Inaccessible bird species (1 Viewer)

[THE_FERN]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Tacaruna endemics in the Darien in Panama unless I've missed them. E.g. Tacaruna Wood Quail, Tacaruna Warbler etc... While I am sure Isaac Pissarro will claim he can take you up there, it is clearly incredibly unsafe. Some Panamanian birders did attempt it a few years ago and see the birds but I understand it was an incredibly stressful experience with them having to pay ransom payments. This is different from the Pirre endemics, which I think are just about accessible.

Does anyone know if these species are accessible from Colombia?

Almost all (?) have been seen there I think, and some time ago there was an expedition up in that general direction from extreme NE Colombia. No idea what the security situation is close to the border, but in principle gives another option

 

[Maffong]

No access to the spreadsheet it appears

Try again now

 

[mjh73]

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332260137_Unravelling_the_mysteries_of_the_Buff-breasted_Button-quail_Turnix_olivii_a_possible_booming_call_revealed

mentioned in Article :: xeno-canto (another paper by these two authors from 2017 mentioned here: Buff-breasted Buttonquail (Turnix olivii) - BirdLife species factsheet), so it was definitely documented in 2016

Perhaps not....

https://raresgroup.com.au/wp-conten...e-mystery-of-the-Mt-Mulligan-mystery-call.pdf

 

[simmojunior]

Birding Cerro Tacarcuna | The Canopy Family

 

[temmie]

Birding Cerro Tacarcuna | The Canopy Family

so in essence, it's a (very) hard trek but it isn't 'unsafe'...?

 

[01101001]

Perhaps not....

https://raresgroup.com.au/wp-conten...e-mystery-of-the-Mt-Mulligan-mystery-call.pdf

though they claim to have ticked it on view first, so there's still hope

 

[simmojunior]

so in essence, it's a (very) hard trek but it isn't 'unsafe'...?

Tacarcuna is on the people and drug smuggling route. I heard Kilo Campos had to pay a ransom to the gangs that operate there. I asked Domi Alveo about it in passing and he said he'd never go there. This article makes no mention of the safety situation. So I don't know. I guess it depends on your risk appetite.

 

[MiddleRiver]

There are currently 11.140 species of birds recognized (IOC 13.1) of which 160 are considered extinct, meaning that world listers can strive for 10.980 species. The top world listers are all below 9.800, meaning that all still need over 1.000 species, which I find a surprisingly high number. Many probably relate to new splits or highly localized endemics, but some species are simply impossible to get under normal circumstances. I wonder what these are and therefore I'd like to compile them here.
What species are currently mostly or entirely inaccessible to birders?
I'd like to use four categories:
A) Birds without currently known populations
B) Birds that occur at inaccessible sites that would require concerted expeditions, as they can't be reached independently.
C) Birds that only occur within inaccessible sites, that require permits, such as conservation areas that may only be visited by certain researchers.
D) Birds that are currently off-limits because they occur only in politically unstable regions, such as war or terrorism regions.

Here are examples for all categories. Feel free to add your own.

A)
Luzon Rail
Colombian Crake
Luzon Buttonquail
Chestnut-shouldered Goshawk
Maned Owl
Nechisar Nightjar
Prigogine's Nightjar
New Caledonian Owlet-Nightjar
Coppery Thorntail
Congo Bay-Owl
Shelley's Crimsonwing
Yellow-crested Helmetshrike
Dulit Partridge
Oriole Cuckooshrike
Tana River Cisticola
Red Sea Swallow
Dusky Tetraka
Spectacled Flowerpecker
Kinglet Calyptura
Blue-wattled Bulbul

B)
Hainan Peacock-pheasant
Tepui Tinamou
Whitehead's Swiftlet
Mayr's Swiftlet
Three-toed Swiftlet
Buff-breasted Sabrewing
Louisiade Pitta
Mountain Starling
White-chinned Myzomela
Snow Mountain Robin
Vilcabamba Brushfinch
Scaled Flowerpiercer
Saffron-breasted Redstart
White-faced Redstart
Duida Grassfinch

C)
Laysan Duck
Ainsley's Storm-Petrel
Socorro Dove
Gough Moorhen
Inaccessible Island Rail
Night Parrot
Kakapo
Socorro Parakeet
Socorro Elf Owl
Narcondam Hornbill
Socorro Mockingbird
Socorro Wren
Clarion Wren
Millerbird
Nihoa Finch
Laysan Finch
Vampire Ground-Finch
Mangrove Finch
Gough Island Finch
Inaccessible Island Finch
Guadalupe Junco
Akikiki
Akekee

D)
Nubian Bustard
Archer's Buzzard
Sulu Hornbill
Somali Pigeon
Jerdon's Minivet
Hooded Treepie
Burmese Bushlark
Lesser Hoopoe-lark
Ash's Lark
Obbia Lark
Somali Lark
White-throated Babbler
White-browed Nuthatch
Afghan Snowfinch
Kordofan Sparrow
Abd-al-kuri Sparrow
Cinnamon Weaver
Yemen Serin
Yemen Linnet
Somali Grosbeak
Warsangli Linnet
Gray-crowned Palm-tanager
Grauer's Cuckooshrike
Bedford's Paradise-Flycatcher
Kabobo Apalis
Prigogine's Greenbul
Chapin's Mountain-babbler
Prigogine's Sunbird
Rockefeller's Sunbird
Slender-tailed Cisticola
Yellow-legged Weaver
Lake Lufira Masked-Weaver
Golden-naped Weaver
Black-lored Waxbill
Sulu Bleeding-heart
Sulu Boobook
Sulu Pygmy Woodpecker
Niam-niam Parrot
Kordofan Lark
Kordofan Rufous Sparrow

I'd like to follow IOC taxonomy and their designation of what's extinct.

