EVENING MEETINGS

From 2011, we adopted a new format for our evening meetings. The proceedings begin at 6.00pm with a talk. After the talk a cash bar opens and attendees can socialise. At 7.30 there is a light buffet supper (not a sit down meal, though seats are available) for those who have booked for this in advance. There is no charge for attending the meetings which are open to all, not just BOC members, but you must inform the Chairman at least one day in advance if you are planning to come. If you want to order the buffet supper, which costs £15, you should do so before the dates specified below, giving details of any special dietary requirements. Chairman: Helen Baker, 60 Townfield, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, WD3 7DD; Tel: 01923 772441; e-mail: helen.baker60@tiscali.co.uk .

EVENING MEETINGS are normally held on the ground floor of the Sherfield Building of Imperial College, South Kensington, London, SW7. The suite is called the Tower Rooms and meetings will take place in Section A with the entrance opposite the Queen’s Tower in the main quadrangle. The nearest Tube station is at South Kensington; a map of the area will be sent on request. (Limited car parking facilities can be reserved at a special reduced charge of £5.00, on prior application to the Chairman.)

PROGRAMME for 2012

12 June: 5.15pm – Annual General Meeting; 5.40pm – Special General Meeting

At  6.00 pm - Hein van Grouw - What Colour is that Bird? How to recognize and name colour aberrations in birds

Abstract: Knowledge of pigmentation development and genetics has been mostly gained from studies of domesticated species such as mice and chickens. In the past, when nothing was known about plumage pigmentation and mutations, aberrant-coloured birds in the wild were often seen as being new (sub)species, and even scientifically named by ornithologists. Now we know that colour aberrations are often due to mutations, but correct naming of them nevertheless still presents a problem in the ornithological world, with a variety of names seemingly used at random. This means that, without a clear photograph, records of aberrant colouration in certain species are often unreliable because of the incorrect identification and/or naming of the mutation involved. My highly-illustrated talk will aim to provide the facts you need to identify colour aberrations in wild birds correctly.

Hein van Grouw has worked for the last 15 years as a Bird Curator, first in the Natural History Museum, Naturalis, in Leiden and for the last 3 years in the Natural History Museum, Tring. He has a lifelong interest in colour mutations in birds and has been doing practical breeding experiments with both domesticated pigeons and domesticated ringneck doves for the past 30 years in order to unravel the inheritance of the many mutations present in these species. This, in combination with the examination of many aberrant-coloured bird specimens in museum collection over the last 15 years, has given him insight into the occurrence and nature of mutations in wild birds.

Those wishing to order the buffet supper should apply to the Chairman (address above) by 29 May.

To comply with Imperial College Requirements, those wishing to attend the talks must notify the Chairman no later than Monday 11 June 2012.

18 September 2012 – Professor Graham Martin (Birmingham University) will speak on “Through birds’ eyes: insights into avian sensory ecology”

Details to be announced

To comply with Imperial College requirements, those wishing to attend the talk must notify the Chairman no later than Monday 17 September.

23 October 2012

Preliminary announcement of one-day conference on 23 October 2012 commemorating Allan Octavian Hume (1829-1912)

2012 is the centenary of the death of Allan Octavian Hume (1829-1912) - Indian ornithologist extraordinaire, enlightened administrator in the Indian Civil Service, early leading light of the Indian National Congress and founder of the South London Botanical Institute – but a man strangely little known and appreciated today. On Tuesday, 23 October 2012, the Natural History Museum (NHM) and the South London Botanical Institute, supported by the Linnean Society of London and the British Ornithologists’ Club, are planning a one-day conference in the Flett Theatre, NHM, entitled:
 
Indian Ornithology, British Botany and Allan Octavian Hume (1829-1912):
the Scientific Legacy of a Founder of the Indian National Congress

The conference will focus on Hume’s scientific achievements and legacy, but set in the context of his wider life and initiatives in Indian administration and politics. Among the nine speakers will be Professor Edward Moulton (University of Manitoba), doyen of Hume studies and co-editor of the projected multi-volume Selected Writings of Allan Octavian Hume (Oxford University Press).

