Spent much of the day fighting with the Good Friday traffic on the A303, but a Red Kite north over near Andover provided some compensation and 3 Swallow near Honiton were my first of the year. We finally arrived in Budleigh Salterton in Devon to visit good friends Jaffa and Helen, exhausted, hungry and thirsty. Without even stopping for a glass of water we headed straight out to the Otter Estuary to look for the Purple Heron, where we ended up staring at a ditch for three hours while waiting for bloody thing to show itself. Eventually I managed a cracking view of it's head for all of three seconds and that was it. Things were pretty quiet but birds actually seen while hanging around include several Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 4 Little Egret, 1 Sparrowhawk, 16 Shelduck, 10 Teal and 7 Wigeon.
6 April 2012
23 March 2012
More photos on Flickr
Created a new set on birds photographed in Canada on my Flickr account (to view click here). More to be added shortly.
20 March 2012
The notorious tapaculo
In 2007, Mouse-coloured Tapaculo S. speluncae, a species found in the mountains of the Atlantic Forest in South America, was split by the Brazilian Committee of Ornithological Records (CBRO) and renamed Serra do Mar Tapaculo Scytalopus notorius (after the Serra do Mar mountains of the region). Birders everywhere (okay, birders in Brazil) were just starting to get used to the new name when the CBRO suddenly, and mysteriously, reversed their decision!
The Scytalopus genus of tapaculos are arguably the most taxonomically complex passerines in Latin America. Typical tapaculos, they are extremely difficult to see which makes them very tricky to study. In fact, they appear to like nothing more than remaining hidden from frustrated birders by creeping around mouse-like in dense vegetation, while monotonously calling their heads off! But over the last few decades new populations have been discovered and the genus has seen enormous taxonomic changes, with around 40 species now recognised compared to just 11 in 19703. Associated with mountains, most are found in the Andes but some are restricted to south-east South America where six species are now recognised, three of which have been described since 2005!
The specific name of Mouse-coloured Tapaculo - speluncae - has long been the subject of intense taxonomic debate, with ornithologists divided over whether this is the same species originally described and given this name. The answer not only has significant implications for the nomenclature of Mouse-coloured Tapaculo, but also for other Scytalopus species recently discovered in south-east Brazil.
In 1835, French zoologist, Édouard Ménétriés, collected and described the first Scytalopus tapaculo in the region - an adult male collected in the Espinhaço mountains in Minas Gerias state, near the town of São João del Rei, that he named Malacorhynchus speluncae (placed in the genus Scytalopus today). Ménétriés described it as uniform mouse grey above, slightly paler grey below and becoming whitish towards the middle of the breast and on the throat (illustration of type specimen below). Subsequently, similar, albeit darker birds were discovered in the Atlantic Forest mountains in Rio de Janeiro state, a long way from the Espinhaço mountains, and identified by ornithologists Hellmayr (1907) and Ihering & Ihering (1907) as belonging to the same species (know today as Mouse-coloured Tapaculo).
Surprisingly, no other Scytalopus tapaculos were subsequently found in the São João del Rei region and so ornithologists questioned São João del Rei as the type locality of Ménétriés specimen3 (a notion given credence after the type localities of other specimens collected by Ménétriés were found to be erroneous), suggesting it was actually collected in the Atlantic Forest.
Then in the 1990s, not one but two forms of Scytalopus tapaculo were discovered hiding out in the Espinhaço mountains - one in the northern part of the range (described in 2005 as Diamantina Tapaculo S. diamantinensis), and the other in the south around São João del Rei! However, these São João del Rei birds are quite different, morphologically and vocally, to the Atlantic Forest taxon, being paler grey, noticeably whitish on the central belly and most significantly, buff with dark barring on the flanks, rump and under tail coverts (photo here)3. They were clearly a different species, and so which species had Ménétriés described? Was it the São João del Rei species afterall, or a bird from the Atlantic Forest as suggested? Whichever one it is must be attributed the name speluncae, and the other would need to be described as a new species.
