin Monachella muelleriana 1 1 1 271-1,016 Olive Flyrobin Microeca flavovirescens 3 73-111 Canary Flyrobin Microeca papuana* 2 2 1 1,338-2,040 White-faced Robin Tregellasia leucops 4 1 1 1 610-1,290 Garnet Robin Eugerygone mbra* 1 1 1 1 1,652, 1,662 Ashy Robin Poecilodryas albispecularis* 3 1 3 1,137-1,698 Black-sided Robin Peocilodryas hypoleuca 4 73-111 Black-chinned Robin Poecilodryas brachyura 1 500-600 Northern Scrub Robin Drymodes supercilaris 2 1 1 610-1,198 Lesser Ground Robin Amalocichla incerta * 4 2 4 4 1,302-1,942 White-rumped Robin Peneothello bimaculata 3 1 610-762 Smoky Robin Peneothello cryptoleuca* 4 4 4 4 1,415-2,175 Slaty Robin Peneothello cyanus* 4 1 2 1,183-1,430 Green-backed Robin Pachycephalopsis hattamensis 4 2 2 3 651-1,238 Goldenface Pachycare flavogriseum* 3 2 1 854-1,363 © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 100 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) _ QJ K B re B re 43 s CO Oh > Species list 5 5 <3 & <3 03 S Regent Whistler Pachycephala schlegelii* l 3 3 4 4 1,189-1,912 Grey Whistler Pachycephala simplex 2 1 2 73-1,244 Rusty Whistler Pachycephala hyperythra 4 2 3 1 640-1,281 Rufous-naped Whistler Pachycepala rufinucha* 3 4 4 2 1,326-2,040 Little Shrikethrush Colluricincla megarhyncha 2 2 2 73-1,311 Variable Pitohui Pitohui kirhocephalus 4 4 2 73-1,174 Hooded Pitohui Pitohui dichrous 3 1 2 2 1,158-1,320 Crested Pitohui Pitohui cristatus 2 2 350-1,150 Rusty Pitohui Pitohui ferrugineus 2 3 73-970 Black Pitohui Pitohui nigrescens * 3 2 1 2 1,244-1,912 Lemon-breasted Berrypecker Melanocharis longicauda 4 2 1 1 1,047-1,354 Black Berrypecker Melanocharis nigra 4 1 1 73-1,047 Fan-tailed Berrypecker Melanocharis versteri* 3 3 3 2 1,265-2,040 Spotted Berrypecker Rhamphocharis crassirostris* 1 1 1 1,145-1,698 Olive-crowned Flowerpecker Dicaeum pectorale 2 2 73-1,250 Tit Berrypecker Oreocharis arfaki* 4 1 1,637-2,040 Black Sunbird Nectarinia aspasia 2 73-271 Black-crowned White-eye Zosterops atrifrons 3 1 1,198 Capped White-eye Zosterops fuscicapilla* 3 3 1 1 1,113-1,375 Olive Straightbill Timeliopsis fulvigula* 1 1 2 1 1,646-1,677 Long-billed Honeyeater Melilestes megarhynchus 2 3 1 73-884 Green-crowned Longbill Toxorhamphus novaeguineae 4 3 2 73-1,238 Plumed Longbill Oedistoma iliolophum 2 1 1 701-1,037 Pygmy Longbill Oedistoma pygmaeum 1 1 854-1,047 Red Myzomela Myzomela cruentata 2 1 1 884-1,652 Black Myzomela Myzomela nigrita 1 1 884 Red-collared Myzomela Myzomela rosenbergii* 2 4 4 2 1,442-1,680 Forest Honeyeater Meliphaga montana 4 1 1 1 350-1,020 Hill-forest Honeyeater Meliphaga orientalis 3 1 1 1 781-1,244 Puff-backed Honeyeater Meliphaga aruensis 2 73 Mimic Honeyeater Meliphaga analoga 2 73 Obscure Honeyeater Lichenostomus obscurus 1 610-884 Spotted Honeyeater Xanthotis polygrammus 2 884-1,113 Tawny-breasted Honeyeater Xanthotis flaviventer 3 3 73-1,158 Plain Honeyeater Pycnopygius ixoides 2 2 692-969 Streak-headed Honeyeater Pycnopygius stictocephalus 3 73-111 Meyer's Friarbird Philemon meyeri 3 3 73-1,122 Helmeted Friarbird Philemon buceroides 4 73-271 Mayr's Honeyeater Ptiloprora mayri* 4 4 4 4 1,152-2,040 Cinnamon-browed Honeyeater Melidectes ochromelas * 2 3 3 4 1,174-1,912 Wattled Smoky Honeyeater Melipotes carolae* 1 4 1 2 3 1,113-2,040 Blue-faced Parrot-Finch Erythrura trichroa 1? 1 1 1 1,652-1,707 © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Bruce M. Beehler et al. 101 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) o NO o t o § cn CD a! £ ON T3 § oo ON T3 e LO o o CN E ra hJ oo o o CN CD 12 o u OJ Species list E ns 5 1 ra D RAP I X qj s Streak-headed Munia Lonchura tristissima 1 73 Metallic Starling Aplonis metallica 2 73-111 Golden Myna Mino anais 1 73-111 Yellow-faced Myna Mino dumontii l 2 2 73-692 Brown Oriole Oriolus szalayi l 2 1 73-781 Pygmy Drongo Chaetorhynchus papuensis 4 2 1 1 651-1,311 Spangled Drongo Dicrurus bracteatus 4 73-271 Torrentlark Grallina bruijnii 2 1 1,015-1,338 Great Woodswallow Artamus maximus 1 2 2 1,637-1,652 Hooded Butcherbird Cracticus cassicus 2 73 Black Butcherbird Cracticus quoyi 2 73 Clicking Shieldbill Peltops blainvillii 2 73-271 Tinkling Shieldbill Peltops montanus 2 2 1 1 610-1,652 White-eared Catbird Ailuroedus buccoides 2 73-110 Black-eared Catbird Ailuroedus melanotis 1 1 2 500-1,112 Golden-fronted Bowerbird Amblyomis flavifrons* 1 3 3 3 4 969-2,034 Masked Bowerbird Sericulus aureus 1 1 400-1,473 Glossy-mantled Manucode Manucodia ater 1 73-111 Crinkle-collared Manucode Manucodia chalybatus 1 1 1,145 Trumpet Manucode Manucodia keraudrenii 3 2 1 1 884-1,378 Magnificent Riflebird Ptiloris magnificus 2 2 1 73-1,155 Twelve- wired Bird-of-Paradise Seleucidis melanoleucus 2 73-400 Black-billed Sicklebill Drepanomis albertisi* 2 2 1 1 1 970-1,750 Pale-billed Sicklebill Drepanomis bruijnii 2 1 73-111 Black Sicklebill Epimachus fastosus* 3 2 2 1,410-1,775 Bronze Parotia Parotia berlepschi* 2 2 2 1 1,268-1,701 King Bird-of-Paradise Cicinnurus regius 2 1 73-111 Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise Cicinnurus magnificus 4 1 2 1 651-1,311 Lesser Bird-of-Paradise Paradisaea minor 2 3 2 73-1,150 Grey Crow Corvus tristis 2 1 3 1 73-1,039 Foja records requiring better documentation Mountain Kingfisher Halcyon megarhyncha* 1 1,652 Yellow-eyed Cuckooshrike Coracina lineata 1 700 Bicoloured Mouse Warbler Crateroscelis nigrorufa* 1 1,652 Grey Gerygone Gerygone cinerea* 1 1,265 Vogelkop Whistler Pachycephala meyeri* 1 1,637 ^numbered coding: 4 = abundant, 3 = common, 2 = uncommon, 1 = rare © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 102 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) New avian records from the little-explored Fakfak Mountains and the Onin Peninsula (West Papua) by Frank E. Rheindt Received 17 October 2011 Summary.— The Fakfak Mountains on the Onin Peninsula (West Papua) represent one of the ornithologically poorest-known ranges in the world. In the early 1980s, Jared Diamond was the first modern ornithologist to explore the range, followed by David Gibbs in the early 1990s, resulting in the discovery of up to ten still-undescribed bird taxa. I visited the Fakfaks in 2008 and 2009. Details are presented here of two additions to the montane avifauna of the Fakfaks (Varied Sitella Daphoenositta chrysoptera and Yellow-gaped Meliphaga Meliphaga flavirictus) and at least seven lowland species new for the Onin and Bomberai peninsulas (Black-billed Brush Turkey Talegalla fuscirostris, Coroneted Fruit Dove Ptilinopus c. coronulatus, Orange-breasted Fig Parrot Cyclopsitta gulielmitertii, Papuan Spine- tailed Swift Mearnsia novaeguineae, Tawny Straightbill Timeliopsis griseigula, Silver- eared Honeyeater Lichmera alboauricularis and Scrub White-eared Meliphaga Meliphaga albonotata). The new lowland records indicate that the ranges of many Papuan lowland birds extend much further west in the southern watershed than was known. I also provide elevational range extensions or the first precise elevational data for several montane birds in the Fakfaks. The vocalisations of the undescribed Fakfak taxon of Vogelkop Bowerbird Amblyornis inornatus are documented for the first time. Future collecting in the Fakfaks will be instrumental in understanding the total avian diversity of this range. The island of New Guinea has a complex geologic and tectonic history (Hall 2002) that has accounted for its complicated biogeography. Although birds are globally well known in terms of taxonomy (e.g. Mayr 1946), field research on New Guinea continues to uncover taxa new to science and complex biogeographical patterns (e.g.. Diamond 1985, Beehler et al. 2007, Beehler & Prawiradilaga 2010). The island is divided into southern and northern watersheds by the comparatively well-explored Central Range. However, to the north and west there are c.12 major and a few minor outlying and tectonically young mountain ranges that are relatively unexplored ornithologically (Diamond 1985). Despite improved access to some of these outlying ranges and the logistical ease associated with modern equipment, ornithological exploration has been slow in the last two decades. A recent multi-year expedition (2005-08) to the Foja Mountains in the Indonesian part of the island was a notable exception, and resulted in many discoveries, including up to four bird taxa new to science (Beehler et al. 2007, Beehler & Prawiradilaga 2010) and range extensions for others. In contrast, exploration of the little-known mountain ranges of the western Vogelkop and Onin peninsulas, such as the Tamrau, Wandammen, Kumawa and Fakfak mountains, has progressed little since Diamond (1985) explored the latter three in the early 1980s. The Fakfak region was first visited by Western ornithologists in 1896 (much earlier than most of the Central Highlands), when Doherty and Schadler, collectors for the Rothschild and Leiden museums, respectively, worked the lowlands around Sekru (Diamond 1985). Neither reached high elevations and only ten montane species were obtained (Finsch © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 103 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Figure 1. The Fakfak Peninsula in West Papua. The following localities are numbered: 1— Fakfak City, 2— 'Taman Anggrek' along the road to Bomber ai, 3— Waserat, 4 —Woos. The approximate course of the road to Bomberai is shown by the double black line. The city of Bomberai lies off the map. The approximate course of the former oil 'Lane' from near Waserat to the top of the Fakfaks is indicated by the dotted line. The Fakfak range is marked in pale grey, with the approximate extent of the highest part (>950 m) in dark grey. 1900, Rothschild & Hartert 1901). Subsequently, Dr S. Bergman collected at Kambala in the lowlands of the southern Bomberai Peninsula for three weeks in 1948-49 (Gyldenstolpe 1955). J. Diamond is the first ornithologist to have reached higher elevations in the Fakfaks, in February /March 1981 when he ascended to 1,290 m. Although unable to collect, his observations suggested the presence of several undescribed avian taxa (Diamond 1985). In the early 1990s, the upper Fakfaks were made accessible by oil exploration teams that cut a trail from the coast to high elevations, establishing helicopter landing pads every 2.5 km and leaving empty oil drums at each to fill with rainwater, facilitating hiking in these karst mountains where streams are often subterranean and the availability of fresh water is a major limitation. In August-September 1992, D. Gibbs made use of this infrastructure during his one- week exploration of the Fakfaks. Gibbs (1994) found most of the noteworthy species reported by Diamond (1985) and discovered an undescribed Paradigalla, highlighting the potential of the Fakfaks in terms of undiscovered avian diversity. In 2008-09, 1 undertook two expeditions into the Fakfak Mountains with the goal of building on Diamond (1985) and Gibbs' (1994) work. Methods All altitude measurements are based on a pressure-based altimeter calibrated on the coast at Fakfak city. A compass but no GPS was used in the field. In the absence of a permit, no mist-netting or collecting was undertaken. Birds were observed using binoculars, and recordings were made opportunistically using an Edirol R-09 FIR and a ME-66 Sennheiser directional microphone. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 104 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Study sites 2008. — On 28 August, I flew to the small city of Fakfak (Papua Barat, Indonesia; Fig. l) and proceeded to the settlement of Waserat ('Worsaret' in Gibbs 1994) via a newly built coastal road. In the 1990s, Waserat was near the starting point of the trail (locally known as the Lane, or 'Len') connecting the lowlands and the highest elevations of the peninsula along a string of helicopter pads (Fig. 1). Flowever, the Lane and the helipads have become overgrown beyond recognition, and the inhabitants of coastal settlements have ceased to venture >c.3 km into the karst forest. I searched for the Lane accompanied by Waserat elder, Pak Wimpi, who formerly worked for the oil companies. We were joined by three young men from Waserat— Neles, Helon and Naptali— who had not previously been inland. After two days of unsuccessful searching, we reached the top of a hill at 750 m with no indication of how to reach the main ridge. The complex local topography includes a karst substratum that is difficult to navigate and cliff-like precipices. Therefore, we opted to return to the coast. On 2 September I proceeded to Woos (pronounced Woss; Fig. 1) — c.l day by logging truck from Fakfak along the road to Bomberai. Older inhabitants of Woos, not unlike some in Waserat, originate from the abandoned mountain settlement of Rombena atop the Fakfaks, and are therefore familiar with the mountains. Unfortunately, with just four remaining days I was unable to ascend, so I made observations in the rich, partially inundated lowland forests adjacent to the northern foothills, guided by local elders Pak Dominggus and Pak Yoel. En route to Fakfak on 6 September 2008, I spent one day at the highest point of the pass across the Fakfaks on the Bomberai-Fakfak road, around the former government-run orchid reserve or Taman Anggrek' at c.950 m (Fig. 1). Although probably too low for the montane Fakfak specialties found by Diamond (1985) and Gibbs (1994), I made several noteworthy observations there. 