marklhawkes
Well-known member
The following comments have been made by LGRE on the uk400club yahoogroup.
Lancashire birder and artist Tony Disley has provided some more detailed
images of the Minsmere curlew and in my opinion they prove beyond doubt that the
bird is an ADULT. The tertials are seen to be heavily contrasting, strongly
barred and not notched as in a first-winter. Therefore I am convinced that the
bird is NOT a Slender-billed Curlew as adults of this species are highly
distinctive. Furthermore, Tony's image portraying the upper tail clearly reveals
the
presence of at least 7 bars (my field notes detected 8) and Slender-billed
from my observations only ever showed between 3 and 5 (exceptionally 6). Couple
this with the fact that the eye-ring is poorly defined, the underwing pattern
is incorrect, the brightness at the base of the bill, the paler leg colour, the
coalesced breast spotting and slightly arrow-shaped flank markings, pale
mantle and large size, then I believe that the bird is a non-starter for SBC.
So what is it I hear you ask? A runt Eurasian Curlew? A hybrid? Obviously, I
cannot answer this question as this individual bird is anomalous. I have made
extensive enquiries about this record and have been extremely pleased with the
results. Unfortunately the main man, Didier, has so far not responded to my
Emails but this may be possibly because of his workload.
One very interesting Email I received was from Russian ornithologist Valery
Moseykin. I had asked him about the authenticity of 27 recently claimed SBC's
in the Ukraine. His reply was such (translated into English).
''I participated in the Russian programme to search for the Slender-billed
Curlew and agree fully with the opinions of Professors Tomkovich, Morozov &
Koblik that it is necessary to ensure the correct identification of the species.
The main problems here are separation from N.arquata orientalis (Eastern
Curlew) and N.p.alboaxillaris (Steppe Whimbrel).
It is my opinion that SBC no longer exists as a species but just as a hybrid
- between the two steppe species I mention above. In 2001, in steppe
surrounding an oasis in the Kazakhstan desert we found a mixed colony of nesting
curlews (orientalis & alboaxillaris) and we found that some individuals were
actually INDISTINGUISHABLE in the field from what were previously described as
Slender-billed Curlews (and I must remind you that Russian ornithologist Zarudny
described a mixed nesting pair of Slender-billed Curlew and Eastern Curlew).
Russian collector Ushakov was unique in that he reportedly found the nests of
Slender-billed Curlew. He apparently took away eggs and shot adult birds.
However,
he later acknowledged the presence of orientalis in the area and examination
of much data, specimens and eggs from this era appear to indicate that
mistakes were made''
Valery's reply could very well provide the answer to our identification
problem. Maybe this Minsmere bird and the previous Hauxley, Northumberland,
individual are actually hybrids from this region. This is perhaps more likely
than an
unusually small, pale, male Eurasian Curlew.
In the near future, I shall write a detailed account of this occurrence and
redress the balance with the Northumberland claim. I must also thank Arnoud van
den Berg, Chris Heard and Ian Lewington for their kind input and discussion.
Lancashire birder and artist Tony Disley has provided some more detailed
images of the Minsmere curlew and in my opinion they prove beyond doubt that the
bird is an ADULT. The tertials are seen to be heavily contrasting, strongly
barred and not notched as in a first-winter. Therefore I am convinced that the
bird is NOT a Slender-billed Curlew as adults of this species are highly
distinctive. Furthermore, Tony's image portraying the upper tail clearly reveals
the
presence of at least 7 bars (my field notes detected 8) and Slender-billed
from my observations only ever showed between 3 and 5 (exceptionally 6). Couple
this with the fact that the eye-ring is poorly defined, the underwing pattern
is incorrect, the brightness at the base of the bill, the paler leg colour, the
coalesced breast spotting and slightly arrow-shaped flank markings, pale
mantle and large size, then I believe that the bird is a non-starter for SBC.
So what is it I hear you ask? A runt Eurasian Curlew? A hybrid? Obviously, I
cannot answer this question as this individual bird is anomalous. I have made
extensive enquiries about this record and have been extremely pleased with the
results. Unfortunately the main man, Didier, has so far not responded to my
Emails but this may be possibly because of his workload.
One very interesting Email I received was from Russian ornithologist Valery
Moseykin. I had asked him about the authenticity of 27 recently claimed SBC's
in the Ukraine. His reply was such (translated into English).
''I participated in the Russian programme to search for the Slender-billed
Curlew and agree fully with the opinions of Professors Tomkovich, Morozov &
Koblik that it is necessary to ensure the correct identification of the species.
The main problems here are separation from N.arquata orientalis (Eastern
Curlew) and N.p.alboaxillaris (Steppe Whimbrel).
It is my opinion that SBC no longer exists as a species but just as a hybrid
- between the two steppe species I mention above. In 2001, in steppe
surrounding an oasis in the Kazakhstan desert we found a mixed colony of nesting
curlews (orientalis & alboaxillaris) and we found that some individuals were
actually INDISTINGUISHABLE in the field from what were previously described as
Slender-billed Curlews (and I must remind you that Russian ornithologist Zarudny
described a mixed nesting pair of Slender-billed Curlew and Eastern Curlew).
Russian collector Ushakov was unique in that he reportedly found the nests of
Slender-billed Curlew. He apparently took away eggs and shot adult birds.
However,
he later acknowledged the presence of orientalis in the area and examination
of much data, specimens and eggs from this era appear to indicate that
mistakes were made''
Valery's reply could very well provide the answer to our identification
problem. Maybe this Minsmere bird and the previous Hauxley, Northumberland,
individual are actually hybrids from this region. This is perhaps more likely
than an
unusually small, pale, male Eurasian Curlew.
In the near future, I shall write a detailed account of this occurrence and
redress the balance with the Northumberland claim. I must also thank Arnoud van
den Berg, Chris Heard and Ian Lewington for their kind input and discussion.