Inaccessible bird species (1 Viewer)

[Maffong]

Let's start and try to harmonize some of the categorizations I have made.
First, I want to look at species that would qualify for A2 (no confirmed sightings in last 20 years), but it's unlikely they are actually extinct. For these I'd consider all species in category A2 with a conservation status different from CR/CR(PE) and select species from category B that haven't been observed in the last 20 years.

These species (including alternative names, IUCN Red List status and last confirmed sighting according to www.searchforlostbirds.org) are:
Dulit Partridge VU 1902
Manipur Bush Quail EN 1907
Cayenne Nightjar DD 1917
Nechisar Nightjar VU 1990
Prigogine's (Itombwe) Nightjar EN 1955
Letitia's (Coppery) Thorntail DD 1852
Itombwe Owl EN 1996
Blue-wattled Bulbul DD 1937
Red Sea Cliff Swallow DD 1984
New Britain (Bismarck) Thicketbird VU 1958
Tana River Cisticola DD 1967
Black-backed (New Britain & Bougainville) Thrush LC 1972/1980
Rufous-headed Robin EN 2023?
Duida Grass Finch DD 1950

Mountain Starling EN 1991
Vilcabamba Brushfinch NT 1968
White-faced Whitestart (Redstart) LC 1995
Guaiquinima (Saffron-breasted) Whitestart (Redstart) NT 2000

For some of the above species status has been questioned, but assuming they all are genuine species I have the following remarks to make:
- Rufous-headed Robin is probably a little prematurely on that list. While records are becoming sparser every year and they appear to be completely unreliable i think it's safe to assume they are probably not extinct yet. The last sighting on ebird is from 2020, but apparently single birds have also been reported to www.birdreport.cn in 2022 and 2023 in China (thanks to redpandacat for the info). I will observe the fate of the species, but for now I'll take it off the list. From what I've heard Stresemann's Bristlefront, Javan Green Magpie, Bahama Nuthatch, Javan Pied Myna will all stay on the list for now, but perhaps someone else has conflicting info?!

- Prigogine's Nightjar and Itombwe Owl occur in the dangerous east of DR Congo. It's likely they still persist and chould be moved to D1 instead. A decision should be made, whether D1 or A2 has priority as a category or if a joint A2/D1 is the way to go.

- Black-backed Thrush and New Britain Thicketbird likely still occur, there's even a recent ebird report for the thrush. The main difficulty appears to be reaching the range, where densities may be low. I don't know if the area requires self-organized expeditions or if birding tour operators visit the area occasionally. I'm fairly certain these will soon be "rediscovered", but should they stay in A2 go to category B or is a joint A2/B the way to go?

- Is a different treatment for the Duida Grass Finch and both Whitestarts from the tepuis merited or do they belong in the same category? For the whitestarts at least there are some field observations, while the Grass Finch is not known in life, but for all three species the main difficulty is surely access to their range. Given the sightings of the whitestarts are also older than 20 years they would qualify for A2. The case for Vilcabamba Brushfinch is identical. What's the correct treatment?

- Mountain Starling has some more recent observations, though without proof. Is the general consensus that the reports can be accepted and the species thus left in category B?

- Cayenne Nightjar, Letitia's Thorntail, Blue-wattled Bulbul and Red Sea Cliff Swallow are all extremely poorly understood. My personal belief is that the main hindrance for rediscovery is not extinction but lack of information where to start looking. Should Data Deficient species stay in A2 or receive another category A3?

- That leaves Dulit Partridge, Manipur Bush-Quail, Nechisar Nightjar and Tana River Cisticola. Their range is supposedly understood and (from my understanding) accessible, yet they have not been seen in decades. Therefore extinction could be one of the plausible explanations and I feel like, despite their IUCN Red list status, they fit best into A2.

I would love to hear input from others on these thoughts.

 

[Ficedula]

Let's start and try to harmonize some of the categorizations I have made.
First, I want to look at species that would qualify for A2 (no confirmed sightings in last 20 years), but it's unlikely they are actually extinct. For these I'd consider all species in category A2 with a conservation status different from CR/CR(PE) and select species from category B that haven't been observed in the last 20 years.