A study by Raposo et al. published in 2006, re-examined Ménétriés's type specimen and compared it with new topotypes collected from São João del Rei, as well as specimens from the Atlantic Forest. Although the specimen is damaged, they found a few buff feathers on the rump and flanks of the type specimen (not mentioned by Ménétriés) and argue that these, together with the whitish central belly and throat and paler mid-grey colouration, are all features not found on the Atlantic Forest birds3 (especially adult males1). Therefore, Ménétriés's type specimen must be from São João del Rei, and so the name speluncae must be applied to this form and Mouse-coloured Tapaculo must be described as a new species, for which they proposed the name Serra do Mar Tapaculo Scytalopus notorius (notorius because of the controversy surrounding the species).
The following year, this proposal was adopted by the CBRO and the issue seemed to be settled, but then three years later a similar study by Maurício et al.1 concluded completely the opposite! They point out that the plumage of adult male Mouse-coloured Tapaculo actually varies considerably - ranging from homogeneous blackish grey with no traces of any buff feathers (as put foward by Raposo et al.), to mid-grey with some buff barred feathers on the flanks and rump (a feature shown by about 25% of adult males). In contrast, the São João del Rei taxon exhibits a very clearly marked plumage pattern (see above), being dark grey above and paler grey below a whitish center to the belly and obvious buff barred flanks, vent, under tail coverts and rump. They showed that the buff feathers on Ménétriés type specimen are nowhere near extensive enough for it to be the São João del Rei species, and also the central belly on the type is actually medium grey and not white. However, the plumage of Ménétriés type falls well within the variation found within Mouse-coloured Tapaculo, and therefore the Atlantic Forest species must retain the name speluncae.
In the end, Maurício et al. won the support of the South American Classification Committee and the CBRO reinstated Mouse-coloured Tapaculo as the name of the Atlantic Forest species. With this issue finally laid to rest, the São João del Rei species could be formally described, and in 2010 was announced as a new species - Rock Tapaculo S. petrophilus.4
References
1 Maurício, G.N., Bornschein, M.R., Vasconcelos, M.F., Whitney, J.F., Pacheco, J.F. & Silveira, L.F. (2010) Taxonomy of "Mouse-colored Tapaculos". I. On the application of the name Malacorhynchus speluncae Ménétriés, 1835 (Aves: Passeriformes: Rhinocryptidae). Zootaxa 2518: 32–48.
2 Raposo, M.A. & Kirwan, G.M. (2008) The Brazilian species complex Scytalopus speluncae: how many times can a holotype be overlooked? Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 16(1): 78–81.
3 Raposo, M.A., Stopiglia, R., Loskot, V. & Kirwan, G.M. (2006) The correct use of the name Scytalopus speluncae (Ménétriés, 1835), and the description of a new species of Brazilian tapaculo (Aves: Passeriformes: Rhinocryptidae). Zootaxa 1271: 37–56.
4 Whitney, B.M., Marcelo, F.V., Silveira, L.F. & Pacheco, J.F. (2010) Scytalopus petrophilus (Rock Tapaculo): a new species from Minas Gerias, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 18(2): 73-88.
The Scytalopus genus of tapaculos are arguably the most taxonomically complex passerines in Latin America. Typical tapaculos, they are extremely difficult to see which makes them very tricky to study. In fact, they appear to like nothing more than remaining hidden from frustrated birders by creeping around mouse-like in dense vegetation, while monotonously calling their heads off! But over the last few decades new populations have been discovered and the genus has seen enormous taxonomic changes, with around 40 species now recognised compared to just 11 in 19703. Associated with mountains, most are found in the Andes but some are restricted to south-east South America where six species are now recognised, three of which have been described since 2005!