A full programme and booking details for the conference will be announced about six months before the event on the websites of the Natural History Museum, South London Botanical Institute, Linnean Society, British Ornithologists’ Club and the Society for the History of Natural History. Individuals booking for the conference will also at that time have the opportunity to apply for places to make behind-the-scenes tours of the South London Botanical Institute (on Monday, 22 October) and the bird research collections of the Natural History Museum at Tring (on Wednesday, 24 October) to view aspects of the botanical and ornithological legacy of Hume.

Robert Prys-Jones, Natural History Museum: r.prys-jones@nhm.ac.uk
Honor Gay, Natural History Museum: h.gay@nhm.ac.uk
Roy Vickery, South London Botanical Institute: vickery330@btinternet.com

PROGRAMME for 2013

On Saturday 6 April 2013, the BOC will be holding a joint meeting with the African Bird Club and the Natural History Museum at the Flett Theatre, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD. Details will be available on the website and in the Bulletin in due course.

Dr Nigel Collar talking to the club about Birds and People.

RECENT MEETINGS:

27 March – A long-term study of the Black Guillemot colony at Bangor, Co. Down – Julian Greenwoood

Write-up to follow

11 October 2011 - Back from the brink: translocation of threatened endemic birds in the Seychelles - Rachel Bristol

Rachel Bristol spoke on the subject of the translocation of threatened endemic birds in the Seychelles. The main threats to Seychelles endemic birds are habitat loss and introduced predators, particularly cats and rats, which have occurred since human colonisation of the Seychelles began in the 1770s. The majority of the original forest cover was rapidly removed for plantation agriculture, predominantly coconuts in coastal plateau areas and cinnamon in the mountains, and rats and cats quickly spread to most islands. As a result, several species became extinct, including Seychelles Parakeet Psittacula wardi and Seychelles Chestnut-flanked White-eye Zosterops semiflavus, while others came perilously close. Seychelles Magpie-Robin Copsychus sechellarum was originally resident on most, if not all, the granitic islands, but was lost from all except Frégate (219 ha), where a tiny population of 11–30 individuals clung on for c.40 years until a recovery programme was instigated in 1990. Seychelles Warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis was reduced to a tiny population of 28–30 individuals on Cousin (26 ha) and Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone corvina became extinct on all islands except La Digue.

To increase the numbers, range and survival prospects of five of the eight Seychelles threatened endemic birds, translocations (reintroductions and conservation introductions) have been used in tandem with habitat rehabilitation to create additional island populations of these birds. Due largely to translocations, we now have over 200 Seychelles Magpie-Robins on five islands, >3,000 Seychelles Warblers on four islands, Seychelles White-eyes Zosterops modestus on five islands, Seychelles Fodies Foudia sechellarum on five islands and Seychelles Paradise Flycatchers now have a second population on Denis. After some initial translocation failures in the 1970s and 80s, translocation methods have been continually refined and Seychelles now achieves consistent translocation success. Keys to success have been: ensuring all the species’ habitat requirements are provided in the new environment (for example, habitat rehabilitation prior to release, predator management, provision of nest boxes and supplementary food), translocating only wild birds and tailoring the release methods to the species. In addition, intensive post-release monitoring is always undertaken to monitor survival and breeding of the released individuals, and also to detect any problems so that mitigation actions can be undertaken if necessary.

14 June 2011 - Short talks by members of the club

A series of short talks was presented, starting with Nigel Redman, who first discussed What is Sharpe’s Lark? In 1896 D. G. Elliot collected a lark in British Somaliland that he described as Mirafra sharpii. It was later subsumed within Rufous-naped Lark M. africana, a widespread species whose races range from pale to dark, although none is as rufous as sharpii. In 1918–20 Sir Geoffrey Archer collected a further 14 specimens in Somaliland, mostly on the Tuuyo Plain where it apparently overlapped with the very similar Somali Lark M. somalica. Whilst Somali Lark’s range extends east from here, Sharpe’s extends west to the Ethiopian border, with just one record in Ethiopia. There have only been a handful of sightings of Sharpe’s Lark since, and the taxon is recorded from only six squares in Birds of Somalia. It inhabits open grassy plains in areas of open dry woodland, but the nest has never been found and no photographs or sound-recordings exist. Sharpe’s Lark is surprisingly similar to Somali Lark, both being very rufous in overall coloration (Somali Lark is slightly paler). The key consistent differences are bill length (short in Sharpe’s, usually much longer in Somali), outer tail colour (buff in Sharpe’s, white in Somali) and hindclaw length and shape (shorter than hind toe and strongly arched in Sharpe’s, and longer than hind toe and almost straight in Somali). Furthermore, Somali shows more spotting on the undertail-coverts. Their similarity raises the question of whether Sharpe’s Lark might be a race of Somali Lark rather than Rufous-naped Lark, but the differences, though subtle, do seem too marked, especially the hindclaw. It therefore seems best to treat sharpii as a species for now. It is disconcerting that the first bird tours to Somaliland in 2010 found Somali but not Sharpe’s Lark on the Tuuyo Plain. We can only hope that this interesting taxon has managed to cling on somewhere in north-west Somalia (or in eastern Ethiopia) and that a population will be relocated soon.

