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Thought Police
British Birds June 2018
The June 2018 issue of British Birds is now out.
BB eye Birds and plastic Nina O’Hanlon
The identification of juvenile Common and Pallid Swifts
Separating Common Apus apus and Pallid Swifts A. pallidus in autumn in a vagrant context can be one of the more difficult challenges for birders in northwest Europe. This paper describes the key identification characters of Common and Pallid Swifts in juvenile plumage.
Saving the Spoon-billed Sandpiper: a conservation update
The Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea is one of the most threatened waders in the world. Without concerted conservation action it would now have been on the cusp of extinction. In this paper, the action taken and the challenges that remain are described.
‘Caspian Reed Warbler’: new to Britain
An unstreaked Acrocephalus warbler found freshly dead near Jenny Brown’s Point, Lancashire & North Merseyside, on 11th December 2011 proved to be an unseasonal Reed Warbler. The following year a cold-looking, unstreaked Acrocephalus was discovered at Kergord, Shetland, on 4th November 2012. These are the first records of Caspian Reed Warbler in Britain.
Interspecific territoriality by mixed-singing and song-switching Willow Warblers
Observations of two mixed-singing Willow Warblers in Surrey indicated that both birds were interspecifically territorial with Common Chiffchaffs, whereas normal Willow Warblers were not obviously so. The birds’ behaviour, considered together with habitat and population changes, is consistent with ‘character convergence’.
Rarities Committee news
Letters More on high-carbon ornithology
Book reviews, News & comment and Recent reports complete the June issue.
For more details, and to see a recent issue of the magazine, visit our website at www.britishbirds.co.uk
The June 2018 issue of British Birds is now out.
BB eye Birds and plastic Nina O’Hanlon
The identification of juvenile Common and Pallid Swifts
Separating Common Apus apus and Pallid Swifts A. pallidus in autumn in a vagrant context can be one of the more difficult challenges for birders in northwest Europe. This paper describes the key identification characters of Common and Pallid Swifts in juvenile plumage.
Saving the Spoon-billed Sandpiper: a conservation update
The Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea is one of the most threatened waders in the world. Without concerted conservation action it would now have been on the cusp of extinction. In this paper, the action taken and the challenges that remain are described.
‘Caspian Reed Warbler’: new to Britain
An unstreaked Acrocephalus warbler found freshly dead near Jenny Brown’s Point, Lancashire & North Merseyside, on 11th December 2011 proved to be an unseasonal Reed Warbler. The following year a cold-looking, unstreaked Acrocephalus was discovered at Kergord, Shetland, on 4th November 2012. These are the first records of Caspian Reed Warbler in Britain.
Interspecific territoriality by mixed-singing and song-switching Willow Warblers
Observations of two mixed-singing Willow Warblers in Surrey indicated that both birds were interspecifically territorial with Common Chiffchaffs, whereas normal Willow Warblers were not obviously so. The birds’ behaviour, considered together with habitat and population changes, is consistent with ‘character convergence’.
Rarities Committee news
Letters More on high-carbon ornithology
Book reviews, News & comment and Recent reports complete the June issue.
For more details, and to see a recent issue of the magazine, visit our website at www.britishbirds.co.uk