The specific name of Mouse-coloured Tapaculo - speluncae - has long been the subject of intense taxonomic debate, with ornithologists divided over whether this is the same species originally described and given this name. The answer not only has significant implications for the nomenclature of Mouse-coloured Tapaculo, but also for other Scytalopus species recently discovered in south-east Brazil.
 |
| What's in a name? The nomenclature of Mouse-coloured Tapaculo Scytalopus speluncae has long been a topic of intense debate, with ornithologists divided over whether this is the same species described and attributed the specific name speluncae by Édouard Ménétriés in 1835. This male at Pico da Caledônia, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, in October 2007, was laughing so uncontrollably at our efforts to work it out, that it momentarily forgot that it was supposed to be skulking around in dense vegetation annoying birders and allowed itself to be photographed out in the open for a change. |
In 1835, French zoologist, Édouard Ménétriés, collected and described the first Scytalopus tapaculo in the region - an adult male collected in the Espinhaço mountains in Minas Gerias state, near the town of São João del Rei, that he named Malacorhynchus speluncae (placed in the genus Scytalopus today). Ménétriés described it as uniform mouse grey above, slightly paler grey below and becoming whitish towards the middle of the breast and on the throat (illustration of type specimen below). Subsequently, similar, albeit darker birds were discovered in the Atlantic Forest mountains in Rio de Janeiro state, a long way from the Espinhaço mountains, and identified by ornithologists Hellmayr (1907) and Ihering & Ihering (1907) as belonging to the same species (know today as Mouse-coloured Tapaculo).
Surprisingly, no other Scytalopus tapaculos were subsequently found in the São João del Rei region and so ornithologists questioned São João del Rei as the type locality of Ménétriés specimen3 (a notion given credence after the type localities of other specimens collected by Ménétriés were found to be erroneous), suggesting it was actually collected in the Atlantic Forest.
 |
| Illustration of the S. speluncae type specimen described by Ménétriés in 1835. Note the whitish throat, grey flanks with no buff and pale legs. (Édouard Ménétriés) |
Then in the 1990s, not one but two forms of Scytalopus tapaculo were discovered hiding out in the Espinhaço mountains - one in the northern part of the range (described in 2005 as Diamantina Tapaculo S. diamantinensis), and the other in the south around São João del Rei! However, these São João del Rei birds are quite different, morphologically and vocally, to the Atlantic Forest taxon, being paler grey, noticeably whitish on the central belly and most significantly, buff with dark barring on the flanks, rump and under tail coverts (photo here)3. They were clearly a different species, and so which species had Ménétriés described? Was it the São João del Rei species afterall, or a bird from the Atlantic Forest as suggested? Whichever one it is must be attributed the name speluncae, and the other would need to be described as a new species.
 |
| Scytalopus tapaculo species discovered at São João del Rei, the type locality of S. speluncae described by Ménétriés. Note the obvious buff barred flanks and rump, medium grey underparts and pale legs. (Vitor Torga Lombardi) |
A study by Raposo et al. published in 2006, re-examined Ménétriés's type specimen and compared it with new topotypes collected from São João del Rei, as well as specimens from the Atlantic Forest. Although the specimen is damaged, they found a few buff feathers on the rump and flanks of the type specimen (not mentioned by Ménétriés) and argue that these, together with the whitish central belly and throat and paler mid-grey colouration, are all features not found on the Atlantic Forest birds3 (especially adult males1). Therefore, Ménétriés's type specimen must be from São João del Rei, and so the name speluncae must be applied to this form and Mouse-coloured Tapaculo must be described as a new species, for which they proposed the name Serra do Mar Tapaculo Scytalopus notorius (notorius because of the controversy surrounding the species).
The following year, this proposal was adopted by the CBRO and the issue seemed to be settled, but then three years later a similar study by Maurício et al.1 concluded completely the opposite! They point out that the plumage of adult male Mouse-coloured Tapaculo actually varies considerably - ranging from homogeneous blackish grey with no traces of any buff feathers (as put foward by Raposo et al.), to mid-grey with some buff barred feathers on the flanks and rump (a feature shown by about 25% of adult males). In contrast, the São João del Rei taxon exhibits a very clearly marked plumage pattern (see above), being dark grey above and paler grey below a whitish center to the belly and obvious buff barred flanks, vent, under tail coverts and rump. They showed that the buff feathers on Ménétriés type specimen are nowhere near extensive enough for it to be the São João del Rei species, and also the central belly on the type is actually medium grey and not white. However, the plumage of Ménétriés type falls well within the variation found within Mouse-coloured Tapaculo, and therefore the Atlantic Forest species must retain the name speluncae.
