Inaccessible bird species (1 Viewer)

[DMW]

A few more Oriental ones that come to mind:

Blackthroat - for political reasons, the only known site, Foping, was closed to foreigners a few years ago.
Edward's Pheasant - no recent observations?
Vietnamese Crested Argus - must be still at some sites, surely?
Malay Crested Argus - would require some serious dedication to hack up Gunung Tahan for this
Black Partridge - again probably getting into expedition territory
Manipur Bush Quail - realistically close to impossible
Naung Mung Scimitar-Babbler and Gurney's Pitta - both presumably inaccessible now

 

[Andy Adcock]

D)
Some of these depend on your appetite for risk. I'm not sure how risky Burma is right now, but most of the endemics are easy at Bagan which is a major tourist site so might still be OK. As others say, Somaliland is currently "on limits".

Kordofan Lark - recent record in far N Senegal suggests this should be accessible here or S Mauretania, which should both be OK.

Afghan Snowfinch - backpackers are visiting Afghanistan, and the main site for it is considered safe.

I bicycled around the area for three days and didn't get the Treepie.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Have I missed Jerdon's Courser?

Cindarella Waxbill, Horned Guan, surely there must be some Penguins on the list?

 

[Xenospiza]

Have I missed Jerdon's Courser?

Cindarella Waxbill, Horned Guan, surely there must be some Penguins on the list?

Horned Guan is no problem.

 

[Xenospiza]

And what is the deal with Vilcabamba Brushfinch? The range is rugged mountains but there doesn't seem to be much chance of helping that - there is no navigable rivers and I would be skeptical to lading any aircraft there, so it's just a question of trekking there?

Reported by a Dutch friend of mine on a trip last year, but not backed up by a photo. Was on the roadside.

 

[DMW]

I bicycled around the area for three days and didn't get the Treepie.

It took us 2 attempts, definitely the most difficult of the Bagan specials for us.

 

[DMW]

Have I missed Jerdon's Courser?

Cindarella Waxbill, Horned Guan, surely there must be some Penguins on the list?

Cindarella Waxbill is fairly easy at Kunene River Lodge. Penguins are just a matter of money. Jerdon's Courser is good call, although perhaps now extinct.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Cindarella Waxbill is fairly easy at Kunene River Lodge. Penguins are just a matter of money. Jerdon's Courser is good call, although perhaps now extinct.

We saw it there but it's a bit of a diversion from most birding routes!

 

[FreddieDixon]

Would Large Large Billed Reed Warbler be appropriate for the list, I'm unaware of anyway of finding one without a lot of luck anywhere.

 

[Tiraya]

Akekee does not require permits and people can hike into the habitat. However, Kiwikiu (Maui parrotbill) and Akohekohe are in off-limits areas of Maui without organized private hikes.

 

[pbjosh]

Reported by a Dutch friend of mine on a trip last year, but not backed up by a photo. Was on the roadside.

First, is it a species or the end of a cline? Tricolored BF looks more and more like Vilcsbamba BF the closer you get.

Second, shy of a photo I personally am skeptical. Several recents reports have not planned out. The type locality is still very complex to access AFAIK. When I was in the area for some time in 2016 it was essentially impossible. If the bird were accessible I think we would have all seen photos by now?

 

[temmie]

Yellow-crested Helmetshrike has known populations (more than one). The only problem is getting there (safely). It's a category D, rather than A species.
Dusky Tetraka maybe doesn't have a known population, but at least it's known it should occur in Marojejy. The only problem is that no one seems to know where to look exactly in the park, and it's underbirded.
Vilcabamba Brush-finch... I am very tempted to organize an expedition, it's only a matter of getting there (but ofcourse, that's enough of a matter).

With regards to C) only with a permit etc: You could add Cherry-throated Tanager, Alagoas Antwren, Blue-eyed Ground-dove. All are technically only visible if you have a permit. Ofcourse, in e.g. the case of the Ground-dove, you readily get a permit by just paying, and this is thus technically not that much different than paying for access in many places in the world. But with CT Tanager, unless it has changed, the access to the reserve is more or less thanks to the researchers being flexible and generous. Santa Marta Sabrewing is currently probably in category A), as there is no known population, but even if there is one, the site where it has been rediscovered, is not accessible at the moment (so you could add this one to category A or C).
With regards to D) inaccessible because of politics... You mention Myanmar birds, but what about Venezuelan birds? Is anyone still going there? Same for Cameroon and Nigeria. Both are currently not on the birding map anymore. I hope that will change in the near future...