Nigel went on to consider Species, races or morphs: taxonomic confusion in the Tropical Boubou complex, in a talk that further considered issues raised by Turner et al. (Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 131: 125–128) in relation to a recent molecular study (Nguembock et al., Mol. Phyl. & Evol. 48: 396–407). Turner et al. reported that the black ‘morph’ of Laniarius (aethiopicus) sublacteus in coastal Kenya lives side by side with black-and-white sublacteus, and they apparently behave as separate species. The situation in southern Somalia is not well known, but the black morph of L. (a.) erlangeri reportedly calls very differently from normal Tropical Boubous. Turner et al. overlooked that Nguembock et al.’s study did in fact sample the black ‘morph’ of erlangeri and therefore it is this bird that is more distantly related to other black-and-white boubous. Nigel suggested that the all-black Somali and Kenyan birds must be synonymous, but L. erlangeri is inappropriate as the Kenyan birds were named L. nigerrimus in 1879, 26 years before erlangeri was described. This ‘new’ species requires an English moniker and Reichenow’s name Black Boubou seems sensible. But the question remains, what are the black-and-white birds in the Jubba Valley in southern Somalia? It would be logical for them to be sublacteus, like those in Kenya, but the Somali birds often show a short wingbar, which sublacteus lacks. However, three of 30 adult sublacteus in Tring had one or two white feathers on the shoulder, so there is clearly some variation. Until a fuller genetic analysis is made, including all relevant taxa, we can only speculate.

Clive Mann spoke on Two tropical cuckoo problems, starting with plumage coloration in Large Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides. This species ranges from the Himalayas to southern China and South-East Asia, with small numbers from northern populations migrating south to the Philippines and Greater Sundas. It breeds at 900–3,500 m, but migrants are found to sea level. Five unusually plumaged specimens (four male, one unsexed) in the collection at Tring were collected between 1863 and 1915 in Burma (four) and Thailand (one), from three localities near sea level, one at 1,500 m and one untraced. Four were taken in October–January, but that from the untraced locality in August. They differ in being silvery grey above (usually blackish brown), with a chestnut throat and the barring below much paler and more rufous. Although one collector remarked on the silvery colour in his notes, nothing appears to have been published on this plumage. Clive initially thought they represented an undescribed taxon, but there appear to be no structural or biometric differences, and the plumage differences could have resulted from a simple genetic mechanism, perhaps just one mutation, causing the dilution of melanin pigments. Such a variant, referred to as ‘pastel’, is known in other birds, whereby the black eumelanin becomes grey and the reddish-brown phaeomelanin becomes yellowish brown. On this basis he considered it more logical to view them as a morph of sparverioides. The dates suggest that they could be wintering birds, although August is perhaps anomalous, but if they are where did they come from?

Large Hawk-cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides (1) ventral view: top two normal morph, bottom two undescribed pale morph. (Clive Mann).

Large Hawk-cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides (2) dorsal view: top two normal morph, bottom two undescribed pale morph.