These species (including alternative names, IUCN Red List status and last confirmed sighting according to www.searchforlostbirds.org) are:
Dulit Partridge VU 1902
Manipur Bush Quail EN 1907
Cayenne Nightjar DD 1917
Nechisar Nightjar VU 1990
Prigogine's (Itombwe) Nightjar EN 1955
Letitia's (Coppery) Thorntail DD 1852
Itombwe Owl EN 1996
Blue-wattled Bulbul DD 1937
Red Sea Cliff Swallow DD 1984
New Britain (Bismarck) Thicketbird VU 1958
Tana River Cisticola DD 1967
Black-backed (New Britain & Bougainville) Thrush LC 1972/1980
Rufous-headed Robin EN 2023?
Duida Grass Finch DD 1950

Mountain Starling EN 1991
Vilcabamba Brushfinch NT 1968
White-faced Whitestart (Redstart) LC 1995
Guaiquinima (Saffron-breasted) Whitestart (Redstart) NT 2000

For some of the above species status has been questioned, but assuming they all are genuine species I have the following remarks to make:
- Rufous-headed Robin is probably a little prematurely on that list. While records are becoming sparser every year and they appear to be completely unreliable i think it's safe to assume they are probably not extinct yet. The last sighting on ebird is from 2020, but apparently single birds have also been reported to www.birdreport.cn in 2022 and 2023 in China (thanks to redpandacat for the info). I will observe the fate of the species, but for now I'll take it off the list. From what I've heard Stresemann's Bristlefront, Javan Green Magpie, Bahama Nuthatch, Javan Pied Myna will all stay on the list for now, but perhaps someone else has conflicting info?!

- Prigogine's Nightjar and Itombwe Owl occur in the dangerous east of DR Congo. It's likely they still persist and chould be moved to D1 instead. A decision should be made, whether D1 or A2 has priority as a category or if a joint A2/D1 is the way to go.

- Black-backed Thrush and New Britain Thicketbird likely still occur, there's even a recent ebird report for the thrush. The main difficulty appears to be reaching the range, where densities may be low. I don't know if the area requires self-organized expeditions or if birding tour operators visit the area occasionally. I'm fairly certain these will soon be "rediscovered", but should they stay in A2 go to category B or is a joint A2/B the way to go?

- Is a different treatment for the Duida Grass Finch and both Whitestarts from the tepuis merited or do they belong in the same category? For the whitestarts at least there are some field observations, while the Grass Finch is not known in life, but for all three species the main difficulty is surely access to their range. Given the sightings of the whitestarts are also older than 20 years they would qualify for A2. The case for Vilcabamba Brushfinch is identical. What's the correct treatment?

- Mountain Starling has some more recent observations, though without proof. Is the general consensus that the reports can be accepted and the species thus left in category B?

- Cayenne Nightjar, Letitia's Thorntail, Blue-wattled Bulbul and Red Sea Cliff Swallow are all extremely poorly understood. My personal belief is that the main hindrance for rediscovery is not extinction but lack of information where to start looking. Should Data Deficient species stay in A2 or receive another category A3?

- That leaves Dulit Partridge, Manipur Bush-Quail, Nechisar Nightjar and Tana River Cisticola. Their range is supposedly understood and (from my understanding) accessible, yet they have not been seen in decades. Therefore extinction could be one of the plausible explanations and I feel like, despite their IUCN Red list status, they fit best into A2.

I would love to hear input from others on these thoughts.

Black-backed (New Britain & Bougainville) Thrush LC 1972/1980

I saw several of these in the Nakani mountains January 1994, easily accessible without big expedition.

 

[cajanuma]

Cayenne Nightjar DD 1917

That's kind of an odd one, there was a recent paper by very experienced ornithologists arguing that the sole specimen supports its status as a valid species (https://www.researchgate.net/public..._with_remarks_on_its_systematic_relationships), but in the new French Guiana field guide the author claims the specimen is identical in plumage to a female Common Paraque, and that it was probably described as a species by mistake.

French Guiana seems to have a small but quite active and skilled local birding community so it's surprising it has not been rediscovered if it is indeed extant. Then again it is hard to believe it is extinct as the Guiana Shield has pretty much the most extensive and best preserved tropical rainforest habitat in the world. So maybe the best option is that it was not a valid species to begin with?