2009. — On 20 June, I returned to Fakfak and spent an afternoon at Taman Anggrek' (Fig. 1). Next day I continued to Woos with provisions for an eight-day expedition. Led by knowledgeable elder Pak Musa, and accompanied by Pak Harun, Keto, Marten and Mirki, we ascended the Fakfaks from Woos (just above sea level) via the abandoned Rombena (800 m) . Our ascent took three days. From Rombena, Pak Musa and I ascended to the highest- looking ridge at 1,300 m, where we spent one day before running out of food. By the time we returned to Rombena, the entire team's food supplies had depleted, forcing an immediate return to the lowlands. The single day spent at highest elevations was very wet and foggy, with only brief periods of good visibility. Our descent to the Bomberai-Fakfak road on 28 June took us past a large commercial logging operation in the north-east mountains that has clear-cut several hundred ha of lowland forest (pers. obs.). Noteworthy and new observations Birds recorded in the Fakfak Mountains on the two expeditions but not mentioned below are listed in Table 1. SOUTHERN CASSOWARY Casuarius casuarius Persists in apparently good numbers in undisturbed lowlands around the Fakfaks where hunting pressure is low. Singles were seen near sea level on 4 September 2008 and on 23 June 2009, 1 km and 3 km from Woos, respectively. BLACK-BILLED BRUSH TURKEY Talegalla fuscirostris meyeri On 4 September 2008, in lowland forest near Woos, having heard brush turkeys several times in the morning, my guide Pak Dominggus flushed an adult into a tree, where I © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 105 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) TABLE 1 Species seen or heard in the Fakfak region not mentioned in the text. Species Locality 2008 2009 Comment Orange-legged Scrubfowl Megapodius reinwardt Woos X 1+1 seen Little Black Cormorant Phalacrocorax sulcirostris Woos X Little Pied Cormorant P. melanoleucos Woos X Grey-headed Goshawk Accipiter poliocephalus Taman Anggrek X 1+1 seen Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus several sites X in disturbed habitat New Guinea Bronzewing Henicophaps albifrons Woos, Rombena X x 2008: nest near Woos documented in Rheindt (2009); 2009: 1 below Rombena at c.400 m Slender-billed Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia Taman Anggrek, X X amboinensis Rombena, Woos Stephan's Dove Chalcophaps stephani Rombena X heard only Zoe's Imperial Pigeon Ducula zoeae Woos, Rombena X X Purple-tailed Imperial Pigeon D. rufigaster Woos X heard only Pinon Imperial Pigeon D. pinon Woos, Rombena X X common Beautiful Fruit Dove Ptilinopus pulchellus Woos, Rombena X X Pink-spotted Fruit Dove P. perlatus Woos, Rombena X X several Dwarf Fruit Dove P. nanus Rombena X 2-3 below Rombena at c.200 m Orange-bellied Fruit Dove P. iozonus Woos, Rombena X X Superb Fruit Dove P. superbus Taman Anggrek, Rombena X X only at c.800-950 m Wompoo Fruit Dove P. magnificus Rombena X White-breasted Fruit Dove P. rivoli Rombena X only at c. 1,300 m Red-flanked Lorikeet Charmosyna placentis Woos, Rombena X X Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus Woos, Rombena X X Black Lory Chalcopsitta atra insignis Woos X X several Western Black-capped Lory Lorius lory Rombena X Eclectus Parrot Eclectus roratus several sites X X common throughout Red-cheeked Parrot Geojfroyus geoffroyi Woos, Waserat, Rombena x X Moluccan King Parrot Alisterus amboinensis Woos, Rombena X X several Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot Micropsitta keiensis Woos x X 2008: 2+1; 2009: 1 Large Fig Parrot Psittaculirostris desmarestii Woos X X Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita several sites X x common throughout Palm Cockatoo Probosciger aterrimus several sites X x common throughout Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis variolosus Woos X X Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo C. castaneiventris Rombena X only at c.800 m Channel-billed Cuckoo Scythrops novaehollandiae Woos X Greater Black Coucal Centropus menbeki Woos, Taman X X Woos: 2 (2008), 1 (2009); Anggrek Taman Anggrek: 1 at 500 m (2008) Lesser Black Coucal C. bernsteini Woos X 2 Common Paradise Kingfisher Tanysiptera Woos, Waserat, X X abundant galatea Rombena Sacred Kingfisher Halcyon sancta several sites x X common Little Kingfisher Alcedo pusilla Woos x 1 Variable Dwarf Kingfisher Ceyx lepidus Rombena X only at c.800 m Hook-billed Kingfisher Melidora macrorrhina Woos, Rombena x X heard only © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 106 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Species Locality 2008 2009 Comment Rufous-bellied Kookaburra Dacelo gaudichaud Woos, Rombena X X several Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis several sites X X common Blyth's Hombill Rhyticeros plicatus several sites X X common Papuan Frogmouth Podargus papuensis Woos X heard only Papuan Glossy Swiftlet Collocalia nitens Uniform Swiftlet C. vanikorensis several sites Woos x X common Moustached Treeswift Hemiprocne mystacea Woos, Rombena X X Hooded Pitta Pitta sordida novaeguineae Woos X 1 seen; more heard Red-bellied Pitta P. erythrogaster mackloti Woos, Waserat, Rombena X X Chestnut-backed Jewel Babbler Ptilorrhoa castanonotus Taman Anggrek, Rombena X X 2008: heard only at Taman Anggrek at c.950 m; 2009: 1 above Rombena at c.900 m Black-shouldered Cuckooshrike Coracina morio Taman Anggrek X up to 5 at c.950 m Boyer's Cuckooshrike C. boyeri Woos, Waserat, Rombena X X White-bellied Cuckooshrike C. papuensis Woos, Waserat X X Stout-billed Cuckooshrike C. caeruleogrisea Rombena X female at c. 1,000 m New Guinea Black Cuckooshrike C. melas Taman Anggrek, Rombena, Woos X X Black-browed Triller Lalage atrovirens Woos X 1-2 Brown Oriole Oriolus szalayi Woos X X common Emperor Fairy-wren Malurus cyanocephalus Woos X X Large-billed Gerygone Gerygone magnirostris Woos X several Fairy Gerygone G. p. palpebrosa Waserat, Taman Anggrek, Rombena X x Rusty Mouse-Warbler Crateroscelis murina Taman Anggrek, Woos, Waserat, Rombena X Pale-billed Scrubwren Sericornis s. spilodera Taman Anggrek, Waserat X all at 750-950 m Rufous-backed Fantail Rhipidura rufidorsa Woos, Rombena X X Northern Fantail R. rufiventris gularis Woos, Waserat, Rombena X x Black Thicket Fantail R. maculipectus Woos X 2 Sooty Thicket Fantail R. threnothorax Woos, Rombena X X to 600 m White-bellied Thicket Fantail R. leucothorax Woos X X common Shining Flycatcher Myiagra alecto several sites X X common Mountain Peltops Peltops montanus Taman Anggrek, Rombena X X at c.800-1,300 m Lowland Peltops P. blainvillii Woos X common Yellow-breasted Boatbill Machaerirhynchus flaviventer Rombena X 1 at c.800 m Golden Monarch Monarcha chrysomela Woos X X few; to 150 m Spot-winged Monarch M. guttula Woos, Taman Anggrek, Waserat, Rombena X X Hooded Monarch M. manadensis Woos X X common Black-winged Monarch M. frater Taman Anggrek, Rombena x X Frilled Monarch Arses t. telescophthalmus Woos, Waserat, Rombena X X © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 107 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Species Locality 2008 2009 Comment Black-sided Robin Poecilodryas hypoleuca Woos X common Olive Flyrobin Microeca flavovirescens Waserat, Rombena X X Waserat: 1-2 at 750 m; Rombena: 1+1 at 700-800 m Rusty Whistler Pachycephala hyperythra Taman Anggrek X 1; contrast between grey cap and brown back as well as contrasting white throat were seen Grey-headed Whistler P. griseiceps Taman Anggrek, Waserat, Woos, Rombena X X Little Shrike-Thrush Colluricincla megarhyncha Woos, Waserat, Taman Anggrek, Rombena X X Rusty Pitohui Pitohui ferrugineus Taman Anggrek, Rombena X x to 1,000 m Crested Pitohui P. cristatus Taman Anggrek, Rombena X X at 500-950 m Olive-crowned Flowerpecker Dicaeum p. pectorale several sites X common Black Berrypecker Melanocharis nigra Taman Anggrek, Woos, Rombena Olive-backed Sunbird Cinnyris jugularis frenatus Woos X to 1,000 m Black Sunbird Leptocoma aspasia Woos X X Yellow-bellied Longbill Toxorhamphus novaeguineae Taman Anggrek, Waserat, Woos, Rombena X X Red Myzomela Myzomela cruentata Taman Anggrek X several Red-collared Myzomela M. rosenbergii Rombena X male at c. 1,200 m Green-backed Honeyeater Glycichaera fallax Woos Long-billed Honeyeater Melilestes megarhynchus Woos X X 1-2 Tawny-breasted Honeyeater Xanthotis flaviventer Woos, Waserat, Taman Anggrek, Rombena X X Helmeted Friarbird Philemon buceroides novaeguineae Woos X X Mimic Meliphaga Meliphaga analoga Taman Anggrek X c.2 Papuan Mountain Drongo Chaetorhynchus papuensis Taman Anggrek, Rombena x surprisingly common to 1,000 m Spangled Drongo Dicrurus bracteatus carbonarius Woos X x Metallic Starling Aplonis metallica Woos X X Yellow-faced Myna Mino dumontii Woos X X Golden Myna M. anais Woos, Waserat X X near sea level Hooded Butcherbird Cracticus cassicus Woos X X Black Butcherbird C. quoyi Woos X X New Guinea Babbler Pomatostomus isidorei Woos, Rombena X X several groups White-eared Catbird Ailuroedus buccoides Rombena X to 800 m Spotted Catbird A. melanotis Taman Anggrek, Rombena x x heard only; 950-1,300 m Grey Crow Corvus tristis several sites X X common Twelve- wired Bird-of-Paradise Seleucidis melanoleuca Woos X X several (including male-plumaged birds) King Bird-of-Paradise Cicinnurus regius Woos x X common (including male-plumaged birds) Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise C. magnificus Waserat, Taman Anggrek, Rombena x X including male-plumaged birds © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 108 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Species Lesser Bird-of-Paradise Paradisaea minor Magnificent Riflebird Ptiloris m. magnificus Locality Taman Anggrek, Woos, Rombena Woos, Waserat, Taman Anggrek, Rombena Crinkle-collared Manucode Manucodia chalybata Taman Anggrek Trumpet Manucode M. keraudrenii Woos, Rombena 2008 2009 Comment x x including male-plumaged birds x x including male-plumaged birds x x several; the bump above the eye, lack of mane and hollow hooting vocalisations are diagnostic x c.100-800 m; quite arboreal; the flat forehead and nasal vocalisations are diagnostic observed it for c.l hour. The bird proved not to be the Red-billed Brush Turkey T. cuvieri expected on distribution (Rand & Gilliard 1968, Beehler et al. 1986) but a Black-billed Brush Turkey. The black (not red) bill and reddish-black (not yellow-olive) face were clearly seen. The bird also had bright-orange legs, very distinct from the 'chrome to lemon-yellow' (Rand & Gilliard 1968) or 'yellow' (Beehler et al. 1986) reported for T. f fuscirostris and T. f occidentalis from east of Etna Bay, but compatible with westernmost T.f meyeri described by Roselaar (1994) from the area between Etna Bay / Nabire and the Wandammen Peninsula. Another was briefly seen near Woos on 22 June 2009. T. fuscirostris is reported to reach as far west as the Wandammen Peninsula (Roselaar 1994), i.e. almost precisely 200 km due east of my location, and is thought to be replaced by T. cuvieri throughout the Bomberai and Onin peninsulas. Beehler et al. (1986) reported that, at least east of Etna Bay, where T. cuvieri and T. fuscirostris are said to overlap, T. cuvieri replaces T. fuscirostris in the foothills, whereas T. fuscirostris occupies the lowlands. Pak Dominggus has caught and eaten dozens of these brush turkeys at various elevations in the Fakfaks over the years. When shown the illustrations in Beehler et al. (1986), he confirmed that none of the local birds look like Red-billed Brush Turkeys. The Fakfaks are probably at the westernmost extension of the distribution of Black-billed Brush Turkey. Further research in intervening areas of the Bomberai Peninsula and specimens are needed to corroborate whether and how T. fuscirostris and T. cuvieri come into contact. GREAT-BILLED HERON Ardea sumatrana Beehler et al. (1986) considered this a scarce resident throughout New Guinea's lowlands. One seen in inundated forest at Woos on 22 June 2009 may be the first record for the Bomberai and Onin peninsulas. NEW GUINEA HARPY EAGLE Harpyopsis novaeguineae On 6 September 2008, a frequently vocalising bird was heard from the top of a ridge along the road at 'Taman Anggrek' (c.950 m). This is the second record of this scarce species from the Fakfaks, following J. Diamond's ( in litt. 2011) unpublished observation. WESTERN CROWNED PIGEON Goura cristata According to local elders, this scarce and hunted species is still relatively abundant in undisturbed forests around Woos and in the northern Fakfak foothills. One was seen 1 km from Woos on 4 September 2008, and the species was seen once or twice daily up to 500 m on 22-24 June and 27 June 2009. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 109 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) PHEASANT PIGEON Otidiphaps nobilis Previously discovered in the Fakfaks by Diamond (1985), I saw this scarce pigeon c.3 km from Woos at c.100 m on 22 June 2009. The single bird was in fairly level terrain a few hundred metres from the nearest foothills. ORNATE FRUIT DOVE Ptilinopus ornatus gestroi On 3-4 September 2008, I observed 2-3 in lowland forest around Woos near sea level and several km from the nearest foothills, and thus unusually low for this species. P. o. gestroi is quite different phenotypically from nominate ornatus , which occurs on the Vogelkop Peninsula. CORONETED FRUIT DOVE Ptilinopus coronulatus Rand & Gilliard's (1968) description of subspecies ranges, which has been followed in most subsequent literature, suggested the species may be absent from the Onin and Bomberai peninsulas. Illustrations in Beehler et al. (1986) broadly distinguished the northern subspecies (lavender-grey crown) and southern subspecies (purple crown). Two singles near Woos on 3 September 2008 had distinctly purple crowns and indicate that the westward distribution of nominate coronulatus does not end at the Mimika River (Rand & Gilliard 1968), but extends to the Fakfak region. ORANGE-BREASTED FIG PARROT Cyclopsitta gulielmitertii / DOUBLE-EYED FIG PARROT C. diophthalma Both species were seen around Woos on several days in both years, sometimes within the village's perimeter. Rand & Gilliard (1968) did not include the Onin and Bomberai peninsulas in the range of C. gulielmitertii, and Beehler et al. (1986) stated that it is absent from much of the southern watershed where it may be replaced by C. diophthalma. My observations suggest that C. gulielmitertii is common in the lowlands of the Bomberai and Onin peninsulas, and that it is syntopic with C. diophthalma there. Subspecific identification of C. gulielmitertii was not attempted. YELLOW-BILLED KINGFISHER Halcyon torotoro In both years, widely heard and less often seen in the environs of Waserat, 'Taman Anggrek', Woos and the Fakfak range itself. At 'Taman Anggrek', it was heard at c.950 m on 6 September 2008, and one was seen at c.1,300 m in the main Fakfak range on 26 June 2009. Birds at high elevations did not seem to differ vocally or in size from birds lower down. Therefore, the Fakfaks do not seem to harbour a population of Mountain Kingfisher H. megarhyncha, which replaces H. torotoro in most other New Guinea mountains above I, 000 m (Beehler et al. 1986). Given the difficulty of identifying them in the field, specimens are needed to ascertain the identity of Halcyon kingfishers at high elevations in the Fakfaks. PAPUAN SPINE-TAILED SWIFT Mearnsia novaeguineae Absent from the Onin and Bomberai peninsulas according to Rand & Gilliard (1968) and Beehler et al. (1986), the species is considered to range west to the Mamberamo and Mimika rivers. On 3-5 September 2008, I had good views of several individuals of this distinctive- shaped swift in the environs of Woos, with a single observed at the same locality on 22 June 2009, suggesting that the species' range in the southern watershed extends all the way to the Fakfak region. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 110 Bull. B.O.C 2012 132(2) YELLOW-BELLIED GERYGONE Gerygone chrysogaster Observed in both years and on several occasions to at least 750 m. Based on their distribution, local populations belong to G. c. dohertyi, which is stated to resemble the Vogelkop taxon G. c. notata but for the lack of yellowish- white wingbars (Rand & Gilliard 1968). My observations confirm this taxon diagnosis for Fakfak birds. BROWN-BREASTED GERYGONE Gerygone ruficollis This montane species was previously recorded in the Fakfaks by Gibbs (1994) and J. Diamond (in litt. 2011). On 26 June 2009, 1 found it common at the highest elevations visited (c. 1,300 m). ISLAND LEAF WARBLER Phylloscopus poliocephalus Diamond (1985) initially found this species in the Fakfaks, followed by Gibbs (1994). In 2008-09, 1 found it commonly anywhere above 900 m (including at 'Taman Anggrek'), and even as low as 750 m above Waserat. My observations clarify the lower elevational limit in the Fakfaks. PERPLEXING SCRUB WREN Sericornis virgatus Diamond (1985) found a new population in the Fakfaks at 1,170-1,290 m, which featured among several novel populations from new montane localities. Under his division of the species into two groups, the undescribed Fakfak population belongs to the virgatus group, which also occurs in the Sepik Mountains, parts of the Central Range, the Arfak and Kumawa mountains, as well as Yapen. I observed a pair and then three on 6 September 2008 at 'Taman Anggrek' at c.950 m, and— a year later— one above Rombena at c. 1,000 m. The conspicuous wing markings and treecreeper behaviour make identification unequivocal. My observations possibly mark the lowest recorded elevations for this undescribed taxon. CHESTNUT-BELLIED F ANT AIL Rhipidura hyperythra Common in mixed flocks at mid altitudes in 2008-09. In the lowlands around Woos, I repeatedly saw it (3 and 5 September 2008) near sea level in areas adjacent to the first slopes of the foothills. It is rarely seen in lowland forests (Beehler et al. 1986). BLACK MONARCH Monarcha axillaris Rand & Gilliard (1968) did not list this montane species for the Fakfaks. However, J. Diamond (in litt. 2011) and Gibbs (1994) saw it there. I observed 2-3 at 'Taman Anggrek' at c.950 m on 6 September 2008 and saw it repeatedly above Rombena at various elevations on 25-26 June 2009. The species appears common in the Fakfaks. OLIVE-YELLOW (BANDED YELLOW) ROBIN Poecilodryas placens Diamond (1985) discovered a new population in the Fakfaks (at 500-1,130 m) and discussed the species' peculiarly patchy distribution. Gibbs (1994) also encountered 3-4 individuals. I saw one at 450 m in the hills above Waserat on 29 August 2008, and 3-4 around Rombena at c.900 m on 25-26 June 2009. These observations slightly extend the species' elevational range in the Fakfak region. WHITE-FACED ROBIN Tregellasia leucops Diamond (1985) discovered a new population in the Fakfaks which he attributed to the nominate subspecies group that otherwise occurs on the Vogelkop Peninsula, in the Kumawa, Wandammen and Weyland mountains, and on the south slope of the Snow © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 111 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Mountains. In the absence of specimens, it is unclear if taxonomic recognition of the Fakfak population is warranted. Gibbs (1994) relocated this population on his ascent, but I only found a single at c.1,300 m, i.e. higher than Gibbs' (1994) records. HOODED PITOHUI Pitohui dichrous / VARIABLE PITOHUI P. kirhocephalus decipiens These sister species (Dumbacher et al. 2008) appear to replace one another elevationally over most of their New Guinea ranges (Beehler et al. 1986). In 2008-09, I occasionally saw both in the Fakfaks, with sightings of P. kirhocephalus generally at lower elevations than P. dichrous. At 'Taman Anggrek' (c.950-980 m), the usually shy P. dichrous is a conspicuous and common roadside inhabitant, and was seen on 6 September 2008 in syntopy (in the same trees) with the grey-headed and easily identified P. kirhocephalus decipiens. Rather than suggesting that these species are broadly sympatric, this locality might lie at an elevation where they are in narrow contact. SCLATER'S WHISTLER Pachycephala soror taxon novum During his field work in the Fakfak and Kumawa mountains. Diamond (1985) discovered two new populations of Pachycephala that somewhat resemble one another but are distinct from any described species. They most closely resemble Sclater's Whistler P. soror and Diamond (1985) attributed them to this species. The Kumawa population was named P. s. octogenarii, whereas the Fakfak population, which occurs at 600-1,200 m, was uncollected. Gibbs (1994) confirmed the distinctiveness of their plumage and I also saw (but did not hear) birds at 1,000-1,300 m. Compared to other subspecies of P. soror, males had— as described by Diamond (1985) — a near-obsolete breast-band and a greyish rather than black cap and head-sides, whilst females more closely resembled other races of P. soror. Other than one Rusty Whistler P. hyperythra at 'Taman Anggrek' (c.950 m; see Table 1) — at lower elevations than where I observed Sclater's Whistler— no other montane Pachycephala was encountered in the Fakfaks. Specimen collection is necessary to determine the identity of these birds and sound-recordings are needed to compare their vocalisations with those of other subspecies of P. soror. VARIED SITELLA Daphoenositta chrysoptera Beehler et al. (1986) considered this species to be found in mountains of the Vogelkop Peninsula and the Central Range at 1,400-2,200 m, but occasionally ranging to 1,075 m. Neither Diamond (1985) or Gibbs (1994) found it in the Fakfaks. On 26 June 2009, I saw a flock of four above Rombena at c. 1,200 m. They frequented a steep hillside with large dead trees. The flock comprised all-streaky individuals (apparently none with all-white heads) and the yellow mandible was clearly seen. This may be the first record for the Fakfaks, and for the Bomberai / Onin peninsulas in general. CAPPED WHITE-EYE Zosterops fuscicapillus Diamond (1985) was first to encounter the species in the Fakfaks, at 1,160-1,270 m, and Gibbs (1994) confirmed its presence. On 26 June 2009, I observed and sound-recorded the species at c.1,300 m, thereby slightly expanding its elevational range in the Fakfaks. NEW GUINEA BLACK-FRONTED WHITE-EYE Zosterops minor chrysolaemus It was this species, not New Guinea White-eye Z. novaeguineae, which I identified at 'Taman Anggrek' (c.950 m) on 6 September 2008 and subsequently saw below Rombena at 200-800 m (24-27 June 2009). Identification was based on the dark forehead and more limited yellow on the breast. Diamond (1985) was unintentionally equivocal in his account © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 112 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) by stating that this species replaces C. fuscicapillus at lower elevations wherever the latter occurs, while thereafter listing Z. novaeguineae as a further lower-elevation replacement. J. Diamond (in lift. 2011) has since clarified that he only saw Z. minor, not Z. novaeguineae at lower elevations in the Fakfaks, but observed both in the Kumawas. Gibbs (1994) did not encounter either species. TAWNY STRAIGHTBILL Timeliopsis griseigula On 5 September 2008, 1 observed 3-4 within a large mixed-species flock in lowland swamp forest c.2 km from Woos. As previously noted for this species (e.g.. Diamond 1985), the flock contained many other tawny-coloured birds, such as New Guinea Babblers Pomatostomus isidorei, Tawny-breasted Honeyeaters Xanthotis flaviventer and various Pitohui and female Coracina cuckooshrikes. This intriguing pattern of potential mimicry is unexplored. The species was long unknown from the region between the western Vogelkop Peninsula and the Fly River until Diamond (1985) found it in the Kumawa Mountains. My record suggests it is more widespread in the Bomberai and Onin peninsulas. SILVER-EARED HONEYEATER Lichmera alboauricularis Two in swampy inundated roadside forest c.2 km from Woos and just above sea level on 3 September 2008. Known only from far north-west New Guinea, the northern watershed and near Port Moresby (Beehler et al. 1986), my record represents a substantial range extension. The solid-brown upperparts, heavily speckled underparts and narrow yellow ear-coverts eliminate any other similar-sized and shaped honeyeater. It is potentially widespread in coastal areas but restricted to habitats difficult of access. SCRUB WHITE-EARED MELIPHAGA Meliphaga albonotata Beehler et al. (1986) considered this species of disturbed habitats 'uncommon in lowlands', but Diamond (1985) observed it in the coastal environs of the Kumawa and Wandammen mountains. I observed one in an inundated clearing at Woos near sea level on 3 September 2008. The species may benefit from anthropogenic habitat alteration. FOREST WHITE-EARED MELIPHAGA Meliphaga montana Diamond (1985) clarified that this is a montane species of the northern watershed and extended its range in West Papua to the Kumawa and Fakfak mountains, where he reported it as being somewhat uncommon at 560-930 m. On 6 September 2008, I made detailed observations of two at c.850 m near 'Taman Anggrek'. My notes mention two large-bodied Meliphaga with a strong bill, brownish-olive upperparts, a small ear-spot and moderate rictal streak. In good light, the ear-patch of one appeared white and the other yellowish, whereas the rictal streak was bright white on both. This suggests that one of the two was a juvenile. MOUNTAIN MELIPHAGA Meliphaga orientalis Diamond (1985) was first to observe the species in the Fakfaks, encountering it commonly at 900-1,200 m. I saw one well at c. 1,300 m on 26 June 2009. YELLOW-GAPED MELIPHAGA Meliphaga flavirictus This canopy-dweller is the rarest Meliphaga and one of the hardest to identify. My two sightings of singles (possibly the same?) on 25 June 2009 were in an area of fruiting trees at c.800 m near Rombena, where they were associating with mixed-species canopy flocks. I noted the small size, unstreaked underparts, relatively slender bill, small pale yellow. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 113 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) roundish ear spots and yellow gape stripe. This appears to be the first record from the Onin and Bomberai peninsulas. SMOKY HONEYEATER Melipotes taxon novum Melipotes have a complicated checkerboard distribution across New Guinea's highlands. Diamond (1985) found new populations in the Kumawa and Fakfak mountains that he attributed to Common Smoky Honeyeater M. fumigatus from the Central Range, rather than to Arfak Honeyeater M. gymnops from the adjacent Wandammen and Vogelkop peninsulas. The Kumawa birds were described as M. /. kumawa, but Fakfak birds have not been collected. Disagreeing with Diamond's (1985) diagnosis, Gibbs (1994) considered birds from the Fakfaks to be more akin to M. gymnops than to M. fumigatus based on the pale belly. However, he added that the unusual shape of the facial skin wattles recalls the distant Spangled Honeyeater M. ater from the Huon Mountains, and that Fakfak birds may merit species rank. Gibbs (1994) was unaware of the new species in the Foja Mountains, Wattled Smoky Honeyeater M. carolae, subsequently described by Beehler et al. (2007), which closely resembles M. ater— and possibly Fakfak birds— in the shape of the facial wattles. On 26 June 2009 I briefly observed two at c. 1,300 m above Rombena. Although they were clearly Melipotes, low cloud and the brevity of the sighting prevented me from making detailed observations. However, although the facial wattles were seen only briefly, they appeared atypical in shape and size for M. fumigatus, thereby supporting Gibbs's (1994) suggestion that the wattles of birds in the Fakfaks may be morphologically unusual. Specimen collection is necessary to resolve this issue. GREATER MELAMPITTA Melampitta gigantea Extremely patchily distributed throughout New Guinea (Beehler et al. 1986), the species was found to inhabit karstic undergrowth in the Fakfaks where it roosts in sinkholes (Diamond 1983). In the morning of 25 June 2009, I sound-recorded an unknown melodious song just above Rombena at c.900 m. On playback, I observed an adult hopping closer, affording good views. The same song was subsequently heard all the way to the highest point reached (c. 1,300 m) and I realised that I had also sound-recorded it at 'Taman Anggrek' (c.950 m) on 20 June 2009. The species is extremely wary but appears common in the karstic substratum of the Fakfaks. Vocal activity (and therefore detectability) is perhaps seasonal, which may explain why none was heard in late August and early September 2008 by myself or in late August-early September 1992 by Gibbs (1994). Alternatively, the bird does sing at this period but was merely overlooked. VOGELKOP BOWERBIRD Amblyornis inornatus Vogelkop Bowerbirds on the Kumawa and Fakfak mountains construct bowers very different from those in the Arfak and Wandammen mountains (Diamond 1986, 1988, Uy & Borgia 2000), although Figure 2. The elaborate stick bower of the Fakfak population of Vogelkop Bowerbird Amblyornis inornatus; the area at the base of the bower is cleared and surrounded by a strip of gastropod shells; the inset shows the gastropod shells close up (Frank E. Rheindt) © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 114 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) the plumage of these populations is near-identical. Some commentators have proposed that those birds in the Fakfaks and Kumawas are specifically distinct from A. inornatus (Gibbs 1994). Bower-building is conceivably learned, and little is known of female choice behaviour among populations with different bower-building habits. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) divergence between Fakfak and Arfak birds is just 0.5%, i.e., similar to the 0.2-0.4% inter-population differences within bowerbird species that do not differ in bower construction (Kusmierski et al. 1997, Uy & Borgia 2000). Since bowerbirds in the Fakfaks cannot be very numerous, this low mtDNA divergence indicates a recent common ancestor between populations from the Fakfaks and nearby ranges. However, mtDNA is known to be unreliable in certain evolutionary scenarios (e.g., in cases of genetic introgression), making a more detailed investigation using nuclear loci necessary to examine the differences between Fakfak and Arfak populations. On 27 June 2009, I observed a male at its bower above Rombena at c. 1,300 m. The bower (Fig. 2) resembled those previously described (Diamond 1986, 1988, Uy & Borgia 2000) in being an elaborate stick construction atop a cleared patch surrounded by strips of gastropod shells, which are presumably harvested from subterranean water sources deep in limestone crevices. The male occasionally gave its 'outlandish' vocalisations, which were sound-recorded, cf. www.xeno-canto.org under the accession nos. XC92510 and XC92511. This form's previously undescribed vocalisations vary but vaguely recall those of the Arfak population, although they are even more bizarre and non-avian-sounding. Some motifs are reminiscent of a loud squeaking door, others recall a cat in heat or giving birth. Discussion Outlying mountain ranges north and west of the Central Papuan Range are among the ornithologically least-explored regions in the world, despite that Diamond (1985) spent many months there. Apart from a recent biological inventory of the Foja Mountains (Beehler et al. 2007, Beehler & Prawiradilaga 2010), there has been no ornithological collecting in any of these regions in almost three decades. Of the least explored of these ranges, the two most extensive are those on the Bomberai and Onin peninsulas, namely the Fakfaks and Kumawas. Gibbs (1994) followed in Diamond's (1985) footsteps to the top of the Fakfaks during a brief period when oil exploration made access easier. He made exciting additional discoveries that had eluded Diamond (1985), indicating that the Fakfak Mountains may yet hold additional undiscovered avian taxa. My work added two species to the avifauna of the Fakfaks (Daphoenositta chrysoptera, Meliphaga flavirictus ) and at least seven to that of the lowlands of the Onin and Bomberai peninsulas (Talegalla fuscirostris, Ptilinopus c. coronulatus, Cyclopsitta gulielmitertii, Mearnsia novaeguineae, Timeliopsis griseigula, Lichmera alboauricularis, Meliphaga albonotata). Many of the latter are taxa whose southern distribution has hitherto been assumed to be bounded in the west by the Mimika River or Etna Bay, demonstrating that a sizeable component of southern Papuan lowland birds extend much further west than previously known. I also uncovered elevational range extensions or the first precise details of elevational occurrence for some montane birds, and documented the vocalisations of the undescribed Fakfak population of Amblyornis inornatus. Despite substantial efforts, it was difficult to reach high elevations because all infrastructure associated with oil exploration has disappeared. Once elevations above 1,200 m were finally reached in 2009, logistical constraints precluded spending much time there, and bad weather further reduced observation time. These factors doubtless contributed to my overlooking two key taxa encountered by Diamond (1985) and Gibbs (1994), i.e. potentially new taxa of Ptiloprora and Paradigalla. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Frank E. Rheindt 115 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Despite the new insights gained, all of the Fakfak range's potential new taxa (which may number as many as ten) are still undescribed and the mountains remain incompletely explored. The author is presently attempting to mount a collecting expedition to the Fakfaks and Kumawas in collaboration with the Indonesian authorities to address the dearth of knowledge of one of the world's last patches of ornithological terra incognita. Acknowledgements I thank the villagers of Woos and Waserat, especially Pak Musa, Pak Harun, Pak Dominggus, Pak Yoel, Pak Wimpi, Neles, Helon, Naptali, Keto, Marten and Mirki, for their hospitality and help in the field. I am most indebted to Pak Musa, whose hunting-and-gathering skills permitted me to remain at high elevations for longer than would otherwise have been possible, and to Pak Dominggus for his hunting prowess that allowed me to closely observe a live Talegalla fuscirostris meyeri. Jared Diamond, Bruce Beehler and Mary LeCroy are gratefully acknowledged for their helpful comments on the submitted draft. References: Beehler, B. M. & Prawiradilaga, D. M. 2010. New taxa and new records of birds from the north coastal ranges of New Guinea. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 130: 277-285. Beehler, B. M., Pratt, T. K. & Zimmerman, D. A. 1986. Birds of New Guinea. Princeton Univ. Press. Beehler, B. M., Prawiradilaga, D. M., Fretes, Y. & Kemp, N. 2007. A new species of Smoky Honeyeater (Meliphagidae: Melipotes ) from western New Guinea. Auk 124: 1000-1009. Diamond, J. M. 1983. Melampitta gigantea: possible relation between feather structure and underground roosting habits. Condor 85: 89-91. Diamond, J. 1985. New distributional records and taxa from the outlying mountain ranges of New Guinea. Emu 85: 65-91. Diamond, J. 1986. Animal art: variation in bower decorating style among male bowerbirds Amblyornis inornatus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83: 3042-3046. Diamond, J. 1988. Experimental study of bower decoration by the bowerbird Amblyornis inornatus using colored poker chips. Amer. Natur. 131: 631-653. Dumbacher, J. P., Deiner, K., Thompson, L. & Fleischer, R. C. 2008. Phylogeny of the avian genus Pitohui and the evolution of toxicity in birds. Mol. Phyl. & Evol. 49: 774-781. Finsch, O. 1900. On a collection of birds made by Mr. Karl Schadler at Sekru. Notes Eeiden Mus. 22: 49-69. Gibbs, D. 1994. Undescribed taxa and new records from the Fakfak Mountains, Irian Jaya. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 114:4-11. Gyldenstolpe, N. 1955. Birds collected by Dr. Sten Bergman during his expedition to Dutch New Guinea 1948-1949. Part III. Birds collected on the south coast of the Bomberai Peninsula and on Pulu Adi, off the south coast of the same peninsula. Arkiv. f. Zoo/. 8: 331-355. Hall, R. 2002. Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SW Pacific: computer-based reconstructions and animations. J. Asian Earth Sci. 20: 353-434. Kusmierski, R., Borgia, G., Uy, J. A. C. & Crozier, R. H. 1997. Labile evolution of display traits in bowerbirds indicates reduced effects of phylogenetic constraint. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B 264 : 307-313. Mayr, E. 1946. The number of species of birds. Auk 63: 64-69. Rand, A. L. & Gilliard, E. T. 1968. Handbook of New Guinea birds. Natural History Press, Garden City, NY. Rheindt, F. E. 2009. First nest and egg description of the New Guinea Bronzewing Henicophaps albifrons and its phylogenetic significance. Kukila 14: 59-62. Roselaar, C. S. 1994. Systematic notes on Megapodiidae (Aves, Galliformes), including the description of five new subspecies. Bull. Zodl. Mus., Amsterdam 14: 1-36. Rothschild, W. & Hartert, E. 1901. Notes on Papuan birds. Novit. Zool. 8: 55-88, 102-162. Uy, J. A. C. & Borgia, G. 2000. Sexual selection drives rapid divergence in bowerbird display traits. Evolution 54: 273-278. Address: Harvard University, Dept, of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA, email: frankrheindt@yahoo.com.au © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Donald W. Buden 116 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Seabirds of Sorol Atoll, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia by Donald W. Buden Received 12 December 2011 Summary.— Twelve species of seabirds are newly recorded for Sorol Atoll, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), with breeding confirmed for nine and likely for two. All of the species are widespread in the tropical Pacific and with few exceptions have been previously recorded breeding on many islands in the FSM. However, Red-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda on Faluwaichich Island is only the second breeding record for the FSM, and Masked Booby Sula dactylatra on Pigelmol Island is only the fourth locality and third breeding record for the country. Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscata and Great Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii on Sorol Atoll are first breeding records for Yap State. Breeding seabird colonies were encountered only on the three westernmost islands, Fuluwaichich, Pigelwol and Pigelmol during this study in June and July, but unconfirmed reports by former residents suggest that Sooty Terns breed in large numbers on many islets throughout the atoll in October and November. No birds were observed breeding on Sorol, the largest island in the group and the site of a former settlement, where rats ( Rattus spp.) and monitor lizards Varanus indicus) are common. With the exception of one monitor lizard on Piilalai Island, adjacent to Sorol, no rats or varanids were observed on the other islands. I visited previously unstudied Sorol Atoll, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), from 27 June to 19 July 2011 to assess the distribution and abundance of reptiles, birds, coconut crabs, butterflies and dragonflies (Odonata). I herein report on the seabirds that I observed (I saw no resident landbirds) along with previously unpublished data from one- day visits by Zegrahm Expeditions to Sorol in 2004 and 2010 en route to and from other destinations. The 2010 bird list compiled by J. Rossouw lists only Sorol Atoll as a locality, but G. Lake (http://travelblog.zeco.com/author/george-lake), one of the participants, stated that they visited Bigelimol (= Pigelmol) Island. R. Schodde's brief notes on birds observed during the 2004 expedition (held in the Zegrahm archives) likewise mention only Sorol but probably also refer to Pigelmol considering the faunal description. Study area Sorol Atoll (08°08'N, 140°25'E) is part of Yap State, and is located in the western Caroline Islands, western Pacific Ocean (Fig. 1A). It is 280 km south-east of the main Yap islands (= Yap proper) and 180 km south of Fais Island, the nearest land. The atoll is c.12 km long and 3 km wide, with six low (2-3 m high) coralline islands distributed along the northern perimeter (Fig. IB), together with numerous barren sand cays. Total land area is 0.93 km2, and Sorol, the largest island, is c.0.5 km2 (0.518— Bryan 1971; 0.565— this study. Table 1). The vegetation of Sorol, Fuluwaichich, Pigelwol and Pigelmol Islands is mainly coconut Cocos nucifera and tournefortia Tournefortia argentea forest that extends to the beach or is bordered by a dense, narrow, discontinuous zone of shrubs and small trees, largely Scaevola taccada and T. argentea. Pandanus sp. is scattered throughout the forest, and sparse coastal scrub occurs on sand and gravel flats between the forest and the shore. Artocarpus © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Donald W. Buden 117 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Figure 1. Location of Sorol Atoll in the western Pacific Ocean (A), and the islands of Sorol Atoll (B). sp., Barringtonia asiatica, a Ficus sp. and Pisonia grandis are among other large forest trees, but many show storm damage and some remain only as dead trunks. Piglor Island, which was once vegetated (M. Marpa pers. comm.), is now a storm-damaged, unvegetated platform of coral sand and rubble, and Piilalai is a long narrow island with Cocos / Tournefortia / Pandanus forest over its western half and sparse coastal scrub and strand in the east. The atoll has been sparsely and intermittently inhabited for much of its recorded history, usually with no more than 10-20 people living in a small settlement on Sorol and visiting the other islands of the atoll to fish and to collect crabs, turtles, birds, bird eggs, coconuts and other resources (Buden in press). The atoll has been uninhabited for the past c.10 years (M. Marpa pers. comm.). Islanders from other atolls occasionally visit Sorol, but such visits are infrequent given the distances involved (M. Marpa pers. comm.). © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Donald W. Buden 118 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) TABLE 1 Statistical data for islands of Sorol Atoll and approximate number of days spent on each island during the present study3 Island Length (km) Width (km) Area (km2) Distance to next islandb (km) Days on island Piglor 0.147 0.082 0.022 0.438 0.5 Sorol 1.870 0.200 0.565 0.140 11.0 Piilalai 0.684 0.050 0.026 1.450 0.5 Faluwaichich 0.202 0.070 0.017 2.570 2.0 Pigelwol 0.380 0.120 0.037 1.930 2.0 Pigelmol 0.667 0.153 0.087 7.0 3 Distances and areas measured with a Garmin E-trex GPS unit. b From east to west across the atoll. Methods I established a base camp on Sorol Island and field camps on Faluwaichich, Pigelwol and Pigelmol Islands during 27 June-19 July 2011. I reached Sorol Island by fishing boat from Yap, and the other islands by walking along the reef flat at low tide. Names of islands are those used by former residents and provided by M. Marpa (pers. comm.), mayor of the Sorol community on Yap; alternative names are listed by Bryan (1971). Common and scientific names of birds follow Clements et al. (2011). I recorded the various bird species encountered on each island and confirmed breeding by the presence of eggs and flightless or recently fledged young with down. The major islands and island groups of Micronesia referred to herein include Palau, Yap, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, the Marshall Islands, and Wake Island, following Wiles (2005). Species accounts RED-TAILED TROPICBIRD Phaethon rubricauda I saw at least four pairs on Faluwaichich on 1 July 2011. One pair was guarding a downy young (Fig. 2C) and the three others had one egg each (e.g. Fig. 2D). The birds were nesting on the ground in Cocos forest. This is the first record of P. rubricauda for Yap State and only the second breeding record for FSM; Korte & Meltofte (1997) recorded one pair incubating on Ant Atoll, Pohnpei, on 7 April 1996. This species occurs widely in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans (Pratt et al. 1987), but there are relatively few breeding records for the western Pacific. Wiles (2005) recorded P. rubricauda breeding elsewhere in Micronesia in Palau, CNMI, the Marshall Islands, and Wake Island. GREAT FRIGATEBIRD Fregata minor I saw this species daily throughout the atoll with max. c.30 in flight over Pigelwol and observed 5-6 recently fledged or nearly fledged young on Pigelmol on 6 July 2011. R. Schodde recorded at least 15 nests on 28 March 2004 [probably on Pigelmol], 'most of them tended by males' and J. Rossouw (pers. comm.) observed at least 20 immatures at a nesting site presumably on Pigelmol on 31 August 2010. Great Frigatebird is widespread in the tropical Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans (Pratt et al. 1987). Wiles (2005) recorded it on all major islands and island groups in Micronesia, with breeding confirmed in the FSM in Yap, Chuuk and Pohnpei States. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Donald W. Buden 119 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Figure 2. Masked Boobies Sula dactylatra, Pigelmol Island, Sorol Atoll, 5 July 2011 (A, B), and two different broods of Red-tailed Tropicbirds Phaethon rubricauda, Faluwaichich Island, Sorol Atoll, 1 July 2011 (C, D) (Donald W. Buden) LESSER FRIGATEBIRD Fregata ariel J. Rossouw (pers. comm.) saw an adult male 'over Sorol Atoll' [presumably on Pigelmol] on 31 August 2010. The only other records for FSM are for Yap proper and Ngulu and Ulithi Atolls (Baker 1951), with a male and female observed at Kosrae (Pyle & Engbring 1987). Pratt et al. (1987) considered Lesser Frigatebird to be pantropical in distribution but rare in Micronesia. Wiles (2005) recorded it as occurring in near-shore waters at Palau, Yap, CNMI, Kosrae, the Marshall Islands, and Wake Island, where it may roost on land but is not known to breed. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Donald W. Buden 120 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) MASKED BOOBY Sula dactylatra I saw two pairs with different-aged young on Pigelmol on 5 July (Fig. 2A-B), another pair courting there on 6 July, and another (possibly the same) on Pigelwol on 7 July 2011. The courting birds were on the upper beach, occasionally touching bills and making high- pitched honking calls. This species is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical oceans (Pratt et al. 1987), but a rare breeder in much of the western Pacific (Nelson 1978). The only other records of S. dactylatra in the FSM are two pairs of adults one with a flying juvenile, the other with a downy chick, on 14 September 1999, and a juvenile c.100 days old in a nest on 28 May 2002, all on Gaferut Island, Yap (C. B. Kepler in Wiles et al. 2004), two adults and at least three juveniles on a sand cay at the south-west corner of Murilo Atoll, Chuuk (Wiles et al. 2000), and four (ages unstated) roosting on a rock on the reef at East Fayu Island, Chuuk, on 2 April 1996 (Korte & Meltofte 1997). BROWN BOOBY Sula leucogaster I saw 30-M0 adults and juveniles on Faluwaichich on 1 July 2011 and c.80-100 adults each on Pigelwol and Pigelmol in the first two weeks of July 2011, many of them in flight or perched atop coconut trees. I observed 13 unoccupied nests and two each with two eggs on the ground in an area of sparse coastal scrub c.50 m long and 30 m wide on Pigelwol on 7 July, and saw a nest with two eggs on the ground on Pigelmol on 19 July. R. Schodde recorded 'dozens of young Brown Boobies on the ground [on Pigelmol?]' on 28 March 2004, and J. Rossouw (pers. comm.) observed at least six pairs nesting (presumably on Pigelmol) on 31 August 2010. This species is widespread throughout tropical oceans (Pratt et al. 1987), and breeding (former breeding in the case of Guam) is confirmed for all of the major islands and island groups in Micronesia except Kosrae (Wiles 2005). RED-FOOTED BOOBY Sula sula I estimated 100-150 adults and juveniles on Faluwaichich on 1 July 2011, another c.400 on Pigelmol on 5 July, and fewer (uncounted) on Pigelwol in early July. Many were perched in Tournefortia and Cocos trees or were seen in flight after being flushed from their perches. R. Schodde recorded 'over a hundred nests' in trees [on Pigelmol?] on 28 March 2004, and J. Rossouw (pers. comm.) recorded over 100 breeding on Sorol Atoll (presumably on Pigelmol) on 31 August 2010. This species has a pantropical distribution (Pratt et al. 1987) and has been recorded breeding on all major islands and island groups in Micronesia (Wiles 2005). BROWN NODDY Anous stolidus I saw Brown Noddies regularly throughout the atoll, usually no more than 20-30 together, but up to c.300 on a sandbar on Piglor on 10 July 2011. I saw no evidence of nesting but those flushed from atop coconut trees on the three westernmost islands may have had nests hidden from view. R. Schodde recorded Brown Noddies feeding young [on Pigelmol?] on 28 March 2004, and J. Rossouw (pers. comm.) saw '100+' nesting on Sorol (probably Pigelmol] on 31 August 2010. This species is found throughout the tropical oceans of the world (Pratt et al. 1987) and has been confirmed to breed on all major islands and island groups in Micronesia (Wiles 2005). It breeds widely in the FSM, but its tendency to nest in the crowns of trees makes accurate assessment of breeding difficult. BLACK NODDY Anous minutus I estimated c.200 on a sandbank between Piilalai and Faluwaichich and another 200 on Faluwaichich on 1 July, and counted c.300 old nests, some with adults (but no eggs or young in the few examined), mainly in Tournefortia trees on Faluwaichich on 4 July 2011. 1 © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Donald W. Buden 121 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) noted nests also on Pigelwol and Pigelmol, but did not make counts, and saw three recently fledged, weak-flying young on Pigelwol on 7 July. R. Schodde recorded Black Noddies 'resting, but not nesting on old nests [on Pigelmol?]' on 28 March 2004. This species occurs widely throughout the tropical Pacific and Atlantic (Pratt et al. 1987) and has been confirmed to breed on all major islands and island groups in Micronesia except Guam (Wiles 2005). Black Noddy is one of the commonest seabirds in the FSM (pers. obs.), often nesting in large colonies— e.g. at least 10,000 pairs on East Fayu Island, Chuuk, and c.5, 000-10,000 pairs with eggs or nestlings on Ant Atoll, Pohnpei, in April 1996 ( Korte & Meltofte 1997). WHITE TERN Gygis alba I saw White Terns regularly between Piilalai and Pigelmol (but none over Sorol) throughout the period, with a max. 26 together over Faluwaichich on 8 July. I estimated 10-15 breeding pairs and recorded four single-egg clutches on Faluwaichich on 4 July, and 5-6 pairs and one egg on Pigelwol on 7 July. R. Schodde recorded G. alba feeding young [on Pigelmol?] on 28 March 2004, and J. Rossouw (pers. comm.) recorded an unspecified number of 'nesting pairs' presumably on Pigelmol on 31 August 2010. White Tern is pantropical in distribution (Pratt et al. 1987) and has been recorded breeding on all of the major islands and island groups in Micronesia (Wiles 2005). SOOTY TERN Onychoprion fuscata I saw c.20 in flight between Piilalai and Faluwaichich, c.100 on a rocky tidal flat at Faluwaichich, and at least three recently fledged, weak-flying young in adjacent coastal scrub on Faluwaichich, all on 3 July 2011. J. Rossouw (pers. comm.) recorded 'small numbers, perhaps prospecting for nesting opportunities' in flight over Sorol Atoll on 31 August 2010. M. Marpa (pers. comm.) and T. Yalochem (pers. comm.), both former residents of Sorol, remarked that in October-November the sand cays are nearly covered with nesting birds, and that one cannot walk there without stepping on the eggs. The birds they described as black above and white below are almost certainly O. fuscata. This species is widespread and common in the tropical Pacific (Pratt et al. 1987) and Wiles (2005) recorded it on all major islands and island groups in Micronesia, with breeding confirmed for Palau, CNMI, Chuuk, Pohnpei, the Marshall Islands, and Wake Island. BLACK-NAPED TERN Sterna sumatrana I saw Black-naped Terns only occasionally during my stay on Sorol Atoll, with max. 12 together on sand cays between Piilalai and Faluwaichich on 1 July 2011. Nesting is very probable but unconfirmed. Pratt et al. (1987) considered S. sumatrana to be widespread and common in the tropical Indian and south-west Pacific Oceans, including most of Micronesia, but rare in the Mariana Islands. Wiles (2005) recorded it on all major islands and island groups in Micronesia except Kosrae and Wake, with breeding confirmed on Palau, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and the Marshall Islands. GREAT CRESTED TERN Thalasseus bergii I observed a colony of c.70-100 pairs with c.50 flightless but highly ambulatory young and counted 18 single-egg clutches on Pigelwol on 4 July 2011. The half-grown young were on the beach and ran onto the tidal flats at my approach during a second visit on 16 July, when I saw only one egg where I had found 18 previously. I saw no eggshell fragments or any other evidence of predation or hatching and can offer no explanation for their disappearance. There did not appear to be any especially high tides during this period and no storm-induced waves that could have swept the eggs away. This species is widespread © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Donald W. Buden 122 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) in the tropical Indian and south-west Pacific Oceans (Pratt et al. 1987), and, excluding Wake Island, Wiles (2005) recorded T. bergii on all major islands and island groups in Micronesia, with breeding confirmed on Palau, Chuuk, Pohnpei and the Marshall Islands. Discussion The 12 species of seabirds recorded on Sorol Atoll are widespread in the tropical Pacific (Pratt et al. 1987), and 11 of them are confirmed to breed on at least four of the nine major islands and island groups comprising Micronesia ( sensu Wiles 2005); five of them (Brown Booby, Red-footed Booby, Brown Noddy, Black Noddy and White Tern) breed on at least eight of the nine. Lesser Frigatebird, recorded infrequently in Micronesia, may roost but is not known to breed there. Nearly all of the species have been recorded widely in the FSM, but Red-tailed Tropicbird on Sorol Atoll is only the second country record and there are few records for Masked Booby as well. However, many atolls of the FSM are poorly known biologically and future surveys will probably reveal additional seabird nesting sites. Nearly all seabird breeding activity on Sorol Atoll is on three small islands at the western end — Fuluwaichich (0.017 km2), Pigelwol (0.037 km2) and Pigelmol (0.087 km2). No nesting was observed on the other islands, but two former residents independently described what would appear to be many thousands of Sooty Terns nesting throughout the atoll during October and November of each year. The apparent absence of any significant nesting on Sorol Island, which is the largest of the group, probably reflects the abundance of introduced predators there. Rats ( Rattus spp.) were common and I trapped seven examples of the R. rattus complex in two nights using a single snap trap, and saw several possible R. exulans. Monitor lizards Varanus indicus were also common on Sorol and I frequently encountered 15-20 during circumferential walks along the beach, and saw others in the forest. Many of those on the beach were excavating turtle nests and feeding on the eggs. Monitor lizards were introduced to Sorol Atoll during the Japanese administration (M. Marpa pers. comm.), presumably as a supplementary food source and / or for rat control, as on many other islands in the FSM (Buden 2000). But as rat control agents, monitor lizards appear to be ineffectual, at least on Sorol where rats and monitor lizards both flourish, the rats being active mainly at night and the lizards principally by day (pers. obs.). With the exception of one monitor lizard on Piilalai, immediately adjacent to Sorol, I saw none elsewhere on the atoll. Uchida (1966) reported that residents of Ifaluk Atoll, Yap, c.450 km east of Sorol, claim that wild birds, chickens and their eggs are among the prey of monitor lizards, and Gajdusek (in Buden 2011) stated that residents of Fais Island, Yap, 180 km north of Sorol, attributed the near absence of Micronesian Starling Aplonis opaca from the island to predation by monitor lizards. In 2005, a resolution was introduced during the Fourteenth Congress of the FSM (C. R. No. 14-24) to request assistance from the Japanese government to eradicate monitor lizards in Yap. The resolution stated that the lizards were used by the Japanese administration to kill rats on the islands and went on to say that the monitor lizards also L . .feed on turtle eggs, mangrove crabs, chickens, small mammals and bird eggs, and thereby endanger the domestic food source of the people of Yap State'. The resolution was assigned to the External Affairs Committee for further review and no subsequent action was taken (L. Ramon, Chief Clerk, FSM Congress, pers. comm.). Piglor Island, a storm-damaged platform of coral rubble immediately east of Sorol Island, may host ground-nesting birds at times, but I saw no evidence of this. During low tides, potential predators could easily reach Piglor from Sorol without having to swim. Piilalai Island immediately to the west of Sorol also may host a few nesting birds from time to time, but its proximity to Sorol also makes it vulnerable to invasion by predators, and I observed at least one monitor lizard there. At present, the breeding colonies on the three © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Donald W. Buden 123 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) most remote islands at the west end of Sorol Atoll appear to be unthreatened by human exploitation or by introduced predators, with the only major threat being natural disasters such as typhoons that pass over these islands occasionally. Acknowledgements I thank Moses Marpa, mayor of the Sorol Community in Yap, for permission to visit Sorol Atoll, the members of Yap Fishing Authority for providing transportation, Tony Tareg, Lieutenant Governor of Yap, for making initial contact with the authorities and providing supporting letters for various permissions, and Joe Habuchmai, Vice President, Administrative Services, College of Micronesia-FSM, for following up on permission requests. For responding to queries regarding ornithological observations made on Sorol during Zegrahm Expeditions visits, I thank Patrick Kirby, Suzanne Noakes, Jonathan Rossouw, and Sonia Surguy who also provided notes by Richard Schodde during the 2004 expedition filed in Zegrahm Expeditions archives. I also thank H. D. Pratt and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive criticisms and comments on the manuscript, and Shaun Suliol, IT Office, College of Micronesia-FSM, for preparing the composite illustration of breeding birds. References: Baker, R. H. 1951. The avifauna of Micronesia, its origin, evolution, and distribution. Univ. Kansas. Publ. , Mus. Nat Hist 3: 1-359. Buden, D. W. 2000. The reptiles of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Micronesica 32: 155-180. Buden, D. W. 2011. Reptiles of Fais Island, Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia. Pac. Sci. 65: 277-283. Buden, D. W. in press. Coconut crabs, Birgus hire (Anomura: Coenobitidae), of Sorol Atoll, Yap, with remarks on the status of B. latro in the Federated States of Micronesia. Pac. Sci. 66(4). Bryan, E. H. 1971. Guide to place names in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Pacific Islands Information Center, B. P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu. Clements, J. F., Schulenberg, T. S., Iliff, M. J., Sullivan, B. L., Wood, C, L. & Robertson, D. 2011. The Clements checklist of birds of the world: version 6.6. www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable- clements-checklist. Cota, M. 2008. Varanus indicus and its presence in the Mariana Islands: natural geographic distribution vs. introduction. Biawak 2: 18-27. Korte, J. de & Meltofte, H. 1997. Notes on breeding sites of Pelecaniformes in Micronesia. Bird Conserv. Intern. 