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Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) (1 Viewer)

So, has anyone tried to trawl through pictures of Spotted Flycatchers from Britain, N-NW Europe and found anything resembling tyrrhenica? At least it looks like it's theoretically possible for accidental birds to overshoot in spring or 1cy birds 'fly the wrong way' late autumn.
Yes. None found by me among spring pictures from a Dutch migrant hotspot over the last ten years... But I did not look at each picture from a coastal location!
 
Well, for a Germanic form, is there anything wrong with "Tyrrhenien-Grauschnäpper" to put it in the same form as the other examples you give?

Niels
 
Pons et al pdf

Pons, Thibault, Aymí, Grussu, Muntaner, Olioso, Sunyer, Touihri & Fuchs (in press). The role of western Mediterranean islands in the evolutionary diversification of the Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata), a long-distance migratory passerine species. J Avian Biol. [abstract]
Pons et al (in press). [pdf]
 
Dear all,

nice to see some interest in the subject! As Andrea stated we are preparing an ID paper for Dutch Birding with plates from Lorenzo Starnini. Regarding the english name issue: Balearic Flycatcher would be a very misleading name, especially so because balearica and tyrrhenica can be distinguished in the field and it will be "handy" to have the name Balearic free to refer only to true balearica birds. Island Flycatcher would be misleading too as both we (with morphology and song) and Pons (with genetics) found breeding tyrrhenica birds in continental Italy. Mediterranean could be quite ok to me, but Med is huge and at least two other taxa of Spotted Fly breed on Med coasts. Tyrrhenian is the most appropriate in my opinion as it refers to the presence of the species in the Tyrrhenian area (not only the islands), is where 90% of the species breeds, is almost the same as the scientific name, comprises the type locality and so on....anyway, anything but Balearic please ;-)

I really look forward to see a Northern Europe record of Tyrrhenian Fly, there is some evidence that the species reaches the french and spanish coasts, so overshooting is already happening, it just needs to be a little more over :)

all the best
Michele Viganò
 
Dear all,

nice to see some interest in the subject! As Andrea stated we are preparing an ID paper for Dutch Birding with plates from Lorenzo Starnini. Regarding the english name issue: Balearic Flycatcher would be a very misleading name, especially so because balearica and tyrrhenica can be distinguished in the field and it will be "handy" to have the name Balearic free to refer only to true balearica birds. Island Flycatcher would be misleading too as both we (with morphology and song) and Pons (with genetics) found breeding tyrrhenica birds in continental Italy. Mediterranean could be quite ok to me, but Med is huge and at least two other taxa of Spotted Fly breed on Med coasts. Tyrrhenian is the most appropriate in my opinion as it refers to the presence of the species in the Tyrrhenian area (not only the islands), is where 90% of the species breeds, is almost the same as the scientific name, comprises the type locality and so on....anyway, anything but Balearic please ;-)

I really look forward to see a Northern Europe record of Tyrrhenian Fly, there is some evidence that the species reaches the french and spanish coasts, so overshooting is already happening, it just needs to be a little more over :)

all the best
Michele Viganò

Good to hear, Michele!
MJB
PS Moschivoro immacolato?;)
 
Michele already answered extensively...just to confirm and underline Miki's points : Italy is IN Mediterranean basin as well as part of Spain France as well as Greece etc etc. So plenty of different Spotteds taxa around. Easier name are sure often better as correctly Raty mention...but come on, really it is such a nightmare to spell and write Tyrrhenian ? Further I would rather review and re-consider the name Balearic Woodchat that is completely wrong instead of perpetrating a wrong name again...Finally Sicily is ALSO an island and indeed is THE biggest island in Mediterranean region but does not have Tyrrhenian Spotted. Schiebel's Flycatcher would be a nice one ( I love bird name that give right to the first discover)...however Michele rightly report that MOST of the population of Tyrrhenian is....in the Tyrrhenian area...sig !!!
 