 

[Maffong]

Black-backed (New Britain & Bougainville) Thrush LC 1972/1980

I saw several of these in the Nakani mountains January 1994, easily accessible without big expedition.

Why does no one ever go there? Did you manage to take any pictures?
So, it's fairly safe to say that A2 (possibly extinct) is the wrong category for it. Should it go to E (technically accessible, but no one sees it)?

 

[Ficedula]

Why does no one ever go there? Did you manage to take any pictures?
So, it's fairly safe to say that A2 (possibly extinct) is definitely the wrong category for it. Should it go to E (technically accessible, but no one sees it)

I went to the Nakani after my failed attempt to get into the higher elevations of the Whiteman Mountains. I walked from Salelubu on 6/1/1994. Saw my first Thrush on 7/1 at 940m, another next day at 1485m, heard another on 9/1. They were quite common but exceedingly elusive. I don't think I had any recording equipment on this trek, and no camera. I cant explain why others have not done this, it was only a 4 day trek so very easy compared to most of those I did. There is probably a road up there now!

 

[jurek]

You could cut a separate category for single-specimen species which may turn to be invalid. Red Sea Swallow, Blue-wattled Bulbul, Nechisar Nightjar and Cayenne Nightjar would be there. I heard a rumor that a DNA study of the Nechisar Nightjar is underway, but nothing came so far. A bit of a similar story, Vaurie Nightjar was demonstrated to be European Nightjar.

In contrast, Prigogine's Nightjar, Itombwe Owl, Duida Grass Finch Black-backed Thrush and New Britain Thicketbird are simply inaccessible but likely not objectively rare. I think the first two may turn to be widespread low density nightbirds with a wide range in the Congolese rainforests. Very few ornithologists get there, and even fewer look for nightbirds.

 

[Maffong]

I'll wait for a few more replies before I decide what to do with the aforementioned species. For now let's look into category C: Birds that exclusively occur on secluded areas that aren't open to the general public.
This is definitely the one where I require most input from others, as I simply don't have the local knowledge that is often required.
Currently, it's basically the following regions:
1) Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 2) Revillagigedo Islands, 3) Guadalupe Island, 4) Northwestern Galapagos Islands, 5) Nicobar Islands, 6) Heard and Macdonald Islands, 7) Auckland & Campbell Islands, 8) assorted New Zealand islands and islets, plus 9) Pullen Pullen Nature Reserve and 10) Foping & Changqing Nature Reserves.

I don't think anyone has ever done or will ever do any leisurely birding trips to 1), 2), 3) or 6).
Trips to 4) have recently been made and were successful, so Vampire Ground Finch has to be booted from the list.
Also Black Robin was recently seen from a boat, so even though lots of luck was certainly involved, it's not entirely inaccessible. Looking at ebird data, there's at least one forum member that should know more about this, but I guess it needs to be deleted too. Not sure how impossible the other species from 7) and 8) (Auckland Rail, Chatham Snipe, Snares Snipe, Kakapo) would be without landing on the respective islands, but I believe that people seem to at least get near the shoreline for the seabirds occurring there.

For 5) I think someone upthread wrote that the Nicobars were in the process of being opened to non-Indians, does anyone have more info about that?
I believe there are hefty fines for trying to access Pullen Pullen NR, so it stays on the list, besides a minuscule, theoretical chance of chancing upon Night Parrot elsewhere.

For Blackthroat apparently there have been sightings outside of areas that require permits and it's a migratory species. So, albeit being extremely scarce, I believe the species is best deleted from the list or at least it might be better of in category E.

 

[raymie]

I'll wait for a few more replies before I decide what to do with the aforementioned species. For now let's look into category C: Birds that exclusively occur on secluded areas that aren't open to the general public.
This is definitely the one where I require most input from others, as I simply don't have the local knowledge that is often required.
Currently, it's basically the following regions:
1) Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 2) Revillagigedo Islands, 3) Guadalupe Island, 4) Northwestern Galapagos Islands, 5) Nicobar Islands, 6) Heard and Macdonald Islands, 7) Auckland & Campbell Islands, 8) assorted New Zealand islands and islets, plus 9) Pullen Pullen Nature Reserve and 10) Foping & Changqing Nature Reserves.