Clive then discussed the northern subspecies of Oriental Cuckoo Cuculus (saturatus) optatus, which breeds from European Russia east to Japan. It migrates to southern Asia and Australasia, with vagrants recorded in the Pacific and North America, and twice in Israel. A specimen of a hepatic morph female Cuculus collected by Boyd Alexander in December 1898 in Zambia is in the Tring collection, with the African Cuckoos C. gularis. It was originally labeled C. canorus, but in Clive’s opinion is obviously different to both gularis and canorus, notably in the rump / uppertail-coverts. The former species has much grey amongst the rufous and dark brown barring, whereas the latter generally has an almost unmarked rufous rump, although juveniles may have dark brown barring as in the Boyd Alexander specimen, but have narrow whitish fringes to the feathers (lacking in the specimen in question). He found it difficult to distinguish the specimen from all optatus examined (saturatus is extremely similar to optatus, but smaller) and provisionally considers that the specimen represents the sole record of Oriental Cuckoo in Africa.

David Fisher presented The first-ever photographs of Nkulengu Rail? Whereas in former years members commonly exhibited ‘novelties’, i.e. specimens of potentially new taxa, David showed what he believed to be the first-ever ‘consciously taken’ photographs of Nkulengu Rail Himantornis haematopus, of a bird in Ghana on 9 May 2011 (two poor photographs taken by automated camera traps can be seen on the internet). This species, whose range stretches from West Africa to Uganda, is of interest for several reasons. It is loudly vocal pre-dawn and post-dusk, and in one recent field guide its call is described as sounding like a ‘dancing conga-line going through the forest’! The species is notoriously hard to see but, as the camera trap photos prove, it is active by day as well as at night. This rail is considered to be the sole member of its own subfamily, based primarily on its skeleton, which differs dramatically from other rails, being much closer to the South American trumpeters (Psophiidae). Unlike other rails, juveniles possess highly patterned down. Compared to illustrations in books, David’s photographs differed primarily in the bare-part colours. The legs are usually painted (correctly) as bright red, but the bill as either uniform grey or uniform black, whereas in life it is silvery blue with a lime-green base. The lores are also usually painted grey or black, whereas they are greyish blue in life. Presumably these discrepancies are due to illustrations being based on skins in which the colours have faded. The photographs will shortly be made public via several websites and elsewhere.

Nkulengu Rail Himantornis haematopus. (David Fisher)

Douglas Russell’s talk was entitled Con artist or unfairly maligned collector?—the rediscovery of William Farren’s Black Woodpecker eggs from the New Forest. The status of Black Woodpecker Dryocopus m. martius in Britain and Ireland has long been controversial. The last review, by the BOU Records Committee (Ibis 137: 590–591) considered 110 alleged records, but unanimously concluded there was no unequivocal evidence of the species occurring in the last 200 years. Prior to this, R. S. R. Fitter (Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 79: 79–87, 102–113; revisited in Birding World 5: 75–77) compiled a comprehensive list of Black Woodpecker records, categorising at least 26 as now or formerly supported by specimens and ‘in one case a clutch of eggs’. For over a century this clutch was presumed lost to science. However, examination of the Milton Abbey School Collection, acquired by the Natural History Museum, Tring, in 2001, revealed several overlooked manuscripts that suggested its presence in the collection, which appears to have been formerly in the possession of the Beavan-Rake family. In 1862, William Farren (1836–87), a well-known naturalist and dealer, detailed in The Zoologist collecting the clutch on 9 June 1862 at Pignel, near Brockenhurst, Hampshire, in the New Forest. He subsequently passed the eggs to his friend John de Capel Wise (1831–90) for authentication. The manuscripts indicated that Wise, who mentioned the eggs in his book The New Forest: its history and scenery (1883), had subsequently sold them to the surgeon and collector Thomas Beavan-Rake. Three of the original clutch of four have now been found. Measurements and comparison with other European Black Woodpecker and Green Woodpecker Picus viridis eggs are inconclusive, but their identification can potentially be determined by molecular investigation. However, an answer to the central question of whether the clutch was actually taken in the New Forest will remain disappointingly elusive in the absence of an unambiguous method for determining a clutch’s laying locality.

Lengthy discussion of the above meant insufficient time was available for Robert Prys-Jones’s projected talk on Type specimens of the Imperial Woodpecker: confusion resolved?

