cgeoff

At the meeting of the Records Committee on 12th May, the following decisions were made.

1.        Adoption of revised the HK List
No further comments were received on the proposed exceptions to the IOC English name list. Consequently, the list was adopted in respect of current Categories A to D.

2.        Changes to Categories of the HK List
Following discussions held at and since the last meeting and based on a paper circulated among RC members beforehand, changes to the categories used in the HK List are proposed for adoption, subject to feedback from the Society membership. The proposed categorization has been included in another thread, and any comments should be posted there.

3.        Nomenclatural changes to the HK List
The IOC proposed change in English name from Siberian Stonechat to Stejneger’s Stonechat was adopted.

4.        Additions to the HK List
Two species were added to Category A of the HK List, bringing the total to 502:

Philippine Duck Anas luzonica. An adult present at Mai Po NR from 7th March until at least the end of April.
Vega Gull Larus vegae. Based on a paper circulated beforehand, the RC concluded that pure individuals of this species occur in HK in small numbers on a regular basis in winter. In view of this, it was considered unnecessary to require typical records to be circulated around the RC.

5.        Short-tailed Shearwater
Based on well-documented records of birds recorded during boat trips, the RC agreed that Short-tailed Shearwater is the commonly-occurring dark shearwater passing through offshore waters in spring. As a result, it has been removed from the list of species requiring records to be substantiated and circulated around the RC for assessment.

6.        American Wigeon
Assessment of this record is proving difficult, as the bird does not appear to be typical of the species. A further circulation is required.

Geoff Carey
RC Chairman

[ Last edited by cgeoff at 15/05/2010 15:18 ]