I don't think anyone has ever done or will ever do any leisurely birding trips to 1), 2), 3) or 6).
Trips to 4) have recently been made and were successful, so Vampire Ground Finch has to be booted from the list.
Also Black Robin was recently seen from a boat, so even though lots of luck was certainly involved, it's not entirely inaccessible. Looking at ebird data, there's at least one forum member that should know more about this, but I guess it needs to be deleted too. Not sure how impossible the other species from 7) and 8) (Auckland Rail, Chatham Snipe, Snares Snipe, Kakapo) would be without landing on the respective islands, but I believe that people seem to at least get near the shoreline for the seabirds occurring there.

For 5) I think someone upthread wrote that the Nicobars were in the process of being opened to non-Indians, does anyone have more info about that?
I believe there are hefty fines for trying to access Pullen Pullen NR, so it stays on the list, besides a minuscule, theoretical chance of chancing upon Night Parrot elsewhere.

For Blackthroat apparently there have been sightings outside of areas that require permits and it's a migratory species. So, albeit being extremely scarce, I believe the species is best deleted from the list or at least it might be better of in category E.

There has been lots of talk in the last few years about opening up some of the northwest Hawaiian islands to tourism, especially Midway.

 

[Dave Boyle]

I'll wait for a few more replies before I decide what to do with the aforementioned species. For now let's look into category C: Birds that exclusively occur on secluded areas that aren't open to the general public.
This is definitely the one where I require most input from others, as I simply don't have the local knowledge that is often required.
Currently, it's basically the following regions:
1) Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 2) Revillagigedo Islands, 3) Guadalupe Island, 4) Northwestern Galapagos Islands, 5) Nicobar Islands, 6) Heard and Macdonald Islands, 7) Auckland & Campbell Islands, 8) assorted New Zealand islands and islets, plus 9) Pullen Pullen Nature Reserve and 10) Foping & Changqing Nature Reserves.

I don't think anyone has ever done or will ever do any leisurely birding trips to 1), 2), 3) or 6).
Trips to 4) have recently been made and were successful, so Vampire Ground Finch has to be booted from the list.
Also Black Robin was recently seen from a boat, so even though lots of luck was certainly involved, it's not entirely inaccessible. Looking at ebird data, there's at least one forum member that should know more about this, but I guess it needs to be deleted too. Not sure how impossible the other species from 7) and 8) (Auckland Rail, Chatham Snipe, Snares Snipe, Kakapo) would be without landing on the respective islands, but I believe that people seem to at least get near the shoreline for the seabirds occurring there.

For 5) I think someone upthread wrote that the Nicobars were in the process of being opened to non-Indians, does anyone have more info about that?
I believe there are hefty fines for trying to access Pullen Pullen NR, so it stays on the list, besides a minuscule, theoretical chance of chancing upon Night Parrot elsewhere.

For Blackthroat apparently there have been sightings outside of areas that require permits and it's a migratory species. So, albeit being extremely scarce, I believe the species is best deleted from the list or at least it might be better of in category E.

Auckland Island Rail is basically impossible, Adam's Island is supposed to be one of the most pristine islands in the world so access is severely restricted - people do go there carrying out long term albatross studies but anyone's chances of getting on one of those trips is virtually nil. Disappointment Island is probably even more pristine but physically harder to access, I think there was some White-chinned Petrel work being done there recently, but again, nobody's getting on one of those trips. I also know people who have been on both islands but didn't see the rail - one person on Disappointment before the rail was known to be there & the other on Adam's didn't put any effort into seeing them.

I've always thought Black Robin should be possible from offshore, its probably just a matter of luck & putting the time in, which cruise ships probably don't usually do.

Chatham Island Snipe is incredibly common on Rangatira & Mangere, I've never heard of anyone seeing one from offshore, they're usually deep in the bush during the day although they do come out onto the rocks sometimes at night. Access to both islands is restricted to volunteer work parties or researchers, working for DOC would increase your chances of getting on one of those trips. They're also on the Star Keys & the owners have allowed landings specifically to look for the snipe in the recent past but its not going to be easy to find anyone fishing out there willing to drop you off. They are occasionally seen on Pitt Island, probably just post-juvenile dispersal from Rangatira but might be more regular if people looked more - a friend of mine taped one out in the bush there last year - anyone can go to Pitt but accommodation is limited & very pricey. A cat brought one in on main Chatham Island a couple of years ago, but again that will just be post-juvenile dispersal.

