Indonesian and Papuan splits

[Papuan birder]

I late 2006 I had the oppurunity to visit Taliabu (Sulu Islands) for a few days; ever since I read a report about the Sulu Pitta from this Island I have wanted to go and see it myself.

I have seen some sources from 2003 stating that the Sulu Pitta is distinctive from the Red-bellied Pitta and should be treated as a seperate species, however I havent seen any more recent pappers resolving this matter. So has the Sulu Pitta been splited from the Red-bellied yet?




A second species I wonder about is Ptiloris magnificus intercedens; the eastern subspecies of Magnificent Riflebird.

Most local birders here on PNG now seems to treat this race as distinctive from Ptiloris magnificus.

I discussed this with some of the most active birders in the Port Moresby during my most recent visit and they race intercedens differed in many ways (vocalistaions for ex), enough to classify it as a seperate species. I have seen the mentioned species at many occasions and apart from vocalistaions I have found that few other things differ from population in the rest of New Guinea, the size is about the same and so is feather colouration

However I have seen anything mentioned about this at the net either and wonder if this split could be accepted or if there is not enough difference to accept it.

Thanks in advance

PB

[cuckooroller]

Hi PB,
Neville Kemp is heading up a team (based in Yogyakarta I think) funded by Conservation International to review and update the Indonesian Country Bird List. It should be published sometime this year, and I am waiting on it too.

[Hidde Bruinsma]

Hi PB,

I only discovered this thread today so that's why I react so late. Must be getting old.
As far as the pitta is concerned I don't know anything new dating post 2003. I thought it was remarkable that, in that year, HBW Vol. 8 pointed out a difference in eye colour between the male and female. Together with the possible/probable vocal differences this hints at species status for this population. And the same could be true for more small island populations of the Red-bellied Pitta.
The Riflebird is another interesting case. Morphological differences between "intercedens" and the nominate are quite small but stable: the flank plumes are equal or shorter than the tail (longer in the nominate and the Australian "alberti"), bill slightly shorter and the basal part of the culmen is feathered (unfeathered in the nominate). The feathered culmen was seen by Beehler and Swaby (The Condor 93, 1991) as a primitive character and the unfeathered of the nominate as derived. The vocal differences are striking and appear to maintain in the few known cases of sympatry. It was with these findings that Beehler and Swaby were the first to bring up the possibility that "intercedens" is a species separate from the western "magnificus". However, more recently in the latest monograph of the BoP by Frith and Beehler the split was still not made. I personally do believe that "intercedens" is a full species but more or less a cryptic one.
Same thing must be going on in the Trumpet Manucode. Several subspecies that are very much alike but with markedly different vocalisations. But are Manucodes really birds of paradise ... ?
Anyway, maybe Guy Dutson will come up with answers to these questions because he has begun splitting up the avifauna of Melanesia, at least the north-eastern and eastern part of it. His first article to come out of his findings has just been published in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. It treats the Pacific shrikebills and redescribes "Clytothynchus sanctaecrucis" from Nendo in the Santa Cruz archipelago as a full species and illustrates it for the very first time.
So, up to Nendo PB !

[jurek]

Indonesia has so many islands with distinctive subspecies. And New Guinea lots of isolated valleys and islets.

I guess that splitting can make 100's or 1000's "new" bird "species". And make world threatened bird list 2 or 3 times bigger.

And hopefully also kill the trend of splitting species on weak differences.

[Papuan birder]

Hi PB,

I only discovered this thread today so that's why I react so late. Must be getting old.
As far as the pitta is concerned I don't know anything new dating post 2003. I thought it was remarkable that, in that year, HBW Vol. 8 pointed out a difference in eye colour between the male and female. Together with the possible/probable vocal differences this hints at species status for this population. And the same could be true for more small island populations of the Red-bellied Pitta.
The Riflebird is another interesting case. Morphological differences between "intercedens" and the nominate are quite small but stable: the flank plumes are equal or shorter than the tail (longer in the nominate and the Australian "alberti"), bill slightly shorter and the basal part of the culmen is feathered (unfeathered in the nominate). The feathered culmen was seen by Beehler and Swaby (The Condor 93, 1991) as a primitive character and the unfeathered of the nominate as derived. The vocal differences are striking and appear to maintain in the few known cases of sympatry. It was with these findings that Beehler and Swaby were the first to bring up the possibility that "intercedens" is a species separate from the western "magnificus". However, more recently in the latest monograph of the BoP by Frith and Beehler the split was still not made. I personally do believe that "intercedens" is a full species but more or less a cryptic one.
Same thing must be going on in the Trumpet Manucode. Several subspecies that are very much alike but with markedly different vocalisations. But are Manucodes really birds of paradise ... ?
Anyway, maybe Guy Dutson will come up with answers to these questions because he has begun splitting up the avifauna of Melanesia, at least the north-eastern and eastern part of it. His first article to come out of his findings has just been published in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. It treats the Pacific shrikebills and redescribes "Clytothynchus sanctaecrucis" from Nendo in the Santa Cruz archipelago as a full species and illustrates it for the very first time.
So, up to Nendo PB !