You could probably add Zapata Rail (Cuban endemic) to (A). I was told of unsubstantiated sighting(s) as recently as 2008??, but not a promising future.

Stumbled on this while researching it: Species - EDGE of Existence

 

[lgonz1008]

You could probably add Zapata Rail (Cuban endemic) to (A). I was told of unsubstantiated sighting(s) as recently as 2008??, but not a promising future.

Stumbled on this while researching it: Species - EDGE of Existence

There have been reports around that time and some as recent as 2014, claiming that camera traps were set in the region to find the bird and did find something. But also take it with a grain of salt as the "findings" were never released.

I can only say this, not even counting habitat loss, the region is littered with 2 of the worst invasive species in the Caribbean, Small Indian Mongoose and Walking Catfish. These pests have actively damaged the species populations in the island, especially when dealing with birds that nest on the floor or close to the water.

 

[temmie]

I would add Yellow-bellied Sunbird-asity.
While there are probably sites and there are most likely 'true' observations (maybe some in Ranomafana and most probably the ones in Andohahela), and while this species is known from some other areas (like Marojejy), this species hasn't been photographed since... 5 years ago (2018).
And local guides in Ranomafana (the most accessible and 'sure' place to see one) haven't seen one in 5 years either.

So maybe not inaccessible, but very, very few sightings and no guaranteed stake-outs (and hardly any random encounters).

 

[Melanie]

There are several inaccessible islands near the Vietnam coast

 

[Maffong]

There are several inaccessible islands near the Vietnam coast

Are there any species that can only be found on these islands?

 

[Melanie]

Are there any species that can only be found on these islands?

I am not aware of birds but there are several reptiles

 

[Maffong]

In that case, this is unfortunately beyond the scope of this thread

 

[Melanie]

Maybe there are also birds on these islands. But how can you know that when it is forbidden to enter the islands?

 

[cajanuma]

I think Cryptic Treehunter should probably go from E to A2 or even A1 as the odds of it still being extant are really small.

And it looks like Kangean Tit-Babbler is quite easy to find if you make your way to Kangean, though that seems to be a pretty time-consuming process: First Photos and Checklists for the Kangean Tit-Babbler - eBird.

I am also afraid that with the continuing unrest in southwest Cameroon the highland endemics there are inaccessible for the time being, unless someone knows more about current security there? A shame because it is a great area!

 

[01101001]

And it looks like Kangean Tit-Babbler is quite easy to find if you make your way to Kangean, though that seems to be a pretty time-consuming process: First Photos and Checklists for the Kangean Tit-Babbler - eBird.

Kangean Islands - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

167 thousand inhabitants and no-one has a phone to document the bird, and there isn't a single person (scientifically) interested in nature*? How much does ornithology still rely on a select few Western researchers going to all sorts of places?

As is typical for tit-babblers in the genus Mixornis, the Kangean Tit-Babbler was common in forest as well as a wide range of heavily degraded habitats. In fact, this previously undocumented bird for eBird and the Macaulay Library turned out to be one of the most abundant songbirds on the island!

The species account for this little-known bird now contains 30 photos and 2 audio recordings, where once it had read: “No photos available. Submit yours.” We believe these are the first ever photos of a living Kangean Tit-Babbler.

It's like the discovery of America by Columbus after it was already long discovered by millions of indigenes, fast-forward half a millenium.

*no schools, universities, etc., & no one knows Bahasa Indonesia well enough to say 'bird photo please' via the internet (unless everyone lives off the grid there)

EDIT: In fact, why don't I try and convince some people living in those 'remote locations' to post a few all-time global firsts in BF Gallery when I have some time to shoot? Thanks for the spreadsheet, BTW.

 

[THE_FERN]

Kangean Islands - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

167 thousand inhabitants and no-one has a phone to document the bird, and there isn't a single person (scientifically) interested in nature*? How much does ornithology still rely on a select few Western researchers going to all sorts of places?




It's like the discovery of America by Columbus after it was already long discovered by millions of indigenes, fast-forward half a millenium.

*no schools, universities, etc., & no one knows Bahasa Indonesia well enough to say 'bird photo please' via the internet (unless everyone lives off the grid there)

EDIT: In fact, why don't I try and convince some people living in those 'remote locations' to post a few all-time global firsts in BF Gallery when I have some time to shoot? Thanks for the spreadsheet, BTW.

Could it be they don't use ebird? I believe there are such people

 

[01101001]

Yes, I think so, but this mentality of finding something 'not known to science' is curious.

Once there, Alex and Cameron stayed in the island’s only hotel, which quickly became a hub for selfies, as residents seized the opportunity to document their own local rarities.

Trying to imagine some overseas visitors coming here to document House Sparrow while pontificating about supreme fieldcraft, decades of experience and their historic mission.

 

[Mysticete]

I mean, inaccessible for most of the birders on the page just means inaccessible to western birders. Not all human beings.