In the end, Maurício et al. won the support of the South American Classification Committee and the CBRO reinstated Mouse-coloured Tapaculo as the name of the Atlantic Forest species. With this issue finally laid to rest, the São João del Rei species could be formally described, and in 2010 was announced as a new species - Rock Tapaculo S. petrophilus.4
 |
| Adult male Mouse-coloured Tapaculo Scytalopus speluncae, Pico da Caledônia, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, October 2007. Same bird looking less smug now that ornithologists have finally worked out what it is! Endemic to the mountains of the Atlantic Forest, this is the darkest and most uniform in plumage of it's genus in south-east Brazil, but they are variable, with the male sometimes showing some buff on the flanks or rump. Note the dark grey plumage, very slightly paler throat, lack of white on the underparts and dark legs and bill. |
References
1 Maurício, G.N., Bornschein, M.R., Vasconcelos, M.F., Whitney, J.F., Pacheco, J.F. & Silveira, L.F. (2010) Taxonomy of "Mouse-colored Tapaculos". I. On the application of the name Malacorhynchus speluncae Ménétriés, 1835 (Aves: Passeriformes: Rhinocryptidae). Zootaxa 2518: 32–48.
2 Raposo, M.A. & Kirwan, G.M. (2008) The Brazilian species complex Scytalopus speluncae: how many times can a holotype be overlooked? Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 16(1): 78–81.
3 Raposo, M.A., Stopiglia, R., Loskot, V. & Kirwan, G.M. (2006) The correct use of the name Scytalopus speluncae (Ménétriés, 1835), and the description of a new species of Brazilian tapaculo (Aves: Passeriformes: Rhinocryptidae). Zootaxa 1271: 37–56.
4 Whitney, B.M., Marcelo, F.V., Silveira, L.F. & Pacheco, J.F. (2010) Scytalopus petrophilus (Rock Tapaculo): a new species from Minas Gerias, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 18(2): 73-88.
16 March 2012
First spring migrants
It really didn't feel very spring-like in the dull cold conditions at Staines Moor early this morning, and a pair of Goosander on the Colne, 1 Water Pipit, 1+ Common Snipe, 60 Fieldfare, 5 Redwing and 5 Teal all added to the winter chill. But make no mistake, spring is definitely springing!
3 distant Sand Martins headed over west first thing, and a scan across the anthills revealed a male and a female Northern Wheatear hopping around together in the north-east corner of the moor (I've not heard of any females seen so far this year. Is this the first?). I absolutely adore Wheatears and these two birds really made my day! 3 Chiffchaff (2 heard), 1 Common Buzzard W and 2+ Redshank completed the day's passage migrants, but the moor is now alive with singing and displaying local breeders including 13 Lapwing, 9 Reed Bunting and lots of Skylark and Meadow Pipits.
Also seen were 1 Little Egret, 2 Little Grebe and 2 Egyptian Geese on the Colne, 4 Canada Geese over (a good patch bird, yes really!) and a Pheasant, and on adjacent Stanwell Moor 2 more Chiffchaff, 4 Shelduck over and 2 more Pied Wagtail.
3 distant Sand Martins headed over west first thing, and a scan across the anthills revealed a male and a female Northern Wheatear hopping around together in the north-east corner of the moor (I've not heard of any females seen so far this year. Is this the first?). I absolutely adore Wheatears and these two birds really made my day! 3 Chiffchaff (2 heard), 1 Common Buzzard W and 2+ Redshank completed the day's passage migrants, but the moor is now alive with singing and displaying local breeders including 13 Lapwing, 9 Reed Bunting and lots of Skylark and Meadow Pipits.