29 March 2011 – Singing in the rainforest: ornithological adventures in Amazonia – Joe Tobias

Joe Tobias spoke about the Neotropical ornithology research programme he is currently developing at the Edward Grey Institute in the Zoology Department at Oxford University. He commenced with a quick ‘tour’ to depict a representative sample of Amazonian bird diversity, including endemic families such as trumpeters (Psophiidae) and Hoatzin Opisthocomus hoazin (Opisthocomidae), and other key components of Neotropical avian communities such as guans (Cracidae), motmots (Momotidae), toucans (Ramphastidae) and jacamars (Galbulidae). He then reviewed current efforts to understand the ecology and behaviour of Amazonian birds, and to explain Amazonian diversity, which ranks as the highest in the world in terms of the number of species co-existing at single localities. Turning to research on antbirds (Thamnophilidae) he discussed recent findings from field observations and experiments that males and females sing year-round, often in duets, and that the function of male and female songs varies with context, sometimes reflecting cooperation and at other times conflict between the sexes. He also described how strong competition between antbird species has driven convergence in songs in some closely related species-pairs. At a regional scale, recent studies of Amazonian bird ranges provide support for Alfred Russel Wallace’s hypothesis that riverine barriers help to explain the divergence of avian lineages in the Amazon basin, and ultimately shape the patterns of diversity found today.

2 November 2010: The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia (ABBA) project - Mr Michael Jennings

21 September 2010: Eggs dressed and undressed - Dr Andrew Gosler

This talk brought up to date the speaker’s work on eggshell pigmentation carried out since his talk to the BOC given on 7 December 2004. An important study conducted after that presentation, on the relationship between eggshell pigmentation, shell thickness and DDT contamination in the Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus had developed directly from the discussion engaged in after the earlier talk at the BOC. Dr Gosler was therefore delighted to be speaking again to the Club and looked forward to yet more insightful comments.

The current talk started with a recap of the principal points presented previously. Studies of Great Tit Parus major eggs in Wytham Woods had shown that such pigmentation was intimately related to eggshell structure, calcium availability, and water loss in incubation. The more recent work had shown that the pigment spots on the eggshell of Great Tit eggs marked areas of thinner shell, and that the shell thickness, especially around the widest part of the shell (here referred to as the shoulder) was related to a measure of pigment pattern known as ‘spread’. This pigment spread measure appeared to have no heritable element, i.e. variation in it was influenced entirely by environmental factors. An important environmental factor was local calcium availability, which affected the birds through its effect on the density of small snails, which were the chief source of calcium for females during egg formation. So in areas where calcium was in short supply, there were fewer snails, and the tits laid thinner-shelled eggs, which showed a greater spread of pigment. Over the last 20 years, this pigment spread measure had declined in a striking way, which reflected a significant decline observed in soil calcium in Wytham. The most likely cause of this was thought to be acid precipitation, which had the potential to leach calcium even from soils overlying limestone.

The Sparrowhawk study had developed from Prof. Cheke’s earlier suggestion that, if protoporphyrin pigment were incorporated within the eggshell to compensate (strengthen) for shell-thinning, since DDT was known to cause eggshell thinning in the Sparrowhawk, maybe it also affected the eggshells’ pigmentation in that species. The subsequent study, here reported, showed a complex relationship between pigmentation, shell thickness and DDE content of eggs, but that essentially it was correct that in this species also, protoporphyrin was incorporated where the shell was thinner, and that indeed this occurred more in eggs that contained higher concentrations of DDE. The fact that the apparent adaptation of adding this pigment where the shell was thinner had been found in such distantly related species as the Great Tit and Sparrowhawk (the latter being a species whose diet should prevent it normally from being calcium stressed) suggested that this might be a very primitive adaptation in birds.

22 June 2010: Birdlife International’s Important Bird Area programme: a global perspective – Dr Lincoln Fishpool

Important Bird Areas (IBAs) are the sites-based component of BirdLife’s conservation work.  The origins of IBAs date back to the late 1970s, when ICBP, the forerunner of BirdLife, was asked to help develop the means of implementing the European Union’s Bird Directive.  Since then, the programme has become global and over 10,000 IBAs have now been identified worldwide. 

IBAs are identified using a set of standardised selection categories using data gathered locally, analysed nationally and coordinated regionally, and it is these local-to-global connections that are one of the reasons for the success of the programme. One measure of this success has been the designation of new protected areas - for example, as the result of a ten-country project in Africa, the proportion of IBAs with legal protection increased from 55% to 70% between 1998 and 2007. 