Apparently a Snares Snipe was also seen by some people from a zodiac on the recent Heritage Expeditions trip - not sure if anyone saw both the snipe & the Black Robin!

Kakapo should be listed as extinct in the wild, they're just on islands now they didn't naturally occur on

 

[Paul Chapman]

Auckland Island Rail is basically impossible, Adam's Island is supposed to be one of the most pristine islands in the world so access is severely restricted - people do go there carrying out long term albatross studies but anyone's chances of getting on one of those trips is virtually nil. Disappointment Island is probably even more pristine but physically harder to access, I think there was some White-chinned Petrel work being done there recently, but again, nobody's getting on one of those trips. I also know people who have been on both islands but didn't see the rail - one person on Disappointment before the rail was known to be there & the other on Adam's didn't put any effort into seeing them.

I've always thought Black Robin should be possible from offshore, its probably just a matter of luck & putting the time in, which cruise ships probably don't usually do.

Chatham Island Snipe is incredibly common on Rangatira & Mangere, I've never heard of anyone seeing one from offshore, they're usually deep in the bush during the day although they do come out onto the rocks sometimes at night. Access to both islands is restricted to volunteer work parties or researchers, working for DOC would increase your chances of getting on one of those trips. They're also on the Star Keys & the owners have allowed landings specifically to look for the snipe in the recent past but its not going to be easy to find anyone fishing out there willing to drop you off. They are occasionally seen on Pitt Island, probably just post-juvenile dispersal from Rangatira but might be more regular if people looked more - a friend of mine taped one out in the bush there last year - anyone can go to Pitt but accommodation is limited & very pricey. A cat brought one in on main Chatham Island a couple of years ago, but again that will just be post-juvenile dispersal.

Apparently a Snares Snipe was also seen by some people from a zodiac on the recent Heritage Expeditions trip - not sure if anyone saw both the snipe & the Black Robin!

Kakapo should be listed as extinct in the wild, they're just on islands now they didn't naturally occur on

Not sure if anyone got the Snares Island Snipe & the Chatham Robin although that is certainly possible - I was in one of the zodiacs oblivious to the Snipe excitement - but the Chatham Robin (a first calendar year bird on colour ring combination) was watched at the same time as Chatham Islands Snipe could be heard calling unseen....

All the best

Paul

 

[Dave Boyle]

That would have been a great double!

Forgot to say as well, there's translocated populations of Snares Snipe on Whenua Hou and some of the Titi Islands off southern Stewart Island, but again access isn't easy - probably volunteering on Whenua Hou during a big Kakapo breeding season would be the best chance of getting there.

Forgot to ask anyone the other day Paul, did you see Forbe's Parakeet? Its easy enough to see them from offshore as long as you're not too concerned with 100% genetic purity

 

[Paul Chapman]

That would have been a great double!

Forgot to say as well, there's translocated populations of Snares Snipe on Whenua Hou and some of the Titi Islands off southern Stewart Island, but again access isn't easy - probably volunteering on Whenua Hou during a big Kakapo breeding season would be the best chance of getting there.

Forgot to ask anyone the other day Paul, did you see Forbe's Parakeet? Its easy enough to see them from offshore as long as you're not too concerned with 100% genetic purity

Some parakeets were seen but from the main vessel - we did not zodiac. My only sighting was fleeting at best.

Not sure if anyone claimed it but I let that one go!

All the best

Paul

 

[simmojunior]

I didn't see a Snares Snipe from a Heritage Expeditions trip back in 2015 nor did any other participants. However, I seem to remember Rodney Russ state he'd "only" seen it 3 or 4 times. I suspect it is possible though inordinately expensive a boat with a zodiac and have 4 or 5 goes looking for the Snipe and you'd have a reasonable chance of getting it. Certainly incredibly difficult but not sure qualifies as inaccessible.

Auckland Island Rail is not on any island that Heritage land on. I think it is inaccessible.