Also seen were 1 Little Egret, 2 Little Grebe and 2 Egyptian Geese on the Colne, 4 Canada Geese over (a good patch bird, yes really!) and a Pheasant, and on adjacent Stanwell Moor 2 more Chiffchaff, 4 Shelduck over and 2 more Pied Wagtail.
13 February 2012
REGUA photos on Flickr
REGUA, Brazil, a set on Flickr.
Many of the photos that I've taken at REGUA over the last few years I've posted on my blog, but I've never had a gallery of my REGUA images online. Therefore I've set up a REGUA photo set on my Flickr account where all my best REGUA photos, and those taken before I started this blog, can be viewed. If you would like to take a look then please click on the link above.
10 February 2012
An excellent winter's day at the patch
A few inches of snow overnight produced a good haul of birds displaced by the hard weather at Staines Moor today. Frustratingly I only had a compact digital camera on me and not my SLR and so I missed out on some decent photographic opportunities.
The narrow muddy edges of the River Colne are proving very attractive for birds looking for unfrozen ground on which to feed, and a walk along the whole stretch of the river at the moor produced 1 male and 1 female Pintail briefly before flying off east, 2 Dunlin, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2+ Common Snipe, 3 Water Pipit, 1 Water Rail, 1 Little Egret, 3 Gadwall, 2 Common Teal, 3 Little Grebe, 1 Pied Wagtail, 1 Common Gull and 60+ Black-headed Gull (a good count here). Overhead there was a little movement with 59+ Northern Lapwing NE, 1 Common Buzzard N, 30 Lesser Black-backed Gull E and small numbers of Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Linnet.
Adjacent Stanwell Moor produced 1 Woodcock (flushed along the footpath between Stanwell Moor and King George VI Reservoir), c.180 Linnet feeding on the seeds of London Plane trees with smaller numbers of Goldfinch and Chaffinch, 17 Fieldfare, 8 Redwing, lots of Robin and Blackbird, a single Skylark over S, 1 Meadow Pipit, 1 Eurasian Sparrowhawk, 4 more Gadwall, 1 more Eurasian Teal and a Red Fox. Back by the car, a Little Egret on a tiny stream in Stanwell Moor Village looked very out of place.
The narrow muddy edges of the River Colne are proving very attractive for birds looking for unfrozen ground on which to feed, and a walk along the whole stretch of the river at the moor produced 1 male and 1 female Pintail briefly before flying off east, 2 Dunlin, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2+ Common Snipe, 3 Water Pipit, 1 Water Rail, 1 Little Egret, 3 Gadwall, 2 Common Teal, 3 Little Grebe, 1 Pied Wagtail, 1 Common Gull and 60+ Black-headed Gull (a good count here). Overhead there was a little movement with 59+ Northern Lapwing NE, 1 Common Buzzard N, 30 Lesser Black-backed Gull E and small numbers of Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Linnet.
Adjacent Stanwell Moor produced 1 Woodcock (flushed along the footpath between Stanwell Moor and King George VI Reservoir), c.180 Linnet feeding on the seeds of London Plane trees with smaller numbers of Goldfinch and Chaffinch, 17 Fieldfare, 8 Redwing, lots of Robin and Blackbird, a single Skylark over S, 1 Meadow Pipit, 1 Eurasian Sparrowhawk, 4 more Gadwall, 1 more Eurasian Teal and a Red Fox. Back by the car, a Little Egret on a tiny stream in Stanwell Moor Village looked very out of place.
 |
| Male Pintail on the bank of the River Colne briefly before flying off east with a female |
 |
| A frozen Staines Moor, looking south from The Butts. It's hard to imagine that in 4-5 weeks time the first Northern Wheatears could be passing through here. |
 |
| Looking north along Bonehead Ditch |
5 February 2012
Out of range Cinereous Ground-tyrant
It's always nice to find a surprise while sorting through old photos. I've been looking through hundreds of photos from a year travelling around South America in 2006, and came across a whole bunch of images of ground-tyrants (terrestrial tyrant-flycatchers - think of flycatchers that look and behave like wheatears) taken during a memorable day watching Andean Condors up at 1950 metres in the Argentine Andes, at the ski resort of Cerro Catedral in Nahuel Huapi National Park. The most common species here was White-browed Ground-Tyrant Muscisaxicola albilora followed by Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrant Muscisaxicola flavinucha, but I also found several images taken of a very different looking bird that I couldn't put a name to at the time and intended to identify at a later date. Well, better late than never!