Information for more than 200 countries and territories has been published in seven regional directories and over 120 national publications, while boundaries have been digitised for about 95% of sites. With the majority of sites now identified, at least on land, emphasis is shifting to monitoring.  Using a simple methodology, information is collected locally, largely by volunteers, to produce indicators of ‘state’, ‘pressure’ and ‘response’ for each site.  These can be integrated to provide assessments of status and trends at IBAs nationally and regionally, which have powerful advocacy messages.

While IBA coverage now extends to almost all terrestrial and freshwater parts of the globe, this is not the case for the marine environment.  Methods for IBA identification at sea are still being developed, including, for example, exploring how the results of seabird satellite tracking can be used to inform IBA boundary designation. 

BirdLife has been collaborating with Wetlands International, and other organisations, in the development of a ‘Critical Site Network Tool’ for waterbirds within the region covered by the Africa-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement.  Combining IBA information with International Waterbird Census data, the ‘Wings Over Wetlands’ project has looked at site networks from a flyways perspective.  This has included, for example, assessments of how complete the coverage of each population is, based upon comparisons of total numbers held at known sites with the size of the population as a whole, so pointing up potential gaps. The tool can be seen at www.wingsoverwetlands.org/csntool. 

IBA networks are also being examined for their likely resilience in the face of projected climate change between now and 2080.  This includes assessments of the scale of projected turn-over of priority species at sites.  These studies have also highlighted those sites whose climates are not anticipated to change significantly over this period, something which has further heightened their importance for conservation.

27 April 2010 – Short talks by members of the club

After dinner a series of short talks was given. Prof. Robert A. Cheke spoke on An indigenous trap for mass capture of Red-billed Quelea. He described a basket trap that he was shown by Richard N. Magoma, James Mabuga and Boaz Mtobesya of the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives, which is used by bird trappers in the Kondoa area of Tanzania to catch Red-billed Quelea Quelea quelea aethiopica in the dry season. The traps are woven from African Star Grass Cynodon nlemfluensis into torus-shaped structures, resembling a wheel, c.60 cm in diameter, 20 cm deep and 2 m in circumference, with central holes that serve as entrances for birds. The hole on one side (15 cm) is larger than on the other (10 cm), with the latter tapered inwards. Two methods are used: one in water and one on land, with a decoy bird inside from the outset in both. When trapping at drinking sites, the basket is partially submerged with the large hole uppermost, and grasses then conceal much of the basket. Birds lured into the entrance to drink become trapped. Similarly, when used on land, the basket is baited with a panicle of bulrush millet or millet seeds, and placed in a feeding zone with the smaller hole uppermost and the larger hole underneath blocked. A trapper deploys 5–10 traps from which 500–1,000 birds can be caught per day. Any surplus to the trappers’ requirements are sold, providing much-needed income for the trappers and protein for the buyers. Different ways in which the birds are cooked were described and the results of experiments by B. Mtobesya using similar traps made of wire mesh discussed as a means of localised pest control, with care taken to release any non-target birds caught.

Dr Robert Prys-Jones’ talk was entitled The case of the Large-billed Reed Warbler: museum collections shed light on an unknown species. Following its description in 1867, from a specimen taken in north-west India, Large-billed Reed Warbler Acrocephalus orinus led a twilight existence for 135 years, with no further specimens discovered and an increasing tendency to consider it either an unusual specimen of a known species or a hybrid. However, in 2002 a re-analysis that included a molecular study demonstrated that it was a distinct species, and in 2006 a live bird was discovered in Thailand. Subsequent intensive museum study turned up sufficient overlooked specimens to provide an overview of its annual cycle, suggesting that it bred in south-central Asia, migrated across India and wintered in south-east Asia. Breeding in north-east Afghanistan and Tajikistan has now been confirmed. More detail, including references, can be found at http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/species-of-the-day/collections/our-collections/acrocephalus-orinus/index.html.