Given the spelled out possibility that there is a split coming up, I would personally prefer one name for tyrrhenica + balearica and two different names for what might happen after a split. Tyrrhenian and Balearic sounds like two good names post split, and that is my main reason to not like Tyrrhenian for the combined species.

Niels
 
Given the spelled out possibility that there is a split coming up, I would personally prefer one name for tyrrhenica + balearica and two different names for what might happen after a split. Tyrrhenian and Balearic sounds like two good names post split, and that is my main reason to not like Tyrrhenian for the combined species.

Niels
The case for splitting tyrrhenica (including balearica) as a new species distinct from striata is based on genetic divergence, different call and different appearance - taken together, this all looks pretty watertight.
But, the case for splitting tyrrhenica from balearica is based on what exactly? If they two forms look similar, sound similar, have slightly different measurements and show a bit of DNA difference (but no more than between striata from Spain vs Northern Europe (Pons et al (in press). [pdf]), then surely balearica is a subspecies of tyrrhenica.
 
Maybe I read more into this statement from Michele than what was intended?
it will be "handy" to have the name Balearic free to refer only to true balearica birds.

Niels
 
Thanks Richard, an even stronger indication that something might happen in the future. I did not go that far back when I looked for something to quote.

Niels
 
eastern Spotted Flycatchers

I came upon this bird - image attached - in the mountains above Kyrenia in North Cyprus in October. It was so unlike the Spot Flys seen in western Europe that I was flummoxed for a while. I gather that it may well be a neumanni, the eastern race that is characterised by the pale overall colour, the mostly unstreaked or obsolete streaking on the breast and underparts and the bright covert bar and fringes to the tertials.

This looks so different form the western populations that I'm curious about how it intergrades with striata. Is it clinal or is there a zone of secondary intergradation? The literature is not very clear on this.

Ray
 

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Wait...and sorry...was a typo writing in forums as usually too much in a hurry :-C. Both Michele and me meant that indeed balearica is distinct, it is a valid taxon, and it is different from tyrrhenica in plumage. About more genetic and voice we are looking further into and deeper...so wait final results 😊 however indeed two different name would be handy and in fact would indicate two different looking taxa...doesn't matter if one subsp.of the other ! In any case Tyrrhenian being the nominate at the moment.
Ps: Most eastern taxa are very pale but the most dark streaked actually. Birds seen in Egypt and the Middle East being very obviously and markedly dar streaked on a very pale background. Please you'll see all field ID details in our paper in Dutch Birding 😊
 
Andrea - it's not every day that someone discovers an unequivocal new species in Western Europe so excuse any over-enthusiasm! Anyway if balearica and tyrrhenica are conspecific, there is a case for having a unique name to describe the whole species. For example, if you refer to a bird (say a migrant in the UK) as a "Tyrrhenian Flycatcher" it could mean either a nominate tyrrhenica or a balearica/tyrrhenica. Not a bad problem to have, of course!
 
Muscicapa striata

Hi
I have read through all the posts and find the comments very interesting. It brings back memories of a flycatcher I photographed outside the hotel I was staying at in Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca on the 07/05/2008. Could this be a candidate for Muscicapa striata balearica? I would appreciate any thoughts on this bird.

Tom
 

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Tom,

IMO a straightforward balearica on plumage and structure; pp way too short for striata.

Having trawled through loads of images am less sure now. I was a bit hasty...straightforward was poor choice of word and with regards to the pp, looks short in image 4 but probably foreshortened. I am not sure the upper parts are pale enough or the right tone.

In early May presumably good numbers of striata are passing through.

Scroll down to Eduardo Amenguel's comparative in the hand images.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=316753

Grahame
 
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Muscicapa tyrrhenica

Viganò M. & Corso A. 2015. Morphological differences between two subspecies of Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata (Pallas, 1764) (Passeriformes Muscicapidae). Proceedings of the 2nd International Congress “Speciation and Taxonomy”, May 16th-18th 2014, Cefalù-Castelbuono (Italy). Biodiversity Journal 6: 271-284.
PDF (Open Access)

IOC Updates Diary Dec 26

Accept Mediterranean Flycatcher
 
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