I will give Kordofan Lark a try next month. Can't promise too much, but it has been photographed (and rather well) by a Belgian birdwatcher in Feb. 2022m in N-Senegal on the regular birding circuit.

 

[DMW]

Would Large Large Billed Reed Warbler be appropriate for the list, I'm unaware of anyway of finding one without a lot of luck anywhere.

Quite straightforward near Khorog in Tajikistan, where it breeds in riparian Scrub along the Afghan border.

 

[temmie]

First, is it a species or the end of a cline? Tricolored BF looks more and more like Vilcsbamba BF the closer you get.

Second, shy of a photo I personally am skeptical. Several recents reports have not planned out. The type locality is still very complex to access AFAIK. When I was in the area for some time in 2016 it was essentially impossible. If the bird were accessible I think we would have all seen photos by now?

Exactly my thinking, and I tried to suggest this without being condescending or rude, but it's hard to do so online.

 

[KC Foggin]

Would Large Large Billed Reed Warbler be appropriate for the list, I'm unaware of anyway of finding one without a lot of luck anywhere.

Just gonna jump in here to wish you a warm welcome from those of us on BirdForum

 

[jurek]

Siberian Grouse - as of 2022-2023
Tooth-billed Pigeon - nobody sees it
Sumatran partridge, Whyte's Francolin, Mount Cameroon Spurfowl - no photos on Ebirds, its says something.
Djibouti Spurfowl - ?
Congo peacock, Shelley's Eagle Owl and Persian Ground-jay are borderline impossible

 

[DMW]

Siberian Grouse - as of 2022-2023
Tooth-billed Pigeon - nobody sees it
Sumatran partridge, Whyte's Francolin, Mount Cameroon Spurfowl - no photos on Ebirds, its says something.
Djibouti Spurfowl - ?
Congo peacock, Shelley's Eagle Owl and Persian Ground-jay are borderline impossible

I guess for some nationalities, Siberian Grouse is still available
Tooth-billed Pigeon - should definitely be on the list. I bet there's a decent number of Pacific island and Melanesian species that should be too. Then there's the Foja Mountain endemics in PNG etc...
Sumatran Partridge is gettable at the Ground Cuckoo site
Djibouti Francolin - gettable as far as I know
Pleske's Ground-Jay - depends on whether Iran will give you a visa!
Congo Peafowl - can be seen if you have the money
Shelley's Eagle-owl - seen recently at a couple of sites. Has anybody definitely seen Sandy Scops in recent years?

 

[Xenospiza]

Siberian Grouse - as of 2022-2023
Tooth-billed Pigeon - nobody sees it
Sumatran partridge, Whyte's Francolin, Mount Cameroon Spurfowl - no photos on Ebirds, its says something.
Djibouti Spurfowl - ?
Congo peacock, Shelley's Eagle Owl and Persian Ground-jay are borderline impossible

Mt Cameroon Spurfowl would require a bit of an expedition (the usual spot to where people go to is not that much of a walk and not that high up – I've been there and wondered how people had ever seen it from that location).
It looks like Mt Cameroon is still relatively accessible compared to the rest of English-speaking Cameroon.

I think most people don't even try Tooth-billed Pigeon and it sounds impossible to see.

 

[opisska]

This is inevitably going to boil down to what anyone considers "inaccessible". I don't see a big problem in going to Iran - the main hindrance ia that I would never be eligible for ESTA after that. For me places like Bhutan, where you must go with some silly local agency are far less accessible. I would not go to Russia now but that's just a personal choice.

It's all just a fun theoretical excercise as far as I am concerned as there is and endless list of birds that are much easier and I don't have them. Or mythical things like Omani Owl that need nothing but patience.

 

[raymie]

Emperor Penguin is not accessible independently, but is possible on some Antarctic wildlife cruises.