David Fisher showed photographs of hummingbirds taken on three-week trips to Ecuador in 2009 and Mexico in 2010. In Ecuador he had seen 58 species and photographed 34 of them reasonably well, in Mexico he had seen 26 species but only managed to photograph three. He explained that this was due to the different views in the two countries concerning hummingbird feeders. In Ecuador they are commonplace at every lodge, whereas in Mexico they simply don’t exist. David had been informed that there are no feeders in Mexico because several years ago an influential biologist suggested that they might be harmful to hummingbirds, and this view spread rapidly with the result that feeders are not used at all—which is quite remarkable given how common they are in the USA, Costa Rica, Ecuador and other countries. David explained that at Umbrellabird Lodge, run by the Jocotoco Foundation, feeding has reached a new level, with large salad trays being used rather than commercial flower-like feeders. These attract dozens of hummingbirds at a time, and 200–300 individuals of ten species were simultaneously present on the lodge veranda or waiting in the surrounding bushes. He showed photographs of each of the species present.

Martin Gauntlett addressed the question How many species of extant birds are there? The first edition of Howard & Moore appeared in 1980 and listed 8,984 species. At the time, Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus was still considered a subspecies of Bean Goose A. fabalis. Ten years later, when Sibley & Monroe put the DNA cat among the taxonomic pigeons, the number had grown to 9,598. BirdLife International takes its own line on species-level splits and its June 2009 posting listed 9,803, plus 126 under review. Many of the latter will probably be accepted. Clements follows the AOU. Its 6.4 version in December 2009 listed 9,888 species. The third edition of Howard & Moore appeared in 2003 and took a rather conservative approach, requiring peer-reviewed literature to accept a change, and listed 9,593 species. Now there is HBW, which is likely to total 9,692 species. Its earlier volumes were more conservative and a taxonomic round-up at the end of the series is anticipated. Comparing their lists, the four 21st century sources agree on just 9,359 species (assuming HBW agrees for all species treated in forthcoming volumes) but between them they cover 10,172 species, a difference of 813. Finally, there is the IOC English names committee. In December 2009 it listed 10,366 species. In March 2010 this had increased 10,384, an additional 18 species in three months. Thus, the answer to the question is that (in April 2010) there were between 9,351 and nearly 10,500 extant species, and the list was growing by six species per month.

In pursuit of a dream to observe Steller’s Sea Eagles Haliaeetus pelagicus on the sea-ice off Hokkaido, Richard Price, and his wife Helen, travelled to Japan in February 2009. In addition to realising his dream, with the Steller’s jousting with White-tailed Eagles Haliaeetus albicilla, they also saw Japanese (Red-crowned) Cranes Grus japonensis dancing in the snow. A bonus was a detour on the way to Hokkaido via Kyushu, the southernmost large island in Japan. Here they saw up to 10,000 Hooded Cranes G. monacha and White-naped Cranes G. vipio, together with small numbers of Sandhill Cranes G canadensis and European Cranes G. grus and two Siberian White Cranes G. leucogeranus.

16 March 2010: Birds of the Comoros Islands - Dr Julian Hume

After dinner, Dr Hume gave an informative and well-illustrated talk on the The Comoros comprise four main volcanic islands, Mayotte, Moheli, Anjouan and Grand Comore, situated between Mozambique and Madagascar. They have been inhabited since the fifth century, so human-induced environmental change has continued for the last 1.5 millennia. Despite this, 146 species have been recorded, of which 14 endemic species and subspecies of bird survive, albeit some are very rare, and they are mainly concentrated in the remnant forests. The birds have strong biogeographical connections with Madagascar and Africa, and only one species, Homblot’s Flycatcher Humblotia flavirostris, belongs to an endemic genus. Moheli, the smallest island, still harbours many bird species, most notably four sympatric species of pigeon, unique within the south-west Indian Ocean islands. The birds are easily detected but human disturbance is high. Anjouan is under the greatest threat of encroachment, with almost all of its forests degraded to some degree and even these continue to be cut for firewood. Many of the bird species are confined to the remnant montane forests and are only viewable after steep hikes. Grand Comore is the largest and youngest island, and its main volcano, Mount Karthala, boasts one of the largest active craters in the world. Most of the endemic birds are concentrated around the crater, and after a long hike it is possible to see most birds comparatively easily in the stunted forests. Unlike the other islands, which are a United Arab Republic, France administers Mayotte and standards of living are high. It still retains forest and has suffered less human disturbance than the other islands, despite good roads, and most of the birding areas are reached easily. Other than Mayotte, the Comoros have lagged behind in terms of tourism, are poverty stricken, and logistically difficult to travel around, not only between islands, but intra-island as well. The remaining forests are under extreme pressure from human encroachment, thus the long-term future of the avifauna is unfortunately rather tenuous.