 

[Paul Chapman]

I didn't see a Snares Snipe from a Heritage Expeditions trip back in 2015 nor did any other participants. However, I seem to remember Rodney Russ state he'd "only" seen it 3 or 4 times. I suspect it is possible though inordinately expensive a boat with a zodiac and have 4 or 5 goes looking for the Snipe and you'd have a reasonable chance of getting it. Certainly incredibly difficult but not sure qualifies as inaccessible.

Auckland Island Rail is not on any island that Enderby land on. I think it is inaccessible.

With Snares Island Snipe, I believe that individuals in a maximum of three zodiacs got views this year and probably some in each zodiac dipped. No photos of which I am aware. Far more heard two calling.

With Chatham Robin, I believe that individuals in a maximum of four zodiacs got views this year and probably some in each zodiac dipped. At least two people got photos showing the colour ring combination. People only heard Chatham Islands Snipe.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1736299276874162221

All the best

Paul

 

[Maffong]

So if I read that correctly, both Snipes and the Robin are difficult but not impossibleleaving only the Rail and Kakapo on the list. The latter should perhaps better be moved to A1 instead of C as its population can hardly be called wild.
Correct?

 

[Paul Chapman]

So if I read that correctly, both Snipes and the Robin are difficult but not impossibleleaving only the Rail and Kakapo on the list. The latter should perhaps better be moved to A1 instead of C as its population can hardly be called wild.
Correct?

Agreed.

 

[Kirk Roth]

There has been lots of talk in the last few years about opening up some of the northwest Hawaiian islands to tourism, especially Midway.

Talk from whom? Reference or it didn't happen!

 

[Mysticete]

There have been ideas of opening up Midway and there have been occasional periods of time when it was opened to visitors, but I don't think it was the moneymaker folks had hoped. Which gets you Laysan Duck but I don't think the finches or Millerbird are present on the island.

I would think some birding company might try to figure out a itinerary where you stay on a ship and go between islands, but who knows...maybe there are just not enough birds to be of interest for the price point. Or maybe access is just too difficult. I would try to work some sort of deal where birders go to the islands with the specialities in exchange for spending a day picking up trash, but maybe the types of folks with the money for this sort of trip would balk at being expected to do community service.

 

[Kirk Roth]

There have been ideas of opening up Midway and there have been occasional periods of time when it was opened to visitors, but I don't think it was the moneymaker folks had hoped. Which gets you Laysan Duck but I don't think the finches or Millerbird are present on the island.

I would think some birding company might try to figure out a itinerary where you stay on a ship and go between islands, but who knows...maybe there are just not enough birds to be of interest for the price point. Or maybe access is just too difficult. I would try to work some sort of deal where birders go to the islands with the specialities in exchange for spending a day picking up trash, but maybe the types of folks with the money for this sort of trip would balk at being expected to do community service.

Your idea is far better, but another way would be to "simply" charter a yacht with a good stabilizer and view these seamount islands from a reasonable distance - I believe its been done before on Nihoa. My understanding is that Millerbirds tend to be skulky, so picking them out among the shrubs might not be the most productive experience. But I think it should be theoretically possible (for the very rich) to find Nihoa and Laysan Finches and Laysan Duck from near offshore.

I've seen people pick out a vagrant Northern Wheatear on one of the puffin islands in Maine, all from a whale watching boat. Its a bizarre but exciting kind of birding.

 

[Mysticete]

Your idea is far better, but another way would be to "simply" charter a yacht with a good stabilizer and view these seamount islands from a reasonable distance - I believe its been done before on Nihoa. My understanding is that Millerbirds tend to be skulky, so picking them out among the shrubs might not be the most productive experience. But I think it should be theoretically possible (for the very rich) to find Nihoa and Laysan Finches and Laysan Duck from near offshore.

I've seen people pick out a vagrant Northern Wheatear on one of the puffin islands in Maine, all from a whale watching boat. Its a bizarre but exciting kind of birding.

I mean folks do this already with islands in other parts of the world, so it should work. I think you just need a company to explore the option. Being able to fly into Midway would be a huge help for this admittedly am not sure how long it takes by boat to reach the NW islands from the main islands. Probably be great for marine mammals as well!