The most striking thing about this bird is how plain it looks, being uniform grey above with brownish black wings and tail and plain whitish grey below. The lack of either a rufous or ochre crown patch (found in the other species found in this area), very faint pale grey supercilium, plain grey forehead and fine bill suggest Cinereous Ground-tyrant Muscisaxicola cinereus, but Cerro Catedral is well outside the range of this species. Juvenile Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrant usually have no ochre occipital patch and would therefore look similar, but this species can be ruled out by its larger size, white forehead, lores and supercilium, and much longer primaries that almost reach the tip of the tail. This bird was also sticking to the rocky boulders near the top of the ridge rather than grassy areas slightly lower down preferred by the other species.
There are 13 species of ground-tyrant, all restricted to the Andes and Tierra del Fuego (mostly at high altitudes) and some are highly migratory. Four species breed in this part of the Andes, but Cinereous Ground-tyrant breeds from southern Peru to central Argentina, as far as 37° S, and so this bird was roughly 470 km south of it's known range. They are migratory at the southern end of their range and so this is probably an overshooting spring migrant. However, Ridgely and Tudor (1994) show this species' range lying another 500 km further north than more recent texts, so either the distribution of this species is now better known, or they are spreading southwards as the Andes becomes warmer. Perhaps this record represents a range extension? It's such a shame I didn't look for any other birds at the time.
The most striking thing about this bird is how plain it looks, being uniform grey above with brownish black wings and tail and plain whitish grey below. The lack of either a rufous or ochre crown patch (found in the other species found in this area), very faint pale grey supercilium, plain grey forehead and fine bill suggest Cinereous Ground-tyrant Muscisaxicola cinereus, but Cerro Catedral is well outside the range of this species. Juvenile Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrant usually have no ochre occipital patch and would therefore look similar, but this species can be ruled out by its larger size, white forehead, lores and supercilium, and much longer primaries that almost reach the tip of the tail. This bird was also sticking to the rocky boulders near the top of the ridge rather than grassy areas slightly lower down preferred by the other species.
 |
| Cinereous Ground-tyrant Muscisaxicola cinereus, Cerro Catedral, Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina, November 2006. This bird was about 470 km south of the most southerly limit of it's range. Is this simply an overshooting spring migrant or are they extending their range southwards? |
 |
| White-browed Ground-tyrant Muscisaxicola albilora, Cerro Catedral, Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina, November 2006. The most common species here. Note the diffuse rufous crown, which is brown in juveniles, the bold white supercilium and the longer heavier looking bill. |
 |
| Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrant Muscisaxicola flavinucha, Cerro Catedral, Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina, November 2006. The ochre occipital patch is often absent in juveniles. Note the heavy build, white forehead, lores and supercilum, and the length of the primaries. |
There are 13 species of ground-tyrant, all restricted to the Andes and Tierra del Fuego (mostly at high altitudes) and some are highly migratory. Four species breed in this part of the Andes, but Cinereous Ground-tyrant breeds from southern Peru to central Argentina, as far as 37° S, and so this bird was roughly 470 km south of it's known range. They are migratory at the southern end of their range and so this is probably an overshooting spring migrant. However, Ridgely and Tudor (1994) show this species' range lying another 500 km further north than more recent texts, so either the distribution of this species is now better known, or they are spreading southwards as the Andes becomes warmer. Perhaps this record represents a range extension? It's such a shame I didn't look for any other birds at the time.
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