26 January 2010: Conserving the Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita – what’s being done to halt centuries of decline in Morocco, Syria, Turkey and elsewhere – Chris Bowden

The historical range and significance of Northern Bald Ibis (NBI) starts in ancient Egypt where it had special significance and its own hieroglyphic symbol, and some recent work suggests it may already have been declining four thousand years ago. Its disappearance was better documented from the European Alps over four hundred years ago, and since 1900, the range contraction has continued from North Africa and the Middle East, largely due to habitat changes, but most sharply since the 1950s when DDT and probably hunting caused extinction in the wild from Turkey (in 1989) and all but two of the fifty Moroccan colonies that were present around 1900. The discovery that 3 relict pairs were still present in Syria in 2002 was a welcome surprise, but the one hundred pairs persisting in Morocco at two coastal sites means they are still classified as Critically Endangered by BirdLife and IUCN.

The feeding habitat is essentially open steppe and unintensive agricultural fields, and the diet a very wide range of invertebrate and small vertebrate prey (lizards in particular), for which they search by probing sandy soils or rocky, shrubby landscapes. There is a further breeding habitat requirement which is ledges on inaccessible cliff faces which do need to be within 20km of extensive areas of feeding habitat. It is a highly social species, usually breeding and foraging in groups, and in the non-breeding period can congregate even further making them potentially vulnerable to one-off events. It has a more complex social system than most birds, relying on learning a higher proportion of its behaviour and movements than other species.

The Moroccan population, having been reduced to such a localised population was thankfully afforded considerable protection when the Moroccan Government declared the Souss-Massa National Park near Agadir in southern Morocco in 1991, and the boundary of the park includes most of the feeding and breeding cliffs. RSPB research started soon after in 1994 to identify and refine actions needed to conserve the species. A key element has been recruitment and training of seven local wardens now managed by the National Park staff. Appointed from adjacent villages they monitor the birds, help prevent disturbance by fishermen and tourists, and informally interact with local communities to inform them why this is important. More specific interventions arising from the research have been the provision of safe fresh-water drinking points which were demonstrated to improve breeding productivity, as well as very occasional predator control. Systematic data collected on the areas used for foraging has been crucial for securing the protection of some key areas otherwise threatened with development for mass tourism facilities. Although such pressures continue to mount and will require ongoing attention, another related piece of work demonstrated that it is fallow areas left uncultivated for two or more years that support far higher lizard populations, and so maintaining this unintensive system may well be key to the long term survival of the ibis population in the area. This is where work by the National Park with ongoing support from Spanish BirdLife Partner SEO is of further key importance. Half of the ibis population breeds nearby outside the National Park, at Tamri, and this area is urgently in need of greater protection.The population was just 59 breeding pairs in 1997, following a mystery die-off, but had increased to 108 pairs by 2009 largely thanks to some of the above measures.

The Eastern population winters in Ethiopia, as revealed in detail by recent satellite tracking of the Syrian breeding birds, whilst the Moroccan birds are much more sedentary. Learning more about the route and causes of mortality has already raised the alarm that hunting along the migration route may well be a key reason for recent declines and urgently needs to be addressed.

There are important semi-wild (Turkey) and zoo (mainly European zoos) populations which are actually far more numerous than the wild birds. At Birecik in Turkey these birds are free-flying for half of the year, and recent release trials have shown promising signs that they may potentially be used to re-establish wild populations, and even be used to supplement the precariously small Syrian population. Other release trials in Austria and Spain have advanced our understanding of how releases may be useful in future, following several early trials (eg in Israel, Italy) that had proved that this is far from straightforward, as they were completely unsuccessful.

An international group, (International Advisory Group for Northern Bald Ibis - IAGNBI) established in 1999 has successfully helped to channel efforts and resources, more recently through input to an International Species Action Plan. By involving key expertise which represents the diverse interest groups and range state governments, and most recently through www.iagnbi.org website where reports and priorities are readily available, there is now coordinated guidance available to potentially help the species improve its still precarious status.