>Hello Hidde

Intresting, yes partly beacuase Frith and Beehler dont mentions more in their book than that the species possibly is distinct made be doubting about it. Yes the Manucodes is another difficult group than needs to be stuied further, so is the paradise-crow.

Intresting part with the shrikebills Hidde, you dont happen to know the name of that article?

[Hidde Bruinsma]

Hi Pb,

Indeed, the Paradise Crow. I've read some interesting things about the Obi population: strange calls and Manucode-like appearance. Needs to be figured out as well.
The shrikebill article is called: "The Pacific shrikebills (Clytorhynchus) and the case for species status for the form sanctaecrucis" Published in the BBOC, Vol.126 No 4, December 2006.

[Papuan birder]

Hi Pb,

Indeed, the Paradise Crow. I've read some interesting things about the Obi population: strange calls and Manucode-like appearance. Needs to be figured out as well.
The shrikebill article is called: "The Pacific shrikebills (Clytorhynchus) and the case for species status for the form sanctaecrucis" Published in the BBOC, Vol.126 No 4, December 2006.

Thanks Hidde,

Based on the info I have sanctaecrucis has not been collected since 1926, and most recent visits have no visited its preffered habitat.

Does Guy Duston base this split upon newly collected specimens or the old museum specimens?

[Hidde Bruinsma]

Hi PB,

Dutson redescribes "sanctaecrucis" based on his own observations made on Nendo in October 2004. It was only then that it became definitely known that the two original male specimens of "sanctaecrucis", collected during the Whitney South Sea Expedition, were in fact immature. As such they resemble adult males of "nigrogularis" from Fiji so much as to be considered only a race of that bird. There were doubts expressed by Mayr about the taxonomical status but still he firmly placed his new bird in "nigrogularis". Dutson saw the adult males of "sanctaecrucis" and they are quite differently coloured and have a very different bill. The illustration that accompanies the article will be published in the upcoming "Field guide to the Birds of Melanesia", written by Dutson and illustrated by Adam Bowley. Another title to be anticipated ?

[cuckooroller]

Hil,
What is this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Melanesia-Pacific-Bismarks-Solomons-Caledonia/dp/0856611433

Supposedly already published in 2005? Confused.

[Hidde Bruinsma]

Steve,

That's the one. But, like ornithological publications tend not to appear on the first, or second, or third etc. given date, this title has not been published yet either. You can check it on:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0856611433/worldtwitch

I always check the booksection on the Worldtwitch site regularly for forthcoming books. And as it stands now it might be published this year but personally I don't think it will make that deadline either. I assume that Dutson wants to publish his splittings of the Solomons (and there should be several), and other islands of Melanesia first before he presents all these findings in his new book. That is the usual sequence of matters like these.

[cuckooroller]

Thanks Hidde.

I found the worldtwitch upcoming page after this other link. Still wondering when the Meliphagid monograph by Phil Gregory will be published - sorely needed in my view.

[Hidde Bruinsma]

Steve,

There you have a good exemple of another title which is long in the making. I first heard about it "being prepared" back in October 1990 ! I hope they will sign up a good illustrator for it because these birds deserve a good painter.
And did you see the other title he is writing (together with Ian Burrows and illustrated by Richard Allen) ? Now that's a book I would like to see very, very soon.

[Murray Lord]

Steve,

There you have a good exemple of another title which is long in the making. I first heard about it "being prepared" back in October 1990 ! I hope they will sign up a good illustrator for it because these birds deserve a good painter.
And did you see the other title he is writing (together with Ian Burrows and illustrated by Richard Allen) ? Now that's a book I would like to see very, very soon.

I was shown some of the original paintings for that book at least three years ago. The longer it takes to publish, I guess the more that has to be changed, e.g. the recent proposal to split White lined and Graceful Honeyeaters into two species each (which can be read about at http://tinyurl.com/wghx3 )

Murray