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Undescribed (1 Viewer)

Rheindt, F. E. 2010
New biogeographic records for the avifauna of Taliabu (Sula Islands, Indonesia), with preliminary documentation of two previously undiscovered taxa
Bull. B.O.C. 130(1)

Summary.—The Sula archipelago lies between Sulawesi and the northern Moluccas in Wallacea. The avifauna of the archipelago, including Taliabu, its largest and most diverse island, is under-explored, and current understanding is based on just one major historic collecting effort and several visits by modern ornithologists. There is limited knowledge especially of the highland birds of Taliabu, since only one ornithological expedition has reached this area, discovering in the process c.7 previously unrecorded species potentially meritorious of subspecific recognition. I describe the results of a two-week survey of Taliabu, encompassing both lowland and highland areas. An update is given on the state of the habitat on Taliabu, which has undergone major forest conversion and degradation due to logging, agricultural practices and forest fires. I present new elevational information for at least 14 bird species, and records of four species previously unrecorded on the island. Two of these represent undescribed taxa, one of them probably a new species. Comments on the taxonomy of several Taliabu birds are made on the basis of fresh vocal or morphological data, indicating that many endemic Sula races merit upgrading to species status. Given rapid forest loss on Taliabu, judicious collecting and genetic and vocal work on the taxonomy of its birds are urgently required.

The undescribed taxa are :
The "Taliabu Bush Warbler" (Bradypterus sp.)
The "Taliabu Island Thrush" (Turdus poliocephalus ssp.)


Great to see this article published at last; this is an neglected part of Indonesia and aim glad someone has decided to do something about it. Anyone know if he managed to find the Taliabu Masked-owl as well?
 
Daniel, who is the photographer of this? Do we have the photographers permission to post this image to the Opus?

thanks
Niels
 
Thanks PB, for the link. Wonderful stuff ! I hope they will publish all those nameless birds in the magazine. And you were right about Scholes. He was there during the second expedition.
 
There seems to be quite a few unique subspecies up there, and how about that parakeet, just beutiful!

It seems like Mr. Scholes was present, though maybe did not have much sucess "I'm up to a ratio of 400 to one, Scholes grumbled. Four hundred minutes of sitting in that mosquito-infested pigsty of a blind to one minute of seeing the bird":king: hope he got enough material to write up something though.
 
Just realised that the 2008 expedition was the third of Beehler, not the second. That one was in December 2007. Yes, that "redhead" lorikeet is amazing. When I look at the new photograph of the male Parotia I just wish that someday William Cooper paints a magnificent picture of this bird.
 
"Siberut Frogmouth"

In a letter to the Editors (BirdingASIA 13:9 - June 2010), Philippe Verbelen says that a yet unidentified Frogmouth Batrachostomus sp. may be seen in a secondary forest in NE Siberut (Mentawai islands, Sumatra).
Do we know more on this bird ?
 
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Siberut Frogmouth

In a letter to the Editors (BirdingASIA 13:9 - June 2010), Philippe Verbelen says that a yet unidentified Frogmouth Batrachostomus sp. may be seen in a secondary forest in NE Siberut (Mentawai islands, Sumatra).
Do we know more on this bird ?
Isn't Verbelen just noting that a Batrachostomus sp on Siberut hasn't yet been identified (but probably one of the 5 spp resident on Sumatra), rather than suggesting the presence of an undescribed sp?

Richard
 
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Isn't Verbelen just noting that a Batrachostomus sp on Siberut hasn't yet been identified (but probably one of the 5 spp resident on Sumatra), rather than suggesting the presence of an undescribed sp?

Well !! most likely, but out of the 5 spp, 3 are not too difficult to recognize (Large, Gould’s and Pale-headed/Short-tailed). So we are left with Javan/Blyth’s (B. [javensis] affinis ?) and Sunda (B. cornutus cornutus ?). The latter is slightly bigger, but not enough to make sure in the field and colouration of both are too variable. So it might well be a range extension of one of them only, but ...

We should know more soon : this sighting is reported in Kukila 14 : William M. Rombang. First Photographic Evidence and a Breeding Record of a Frogmouth on Siberut, Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra.
 
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Differentiating between affinis and cornutus in the field based on morphology is extremely difficult, I would say in certain cases, given the views, it is not possible. Affinis is only known from 2 (?) specimens from mainland Sumatra though so the bird would most likely be cornutus.
Cornutus processes and incredibly varied repertoire of vocalisations, I have not even sound recorded half of the ones I have heard (and that is a lot!) and they do vary from Sumatra to Borneo (would be interesting to compare these two taxa!) so to actually be certain the birds on Siberut or not cornutus would be very difficult in my opinion until more is learnt about cornutus on Sumatra itself.

Still much to learn about these small Indonesian islands....

James
 
We should know more soon : this sighting is reported in Kukila 14 : William M. Rombang. First Photographic Evidence and a Breeding Record of a Frogmouth on Siberut, Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra.

There is an editor's note at the end of this short communication in Kukila 14 saying that unpublished records have come to light after the manuscript was received. In 2005 a juvenile was captured and photographed and an adult collected: they were tentatively identified as Sunda Frogmouth. In 2009 photographs and sound recordings were tentatively attributed to Javan Frogmouth. He concludes that alternatively, these birds may represent a new taxon.
 

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