The Records Committee held its first meeting of 2019 on 27 March, and the following issues were discussed and agreed. The HK List now stands at 552 species in Cat I and II after the addition of the following:
● Ultramarine Flycatcher to Cat I of HK List after review of records in 1999, 2007, late 2017 and early 2018, which are considered to form a pattern strongly suggestive of natural occurrence.
● In addition, Black Swan was added to Category III based on a record of one at Mai Po on 25 February 2017.
Regarding a falcon seen and photographed at Mai Po on 23 October 2017 (
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/viewthread.php?tid=26696), the RC sought advice from raptor specialist Dick Forsman, who confirmed the bird was an immature Peregrine Falcon due to its bright yellow legs, uniformly barred underwing and dark primary tips (compared with Saker Falcon, which would have paler primary tips and bluish legs).
An updated HK List is now available for download at the following link. It incorporates recent IOC species and taxonomic updates, and a review of English bird names by RC members:
HK_List_2019-03-27.xls (150.5 KB)
Taxonomic / nomenclatural changes to the HK List include the following:
●
Zosterops simplex was split from the revised Japanese / Mountain White-eye complex. Subspecies
simplex and
hainanus was moved to the newly-recognised Swinhoe's White-eye.
● Genus of laughingthrushes changes from
Garrulax to
Ianthocincla and
Pterorhinus. This involves changes in scientific names of Black-throated Laughingthrush, Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Chinese Babax, White-browed Laughingthrush and Masked Laughingthrush.
● Change of scientific name of Blue-winged Minla from
Minla cyanouroptera to Actinodura
cyanouroptera.
Geoff Carey
RC Chairman