7: 287-290. Nelson, J. B. 1978. The Sulidae: gannets and boobies. Oxford Univ. Press. Pratt, H. D„ Bruner, P. L. & Berrett, D. G. 1987. A field guide to the birds of Hawaii and the tropical Pacific. Princeton Univ. Press. Pyle, P. & Engbring, J. 1987. New bird records and migration observations from Micronesia, 1977-1984. / Elepaio 47: 11-15. Uchida, T. A. 1966. Observations on the monitor lizard, Varanus indicus (Daudin), as a rat-control agent on Ifaluk, western Caroline Islands. Bull. World Health Organization 35: 976-980. Wiles, G. J. 2005. A checklist of the birds and mammals of Micronesia. Micronesica 38: 141-189. Wiles, G. J., Worthington, D. J., Beck, R. E., Pratt, H. D., Aguon, C. F. & Pyle, R. L. 2000. Noteworthy bird records for Micronesia, with a summary of raptor sightings in the Mariana Islands, 1988-1999. Micronesica 32: 257-284. Wiles, G. J., Johnson, N. C., de Cruz, J. B., Dutson, G., Camacho, V. A., Kepler, A. K., Vice, D. S„ Garrett, K. L., Kessler, C. C. & Pratt, H. D. 2004. New and noteworthy bird records for Micronesia, 1986-2003. Micronesica 37: 69-96. Address : Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, College of Micronesia-FSM, P.O. Box 159, Kolonia, Pohnpei FM 96941, e-mail: donJbuden@comfsm.£m © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club David Pearson et al. 124 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Presumed hybrid Blyth's Reed Acrocephalus dumetorum x Marsh Warbler A. palustris trapped at Ngulia, Kenya, in December 2009 by David Pearson, Ian Kerton, Bernard Amakobe & Staffan Bensch Received 4 November 2011 On 17 December 2009 an unusual-looking Acrocephalus was trapped at Ngulia Lodge in Tsavo West National Park, south-east Kenya. It was one of several hundred Palearctic passerines mist-netted at dawn, mainly Marsh Warblers A. palustris , grounded after being attracted to lights during the previous misty night. Being freshly moulted it immediately stood out from the unmoulted Marsh Warblers with which it was directly compared. Its uniform, rather dark olive-brown upperparts also appeared to eliminate Eurasian Reed Warbler A. scirpaceus which can occur (race fuscus) fully moulted at Ngulia in December. A quick check of the wing formula eliminated both species, for p2 (numbered ascendently) was short, falling between pp5-6, whilst pp3-M had an emarginated outer web. A wing length of 68 mm eliminated any race of the much smaller African Reed Warbler A. baeticatus but also seemed long for Blyth's Reed Warbler A. dumetorum. The bird was, however, tentatively identified by DP, IK & BA as a Blyth's Reed Warbler, a view supported by its leg and iris colours, which differed from those typical of either Marsh or Eurasian Reed Warblers. The chestnut-brown eye indicated that it was an adult. Photographs, measurements and a detailed description were taken, and a small blood sample was collected for DNA analysis. The bird was ringed and released at the site of capture. Measurements Measurements of the Ngulia bird are shown in Table 1 together with data for adult Marsh Warbler and Blyth's Reed Warbler, and also for a Blyth's Reed x Marsh Warbler hybrid trapped on the breeding ground in Finland (Lindholm et al. 2007). Wing length was clearly beyond the normal range of Blyth's Reed Warbler, although values up to and above 68 mm have been recorded occasionally in Kazakhstan (A. Gavrilov in litt. 2009). The primary projection of c.75% (as percentage of length of the exposed tertials) also appeared high for Blyth's Reed Warbler but was distinctly less than in Marsh Warbler. Tail and tarsus measurements fitted both species, but the bill, although similar in shape to that of Marsh Warbler, was distinctly long for that species. Wing formula details differed markedly from those of Marsh Warbler, but were a very good match with Blyth's Reed. Measurements and wing formula of the Ngulia bird matched those of the Espoo hybrid closely, except that p2 was evidently shorter, and the longest tertial fell short of the tips of the secondaries (a Blyth's Reed Warbler character). Plumage and bare parts Figs. 1-4 depict the Ngulia bird. The upperparts were rather uniform brown with an olive tinge, only slightly greyer on the crown and paler on the rump and uppertail- co verts. They were somewhat darker than those of more worn Marsh Warblers and lacked their typical greenish tint. They were darker than in freshly moulted fuscus Eurasian Reed Warbler (not available for direct comparison) and lacked the contrastingly warmer rump and uppertail-co verts typical of that form (Kennerley & Pearson 2010). The underparts © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club David Pearson et al. 125 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) TABLE 1 Measurements (mm) and wing formula details (primaries numbered ascendently) of a presumed Blyth's Reed Acrocephalus dumetorum * Marsh Warbler A. palustris hybrid trapped at Ngulia, Kenya, compared with those of adults of the parent species and of a hybrid trapped at Espoo, Finland (Lindholm et al. 2007) Ngulia bird Blyth's Reed Warbler* Marsh Warbler* Espoo bird Wing 68 59-66 (131) 64-73 (86) 66.5 Tail 51 46-54 (128) 47-55 (60) 54 Bill (to skull) 17.5 15.5-18.5 (123) 14.5-17 (88) 17.5 Tarsus 22.5 20.5-23.5 (56) 21-24 (79) 22.5 pl2 -4 -3-3 -4-1 P23 4 3-6 0-2 2 p33 0 (wing tip) 0 0 0 p43 0.5 Q.0-0.5 1. 5-3.5 1 P53 3 0.5-2.5 3.5-6.0 3.5 p63 5.5 2-6 6.5-9.0 6 plQ3 13 10-14 14-19 Notch on p2 (depth) 13 12-14 7.5-11.5 10 Emargination on p3 Yes (16) Yes Yes Yes (14.5) Emargination on p4 Yes (11) Yes No Yes (7 ) Primary projection c.75% 50-60% 80-90% c.70% Outer tertial < inner secondary Yes Yes No No 'Data from museum specimens (Kennerley & Pearson 2010) 2 projection (mm) beyond longest primary-covert; 3 distance from primary tip to wingtip. were washed lightly with buff, paler, more whitish on the throat and undertail coverts. They lacked the yellow-buff tone of freshly moulted Marsh Warbler. The face pattern was well marked, with a pale buff supercilium more distinct than is usual in Marsh Warbler (Kennerley & Pearson 2010), and quite broad in front of the eye above a narrow dark loral line. The smaller wing-coverts and the fringes of the remiges and alula matched the olive-brown upperparts. The fresh tertial fringes contrasted well with the dark centres but appeared broader than Marsh Warbler would show. The bill was blackish on the maxilla, entirely pale flesh on the mandible. The mouth was ochre-yellow, differing from the brighter yellow of Marsh Warbler. The iris was dark chestnut-brown. The tarsi were dull medium brown with a reddish tint, the soles pale ochre-brown and the claws grey-brown. The colours of the iris, tarsi and soles were atypical for a Marsh Warbler of any age. DNA analysis An analysis of mtDNA was undertaken by SB. A few pi of blood were used to extract DNA following the protocol of Laird et al. (1991). A partial cytochrome-^ sequence (140 bp excluding primers) was amplified and sequenced using the primers orinusl and cyt4 as described in Bensch & Pearson (2002). The mtDNA sequence obtained was compared with cytochrome-h sequences from all of the species discussed above and it showed a perfect match with that of Marsh Warbler (GenBank AJ004774). This demonstrated that the Ngulia bird was a Marsh Warbler on its maternal side and excluded the possibility that it was a pure Blyth's Reed Warbler. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club David Pearson et al. 126 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Figures 1-4. Presumed hybrid Blyth's Reed Acrocephalus dumetorum x Marsh Warbler A. palustris hybrid trapped at Ngulia, south-east Kenya, 17 December 2009 (Figs. 1-3, David Pearson; Fig. 4, © Martha Mutiso) Discussion The Ngulia bird possessed the plumage, wing formula, leg colour and moult schedule of a Blyth's Reed Warbler, and not of a Marsh Warbler, and was at first tentatively identified as the former species. However its long wing, with a primary projection apparently intermediate between the two, suggested the possibility that it was a Blyth's Reed * Marsh Warbler hybrid. The discovery that it was a Marsh Warbler on its maternal side supported this. Fiybridisation between Blyth's Reed and Marsh Warblers has been described in Finland and may regularly occur there in the south-east (e.g. Koskimies 1980, 1984, Kosonen 1983). It has also been reported in the Netherlands (Poot et al. 1999). In mixed pairs studied the Blyth's Reed Warbler has usually been the male. Hybrids with mixed characters and mixed songs have been known to return after migration and to have bred. Definite records of such hybrids are rather few however, and there are few published descriptions. The bird ringed at Espoo, which proved to be a Blyth's Reed Warbler on its maternal side, showed morphology and song intermediate between the two species (Lindholm et al. 1997). In plumage colour and minor details of its wing structure it was evidently more Marsh Warbler-like than the Ngulia bird. It has been uncertain whether these hybrids migrate to southern Asia like Blyth's Reed Warblers or to Africa like Marsh Warblers, but imitations in the song of the Espoo bird suggested an African wintering area. The Ngulia bird had clearly followed the migration © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club David Pearson et al. 127 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) route of its Marsh Warbler mother rather than its presumed Blyth's Reed Warbler father. Apart from wing length this individual had structural and plumage characters entirely consistent with identification as a Blyth's Reed Warbler. This surely has implications for any claimed record of this species seen or trapped out of range in Africa, the Middle East or even Western Europe. Acknowledgements We thank Ralf Joose, Phil Jones and Sergey Yerokhov for their views on the Ngulia bird, Peter Kennerley for his valuable comments on the photographs, and Antero Lindholm for providing details of some intriguing Acrocephalus trapped in Finland. We are grateful to the Kenya Wildlife Service and the management of Ngulia Lodge for supporting and facilitating the Ngulia Ringing Project. References: Bensch, S. & Pearson, D. 2002. The Large-billed Reed Warbler Acrocephalus orinus revisited. Ibis 144: 259-267. Kennerley, P. & Pearson, D. 2010. Reed and bush warblers. Christopher Helm, London. Koskimies, P. 1980. Breeding biology of Blyth's Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum in SE Finland. Ornis Fenn. 57: 26-32. Koskimies, P. 1984. Polygyny in Blyth's Reed Warbler. Ann. Zool. Fenn. 21: 239-242. Kosonen, L. 1983. Todennakoinen vita- ja luhtakerttusen risteyma Acrocephalus dumetorum * palustris Tampereella. Lintuviesti 8: 210-213. Laird, P. W., Zijderveld, A., Linders, K., Rudnicki, M. A., Jaenisch, R. & Bems, A. 1991. Simplified mammalian DNA isolation procedure. Nucl. Acids Res. 19: 4293. Lindholm, A., Bensch, S., Dowsett-Lemaire, F., Forsten, A. & Karkkainen, H. 2007. Hybrid Marsh * Blyth's Reed Warbler with mixed song in Finland in June 2003. Dutch Birding 29: 223-231. Poot, M., Engelen, F. & Winden, J. van der 1999. Een gemengd broedgeval van Struikrietzanger Acrocephalus dumetorum en Bosrieizanger A. palustris bij Utrecht in voorjaar 1998. Limosa 72: 151-157. Addresses: David Pearson, 4 Lupin Close, Reydon, Southwold, Suffolk IP18 6NW, UK, e-mail: djpearson@ dsl.pipex.com. Ian Kerton, 99 Nottingham Road, Cropwell Bishop, Notts. NG12 3BA, UK. Bernard Amakobe c/o Wildlife Works Kenya Ltd., P.O. Box 310, Voi 80300, Kenya. Staffan Bensch, Dept, of Animal Ecology, Ecology Building, Lund University, S223 62 Lund, Sweden. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Michael A. Patten 128 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) The White Ibis Eudocimus albus subspecies of South America by Michael A. Patten Received 10 December 2011 The Eudocimus ibises have a complex systematic history. Depending on the taxonomist's predilection. White Ibis E. albus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Scarlet Ibis E. ruber (Linnaeus, 1758) have been treated as species, as subspecies, or as colour morphs of a monotypic species (Ramo & Busto 1982, van Wieringen & Brouwer 1990, Hancock et al. 1992, AOU 1998). Their geographic ranges are largely disjunct. White Ibis occupies North America, the West Indies, and parts of north-western South America (from Colombia south to northern Peru and east to western Venezuela), whereas Scarlet Ibis occupies northern and eastern South America (Ramo & Busto 1987). Hybridisation occurs where their ranges meet (Ramo & Busto 1982, 1987), but mating tends to be assortative (Remsen et al. 2011) even though breeding displays are similar (Ramo & Busto 1985, Hancock et al. 1992) and they are 'entirely interfertile' (Hancock et al. 1992: 154). Because hybridisation is limited. White and Scarlet Ibises generally are treated as biological species (AOU 1998, Remsen et al. 2011). By contrast, in their treatise on the family Threskiornithidae Hancock et al. (1992) reached a conclusion in accord with Ramo & Busto (1982, 1987), who recommended treating them as conspecific. Hancock et al. (1992) recognised two subspecies, but these were not diagnosed by adult colour. Their E. r. albus applied to larger birds of North America and the West Indies that have the bill base pale when breeding, and E. r. ruber applied to smaller birds of South America that have the bill all dark when breeding. They considered the large subspecies to be monomorphic— adults are always white— but the latter subspecies to be dimorphic — some adults are white, others are scarlet. In this respect, the situation is akin to that of Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens (J. F. Gmelin, 1789), in which the nominate subspecies of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean is either rufous or white, with proportions of these colour morphs varying geographically (Bolen & Cottam 1975), but in which E. r. dickey i (van Rossem, 1926) of the Pacific coast of Middle America is only rufous (Hamilton et al. 2007: 127; cf. Ridgway 1884). The taxonomy of Hancock et al. (1992) poses no problems if the two Eudocimus ibises are treated as conspecific. Yet their treatment as two biological species, e.g., by the AOU (1998, Remsen et al. 2011), leaves the southern subspecies of White Ibis without a name because the name E. ruber, attached to the smaller taxon best treated as a separate species, cannot apply to the southern population. For this population, I propose: Eudocimus albus ramobustorum subsp. nov. Holotype.— Adult female, Coleccion Ornitologia de Phelps, Caracas (COP 45686); collected at Tacarigua de La Laguna, Miranda, Venezuela (10°30'N, 65°87'W), on 10 February 1949 by W. H. Phelps. Measurements: wing-chord 257 mm, culmen 117.8 mm, tarsus 75.4 mm. Diagnosis.— During courtship, bill all or mostly dark (black in males, brown in females; Sick 1993) both sexes have well-developed gular sac in breeding condition (van Wieringen & Brouwer 1990); size averages smaller (Table 1). © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Michael A. Patten 129 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) TABLE 1 Measurements (mean [range; ??]) of White Ibis Eudocimus albus across the species' range (data from Oberholser 1974, Kushlan 1977, van Wieringen & Brouwer 1990, and specimens). Males are larger than females in all dimensions and have the bill disproportionately longer (Bildstein 1987, Babbitt & Frederick 2007). Location Males Florida Texas Northern Mexico Southern Mexico Central America Venezuela Females Florida Texas Northern Mexico Southern Mexico Central America Venezuela 111 [262-288; 12] 111 [102-121; 16] 87 [79-97; 16] 265 [260-271; ?] 124 [117-129; ?] 86 [82-91; ?] 271 [259-285; 6] 126 [106-137; 4] 83 [72-93; 6] 263 [245-282; 12] 126 [106-137; 12] 85 [69-93; 13] 266 [254-277; 4] 123 [115-135; 4] 75 [66-83; 4] 256 [250-279; 16] 117 [107-128; 20] 80 [76-85; 20] 277 [272-292; 10] 145 [140-152; 10] 93 [85-98; 11] 783 [750-800; 9] 283 [276-287; ?] 151 [131-163; ?] 98 [91-104; ?] 287 [270-298; 9] 155 [125-165; 8] 93 [80-101; 9] 280 [269-285, 4] 154 [132-163; 4] 88 [79-101; 4] 273 [263-286; 5] 139 [121-153; 3] 88 [83-94; 5] 302 [295-315; 12] 142 [136-148; 12] 102 [91-110; 12] 1,036 [873-1,261; 12] Wing chord (mm) Bill (mm) Tarsus (mm) Mass (g) 765 [593-864; 16] 857 [1] 730 [659-901; 2] 639 [550-730; 8] Distribution.— The South American portion of the range of E. albus (i.e., from central Colombia east to the llanos of Venezuela and, locally, south to northern Peru) as well as Panama, on the basis of measurements of specimens (Fig. 1). Etymology. Named in honour of Cristina Ramo and Benjamin Busto for their extensive work on the ecology, demography and systematics of White and Scarlet Ibises in Venezuela. Their research has played a key role in our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary relationships between these species. With this trinomial, the geographic distribution and nomenclature of the nominate sub- species of E. albus would be restricted as follows: Eudocimus albus albus (Linnaeus, 1758) Scolopax alba Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. nat., 10th edn. {Carolina (adult)} Scolopax fusca Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. nat., 10th edn. {Carolina (juvenile)} Tantalus coco Jacquin, 1784, Beytr. Gesch. Vogel {Caribbean Islands} Ibis longirostris Wagler, 1829, Isis {Mexico} Holotype. — Linnaeus based his description on Catesby's (1731: 82) 'White Curlew', the type locality for which has been restricted to South Carolina (AOU 1998). Diagnosis.— During courtship, bill pale (usually reddish) basally and dark distally (van Wieringen & Brouwer 1990); only the female has a well-developed gular sac in breeding condition (Rudegeair 1975, Hancock et al. 1992: 155); size averages larger (Table 1). Distribution.— Breeds from the south-eastern USA through Middle America to at least Costa Rica, with some in the north of the breeding range wintering far to the south, occasionally reaching north-west South America (Fig. 1). As Hancock et al. (1992) noted, more work is needed to quantify the full extent of geo- graphic variation in form and colour of the bill and gular during courtship, but on the basis of data in van Wieringen & Brouwer (1990), it is fair to say Hancock et al. (1992) conclud- ed that phenotypic differences are of a kind that separate subspecies consistent with the © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Michael A. Patten 130 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Figure 1. Geographic distribution of White Ibis Eudocimus albus (dark grey) and Scarlet Ibis E. ruber (pale grey). The species are broadly parapatric in parts of Colombia and Venezuela (Ramo & Busto 1987). The dashed line marks the approximate division between E. albus subspecies, and the arrow denotes populations of E. a. ramobustorum in coastal southern Ecuador and northern Peru. Species range limits are taken from Ridgely et al. (2007). 75%-rule (Patten & Unitt 2002). That development of the gular sac varies geographically is unsurprising as this pattern is evident among subspecies of other ibises. For example, in Black-faced Ibis Theristicus melanopis (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) of western South America, the Andean subspecies (fide Remsen et al. 2011; cf. Collar & Bird 2011) T. m. branickii Berlepsch & Stolzmann, 1894, differs from the nominate subspecies chiefly in its lack of a prominent gular sac. In any case, it is especially critical to assess variation in bare-part colour and form in E. albus given that wing chord —and thus, by inference, body size— appears to vary along a smooth dine (Fig. 2) and hence would not be helpful for diagnosis except at size extremes. As a final point, when these ibises are treated as conspecific, E. ruber has been used as the specific name despite it being unclear whether E. albus or E. ruber has priority because these names appear on the same page of Linnaeus' Systema naturae (E. C. Dickinson in © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Michael A. Patten 131 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Figure 2. Variation in wing length with latitude in White Ibis Eudocimus albus. Data are from specimens of females (n= 33) and males (n=27). Males average larger than females, but slopes relating wing chord to latitude are similar (male: wing = 0.77 x latitude + 268 mm; female: wing = 0.80 x latitude + 255 mm). As such, for either sex, wing-chord increases c.0.4 mm with every 5° of latitude. lift. 2012). Yet Ramo & Busto (1982) invoked line precedence in their preferential use of E. ruber— 'Ya que E. ruber fue descrita en primer lugar (Linnaei, 1758) creemos que seria mas correcto denominacion de E. ruber ruber para el Corocora Rojo, y E. ruber albus para el bianco' (p. 405)— and thus they should be considered First Revisers. Acknowledgements For measurements of specimens in their care, I thank Steven W. Cardiff and Ryan Terrill (Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science, Baton Rouge); Paul W. Collins and Krista Fahy (Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History); Rene Corado (Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Camarillo, California); James Dean (National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC); Patricia Escalante and Marco A. Gurrola (Coleccion Nacional de Aves, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico); Kimball L. Garrett (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, California); Andrew Johnson (Museum of Southwestern Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque); Ben D. Marks (Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection, Texas A&M University, College Station); Kathy C. Molina (Dickey Collection, University of California-Los Angeles); Nate Rice (Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia); Paul Sweet and Peter Capainolo (American Museum of Natural History, New York); Jeremiah Trimble (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts); and Jean L. Woods (Delaware Museum of Natural History, Wilmington). Special thanks to Miguel Lentino, who not only measured specimens at two collections in Venezuela— the Coleccion Omitologia de Phelps (COP) in Caracas and the Universidad de la Los Llanos— but also sent photographs of potential type specimens in COP for my perusal. Lastly, I thank Richard C. Banks and J. V. Remsen for discussion of this topic, and Banks and Edward C. Dickinson for comments on the manuscript. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Michael A. Patten 132 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) References: American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Checklist of North American birds. Seventh edn. AOU, Washington DC. Babbitt, G. A. & Frederick, P. C. 2007. Selection for sexual bill dimorphism in ibises: an evaluation of hypotheses. Waterbirds 30: 199-206. Bildstein, K. L. 1987. Energetic consequences of sexual size dimorphism in White Ibises ( Eudocimus albus). Auk 104: 771-775. Bolen, E. G. & Cottam, C. 1975. Notes on the color phases of the Reddish Egret ( Dichromanassa rufescens) in Texas. Southwest. Nat. 20: 133-134. Catesby, M. 1731. The natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahamas, vol. 1. M. Catesby, London. Collar, N. J. & Bird, J. P. 2011. Phenotypic discrimination of the Andean Ibis ( Theristicus branickii). Wilson J. Orn. 123: 459-463. Hamilton, R. A., Patten, M. A. & Erickson, R. A. (eds.) 2007. Rare birds of California. West. Field Orn., San Diego. Hancock, J. A., Kushlan, J. A. & Kahl, M. P. 1992. Storks, ibises and spoonbills of the world. Academic Press, London. Kushlan, J. A. 1977. Sexual dimorphism in the White Ibis. Wilson Bull. 89: 92-98. Oberholser, H. C. 1974. The bird life of Texas, vol. 1. Univ. of Texas Press, Austin. Patten, M. A. & Unitt, P. 2002. Diagnosability versus mean differences of Sage Sparrow subspecies. Auk 119: 26-35. Ramo, C. & Busto, B. 1982. ^Son Eudocimus ruber y E. albus distintas especies? Dohana Acta Vert. 9: 404-408. Ramo, C. & Busto, B. 1985. Comportamiento reproductive del Corocoro Rojo ( Eudocimus ruber) en los llanos de Venezuela. Mem. Soc. Cienc. Nat. Ea Salle 45: 77-113. Ramo, C. & Busto, B. 1987. Hybridization between the Scarlet Ibis ( Eudocimus ruber) and the White Ibis (E. albus) in Venezuela. Col. Waterbirds 10: 111-114. Remsen, J. V., Cadena, C. D., Jaramillo, A., Nores, M., Pacheco, J. F., Perez-Eman, J., Robbins, M. B., Stiles, F. G., Stotz, D. F. & Zimmer, K. J. 2011. A classification of the bird species of South America, www. museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/ SACCBaseline.html (accessed 7 December 2011). Ridgely, R. S., Allnutt, T. F., Brooks, T., McNicol, D. K., Mehlman, D. W., Young, B. E. & Zook, J. R. 2007. Digital distribution maps of the birds of the Western Hemisphere, ver. 3.0. NatureServe, Arlington, VA. Ridgway, R. 1884. Remarks upon the close relationship between the White and Scarlet Ibises ( Eudocimus albus and E. ruber). Auk 1: 239-240. Rudegeair, T. 1975. The gular pouch of the female White Ibis. Auk 92: 168-169. Sick, H. 1993. Birds in Brazil: a natural history. Princeton Univ. Press. van Wieringen, M. & Brouwer, K. 1990. Morphology and ecology of Scarlet ( Eudocimus ruber) and White Ibis (E. albus): a comparative review. Pp. 7-15 in Frederick, P. C., Morales, L. G., Spaans, A. L. & Luthin, C. S. (eds.) The Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber): status, conservation, and recent research. Intern. Waterfowl Wetlands Res. Bureau, Slimbridge. Address: Oklahoma Biological Survey and Dept, of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Guy M. Kirwan et al. 133 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Does Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica breed in the interior of continental South America? Guy M. Kirwan, Neil Bostock, Jon Hornbuckle, Andrew Marshall & Malcolm Oxlade Received 21 February 2012 Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica is a cosmopolitan species whose distribution is centred on the tropics. Six subspecies are generally recognised (e.g., Gochfeld & Burger 1996, Dickinson 2003), of which three occur in the Western Hemisphere. G. n. aranea breeds in eastern North America and some of the northern West Indies, and reportedly winters south as far as Brazil and Peru; G. n. vanrossemi breeds in western North America and reportedly winters south to Ecuador (although Ridgely & Greenfield 2001 argued that no noticeable increase in numbers in the last-named country is evident during the boreal winter); and G. n. groenvoldi breeds in coastal French Guiana south to north-east Argentina. Gochfeld & Burger (1996) considered the racial identity of birds breeding in coastal Ecuador to be uncertain, and subsequently Ridgely & Greenfield (2001) were also unable to assign Ecuadorian breeders to taxon. The species has also been mentioned as a breeder in northern coastal Peru (Gochfeld & Burger 1996), but Blake (1977) and Schulenberg et al. (2007) considered it to be solely a rare boreal migrant in the country. In Brazil, unlike parts of the Old World, the species is restricted to coasts, from at least Para (on islands in the Amazon estuary) south and east to Rio Grande do Norte, with an apparently separate population in southernmost Brazil, in Rio Grande do Sul (De Luca et al. 2006). Very little seems to have published concerning breeding, although Sick (1997) noted that the species commences nesting in August at the mouth of the Amazon. De Luca et al. (2006) were aware of only two recent breeding sites, one in Rio Grande do Sul, the other in Rio Grande do Norte, and the first-named is apparently no longer occupied. No inland records were mentioned by Sick (1997) and neither did Tubelis & Tomas (2003) list G. nilotica for the Pantanal wetland, despite that several other waterbirds otherwise primarily restricted to Brazilian coasts occur there. However, GMK & C. F. Collins observed one midstream in the Amazon c.20 km west of Monte Alegre, Para, on 8 December 2005 (Cotinga 25: 92), c.600 km from the Atlantic Ocean. There are other unpublished records from the general region of Santarem (C. B. Andretti pers. comm.) and K. M. Aguiar photographed one there on 31 July 2010 (www . wikiaves.com.br/1 76659&p=l &t=c&c =1506807&s=10373). Elsewhere, in western Venezuela, Gull-billed Terns are regular in reasonable numbers at Hato El Cedral, Apure, between December and April / May (Hilty 2003; GMK pers. obs.), while in Amazonian Peru, up to two individuals were present at Iquitos, Loreto, in September- V Figure 1. Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica, Ilha da Benta, west of Itacoatiara, Amazonas, Brazil, November 2011 (fon Hornbuckle) © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Guy M. Kirwan et al. 134 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) October 2005 (Westerduijn 2007), but inland records are generally rare throughout northern South America, with none reported in Colombia (Hilty & Brown 1986, Arzuza et al. 2008) or published from Ecuador (Ridgely & Greenfield 2001). However, in the latter country, at least two observers have reported Gull-billed Terns, on multiple occasions, from the rio Napo as far downstream as Yuturi (D. Cisneros-Heredia & B. Palacios in lift. 2012, to J. F. Freile). In the south of the continent, Blake (1977) mentioned that the species does range inland as far as Corrientes, along the Parana and Uruguay rivers. On 21-22 November 2011 we visited several islands in the Amazon west of the town of Itacoatiara, Amazonas state, almost 1,100 km from the Atlantic. On the Ilha da Benta (c.03o21'N, 58°49'W), where we found c.300 Large-billed Terns Phaetusa simplex and 200 Black Skimmers Rhynchops niger , many of which were either breeding (nests with eggs) or had recently finished nesting (fledged young), on 21 November we encountered two Gull- billed Terns, apparently a pair, 'dive-bombing' us and giving ack calls on the north-east side of the island (Fig. 1). They were directly accompanied and joined in this behaviour by several Large-billed Terns, of which at least two pairs had nests on the open sand. Next day, four well-spaced adult Gull-billed Terns were observed on the south side of the same island, all of them perched at the water's edge, usually among small groups of P. simplex. In relation to assessing evidence of breeding. Cramp (1985) stated that dive-attacks are frequently performed in defence of the breeding grounds against perceived threats, although they can also be given at other times, e.g. at feeding grounds. That the birds we observed were in suitable breeding habitat and were directly joining incubating Large-billed Terns in making such anti-predator attacks suggests that they too were nesting. Gull-billed Tern is known to nest in association with other species in many regions of the world (Cramp 1985, Gochfeld & Burger 1996). P. Castell (in lift. 2012), an observer with great experience of the breeding biology of Western Palearctic birds, confirmed that the behaviour we witnessed is strongly indicative (though not confirmatory) of breeding. However, it must be remarked that our observations would also be coincident seasonally with North American migrants. Field workers in Brazilian Amazonia should be aware of the possibility that Gull-billed Tern could breed in this region, despite the availability of very few published records from anywhere in the interior of South America. It also would be interesting to learn the current status of the breeding colonies of G. nilotica in the Amazon estuary, especially given the near-chronic lack of recent nesting data for the species elsewhere in Brazil. Acknowledgements We are grateful to Thomas Donegan (Colombia) and Juan Fernando Freile (Ecuador) for advising us of the situation regarding inland records in these two countries. Peter Castell commented on the behaviour of Gull- billed Tern. We thank Mario Cohn-Haft and Andrew Whittaker for comments on the submitted manuscript. References: Arzuza, D. E., Moreno, M. I. & Salaman, P. 2008. Conservation de las aves acuaticas en Colombia. Conserv. Colombiana 6: 1-72. Blake, E. R. 1977. Manual of Neotropical birds, vol. 1. Univ. of Chicago Press. Cramp, S. (ed.) 1985. The birds of the Western Palearctic, vol. 4. Oxford Univ. Press. Dickinson, E. C. (ed.) 2003. The Howard and Moore complete checklist to the birds of the world. Third edn. Christopher Helm, London. De Luca, A., Develey, P. F. & Olmos, F. 2006. Final report, waterbirds in Brazil. SAVE Brasil, Sao Paulo, Gochfeld, M. & Burger, J. 1996. Family Stemidae (terns). Pp. 624-667 in del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (eds.) Handbook of the birds of the world, vol. 3. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Hilty, S. L. 2003. Birds of Venezuela. Princeton Univ. Press. Hilty, S. L. & Brown, W. L. 1986. A guide to the birds of Colombia. Princeton Univ. Press. Ridgely, R. S. & Greenfield, P. J. 2001. The birds of Ecuador. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, NY. Schulenberg, T. S., Stotz, D. F., Lane, D. F., O'Neill, J. P. & Parker, T. A. 2007. Birds of Peru. Princeton Univ. Press. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Guy M. Kirwan et al. 135 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Sick, H. 1997. Ornitologia brasileira. Ed. Nova Fronteira, Rio de Janeiro. Tubelis, D. P. & Tomas, W. M. 2003. Bird species of the Pantanal wetland, Brazil. Ararajuba 11: 5-37. Westerduijn, R. 2007. Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica in Amazonian Peru. Cotinga 27: 82-83. Addresses: Guy M. Kirwan, 74 Waddington Street, Norwich NR2 4JS, UK, e-mail: GMKirwan@aol.com. Neil Bostock, 7 Orchard Close, Briston, Melton Constable, Norfolk NR24 2JT, UK. Jon Hornbuckle, 29 Stainton Road, Sheffield Sll 7AX, UK. Andrew Marshall, 23 Cherry Tree Drive, Dunscroft, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN7 4JY, UK. Malcolm Oxlade, 7 Birkswood Drive, Oughtibridge, Sheffield S35 OHY, UK. Clanga has priority over Aquiloides (or how to drop a clanger) by Steven M. S. Gregory & Edward C. Dickinson Received 10 April 2012 When D. R. Wells & T. Inskipp decided to describe a new genus for the spotted eagles. Wells informally asked us if a generic name already existed to accommodate the three species concerned: Aquila clanga, A. pomarina and A. hastata. We concluded that none of the species appeared to be the type of a generic name applicable to the group as a whole, based on the current state of the senior author's database of avian generic names, and the synonymies in Sharpe (1874). This, in hindsight, was a serious mistake and one which would not have occurred but for a mischance. No sooner had the Aquiloides article (Wells & Inskipp 2012) been published in the last number of this journal, than it became obvious that there is a generic synonym with priority, a fact quickly pointed out by R. Klim, who alerted us to a lively discussion on www.birdforum.net. The name that should have been used is Clanga, although on examination it was by no means certain, at least initially, who the correct author was, or the correct date of publication. The original document is in the Revue et Magazin de Zoologie, second series, vol. IX, dated 1857. On p. 591 commences a lengthy obituary for Comte Constantin Tyzenhauz (1786-1853) by F. A. Adamowicz, followed by a list of the deceased's works beginning on p. 601, concluding on p. 604 with item 19, taken from an 1853 MS entitled 'Observations sur la faune ornithologique des provinces de la Novelle-Russie situees sur les cotes de la mer Noire.' The snippet introducing the new genus is: '. . . suivies de la proposition de former un nouveau genre Clanga, subdivise en trois especes: Clanga naevia ( Falco maculatus, Gmelini), C[.]fasciata et C. macrodactyla (v. der Muhle), ...'. The authorship of the new name seemed to be either Anon., or Adamowicz, but M. Kuziemko (pers. comm.) has advised us that Ferdinand Adam Adamowicz (1802-81) was a respected Polish veterinarian and science historian, born in Vilnius, so it would be correct to at least presume that the list was his work, in the absence of contrary evidence. Two experts on nomenclature, C. Lyal and S. Nikolaeva, confirmed that the unusual publication of the generic name Clanga within a list of papers in the obituary of Count Tyzenhauz should be considered valid because it was published in a well-recognised scientific journal, and that the conditions for publication, including the mention of included species, were met. Its omission from Sharpe (1874) may have been an oversight due to its unlikely insertion or due to a view that it was not validly introduced. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club Steven M. S. Gregory & Edward C. Dickinson 136 Bull. B.O.C. 2012 132(2) Ironically, two famous workers in this field had worked out all of this long before. First by no less than C. W. Richmond (1917: 584), who cited Clanga as by Tyzenhaus (sic), in Adamowicz (which, since Tyzenhauz's name was a MS name cited after his death, is not now acceptable). Second by E. C. S. Baker (or more probably T. Iredale) (1930: 404) where authorship is given as Adanowicz (sic) ... ex Tyzenhaus (sic). The 'mischance' referred to above, is that the senior author's generic database is still incomplete— he has not yet had time to enter all of the many synonyms in these works into his database, which due to other challenges remains very much 'work in progress'. Had this not been the case Wells & Inskipp (2012) would have addressed the situation correctly. As regards the date of publication, attention is drawn to Dickinson (2011: 242-243). In the discussion of the Revue et Magazin de Zoologie it is recommended that the policy followed by Guerin-Meneville in its preceding title, the Revue zoologique par la Societe Cuvierienne, be followed and there evidence was presented that each monthly publication appeared early the following month. The above-mentioned obituary is in the 'December' issue. For the record, the correct citation should read: Clanga Adamowicz, 1858, fern. Rev. Mag. Zool, Ser. 2, 9 (Dec. 1857), p. 604. Type by tautonymy, Falco maculatus J. F. Gmelin, 1788 = Aquila clanga Pallas, 1811 Clanga clanga (Pallas, 1811) Falco maculatus J. F. Gmelin, 1788, nec Falco maculatus Tunstall, 1771. Acknowledgements We thank Richard Klim for first alerting us to this problem, Chris Lyal and Svetlana Nikolaeva for their views on the validity of publication, Marek Kuziemko for information assisting our decision on authorship and that Clanga was validly introduced, and David Wells and Tim Inskipp for allowing us to correct the nomenclature associated with their paper on paraphyly in Aquila. Further thanks go to Normand David for confirming the gender of Clanga. References: Adamowicz, A. F. 1858. Enumeration des travaux scientifiques litteraires publies ou en manuscrits de C. Tyzenhauz. Rev. Mag. Zool. 2(9): 601-604. Baker, E. C. S. 1930. The fauna of British India, birds, vol. 8. Second edn. Taylor & Francis, London. Dickinson, E. C. 2011. Revue et Magazin de Zoologie and Revue zoologique par la Societe Cuvierienne. Pp. 242-244 in Dickinson, E. C., Overstreet, L. K., Dowsett, R. J. & Bruce, M. D. (eds.) Priority! The dating of scientific names in ornithology: a directory to the literature and its reviewers. Aves Press, Northampton. Richmond, C. W. 1917. Generic names applied to birds during the years 1906 to 1915, inclusive, with additions and corrections to Waterhouse's "Index Generum Avium." Proc. US Natl. Mus. 53: 565-636. Sharpe, R. B. 1874. Catalogue of the Accipitres or diurnal birds of prey, in the collection of the British Museum. Trustees of the Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.), London. Wells, D. R. & Inskipp, T. 2012. A proposed new genus of booted eagles (tribe Aquilini). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 132: 70-72. Addresses: Steven M. S. Gregory, 35 Monarch Road, Northampton NN2 6EH, UK, e-mail: sgregory.avium@ ntlworld.com. Edward C. Dickinson, Flat 3, 19 Bolsover Road, Eastbourne BN20 7JG, UK. © 2012 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2012 British Ornithologists' Club BOC Office P.O. Box 417, Peterborough PE7 3FX, UK E-mail: boc.office@bou.org.uk. Website: www.boc-online.org Tel. & Fax: +44 (0)1733 844 820. MEMBERSHIP Subscriptions were due for renewal on 1 January 2012 PLEASE NOTE THAT FROM 1 JANUARY 2012 THE SUBSCRIPTION RATE IS £25 PER PERSON. All paid-up members receive (postage free) four issues of the Bulletin (including index). Membership correspondence and applications for membership, changes of address and all other membership-related items should be addressed to the BOC Office (above). No registered items should be sent to the P.O. Box. Contact BOC Office for direct mail of such items. For general Club correspondence see below. 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Baker ( Chairman ) (2009) D. J. Fisher ( Vice Chairman) (2011) Dr R. P. Prys-Jones ( Hon Secretary) (2011) D. J. Montier (Hon. Treasurer ) (1997) Registered Charity No. 279583 Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club ISSN 0007-1595 Edited by Guy M. Kirwan Associate Editor: Frank D. Steinheimer Volume 132, Number 2, pages 73-136 CONTENTS Club Announcements 73 SVENSSON, L. A new subspecies of Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis and criteria for separating Western from Eastern Orphean Warbler S. crassirostris 75 BEEHLER, B. M., DIAMOND, J. M., KEMP, N., SCHOLES, E., MILENSKY, C. & LAMAN, T. G. Avifauna of the Foja Mountains of western New Guinea 84 RHEINDT, F. E. New avian records from the little-explored Fakfak Mountains and the Onin Peninsula (West Papua) 102 BUDEN, D. W. Seabirds of Sorol Atoll, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia 116 PEARSON, D., KERTON, I., AMAKOBE, B. & BENSCH, S. Presumed hybrid Blyth's Reed Acrocephalus dumetorum x Marsh Warbler A. palustris trapped at Ngulia, Kenya, in December 2009 124 PATTEN, M. A. The White Ibis Eudocimus albus subspecies of South America 128 KIRWAN, G. M., BOSTOCK, N., HORNBUCKLE, J., MARSHALL, A. & OXLADE, M. Does Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica breed in the interior of continental South America? 133 GREGORY, S. M. S. & DICKINSON, E. C. Clanga has priority over Aquiloides (or how to drop a clanger) 135 EDITORIAL BOARD Murray Bruce, R. T. Chesser, Edward C. Dickinson, Frangoise Dowsett-Lemaire, Steven M. S. Gregory, Jose Fernando Pacheco, Robert B. Payne, Pamela C. Rasmussen, Cees Roselaar, Thomas S. Schulenberg, Lars Svensson Authors are invited to submit papers on topics relating to the broad themes of taxonomy, nomenclature and distribution of birds. Descriptions of new species are especially welcome and will be given priority to ensure rapid publication, subject to successful passage through the normal peer review procedure, and wherever possible should be accompanied by colour photographs or paintings. On submission, manuscripts, double- spaced and with wide margins, should be sent to the Editor, Guy Kirwan, by e-mail, to GMKirwan@aol.com. Alternatively, two copies of manuscripts, typed on one side of the paper, may be submitted to the Editor, 74 Waddington Street, Norwich NR2 4JS, UK. Where appropriate half-tone photographs may be included and, where necessary to illustrate important points, the Editor will consider the inclusion of colour figures. Review, return of manuscripts for revision and subsequent stages of the publication process will be undertaken electronically. For instructions on style, see the inside rear cover of Bulletin 132(1) or the BOC website. Registered Charity No. 279583 © British Ornithologists' Club 2012 www.boc-online.org Printed on acid-free paper. Published by the British Ornithologists' Club Typeset by Alcedo Publishing of Arizona, USA, and printed by Latimer Trend, UK