Four species "unpended" from BOU list

The British Ornithologists Union recently announced they had accepted Amur Falcon, Tufted Puffin, Eastern Crowned Warbler and Citril Finch onto category A of the British List. These four (and five others) were already available to BUBO listers as pending additions, but the four species concerned have now been "unpended".

Note - this both affects lists based on the BOU authority, and also those on our "British & Irish" authority.

Cheers

Andy

Tentatively county the Blakeney Point flycatcher as alder rather than willow.

Two sides to the argument. Alder flycatcher record in 2008 and bird is similar.
Experts disagree over whether alder / willow can be identified in the field with no call.

Cornell University says the species were split in the 1970's and that the calls separate the species.

I doubt that alder and willow should be split from trail's superspecies since separation of the two is so difficult.

Don't follow your argument Paul. Just cos things are difficult (even impossible) for birders to identify in first-winter plumage, what has this got to do with whether they are good species or not? Whether something is tickable at one point in the year is fairly irrelevant surely.

Hi,

I agree that using 'identification ability' as a premise for splitting or lumping is flawed. However from a listing prospective why not add Traill's Flycatcher? After all, many people seem happy to add Fea's Petrel without relistically being certain about the identification.

I do think that it is only a matter of time before there are some ID criteria that will allow us to identify these empids in the field......

Regards
Tristan

I would happily count the flycatcher as a traills.

Alder flycatchers migrate further than willow flycatchers (usually) so alder more likely then.

Many birders would not tick the bonellli's warbler currently at Wells as they could not prove it was not of the much scarcer eastern race. Now the bird is deemed a western species they will count it.

I agree that some species cannot be identified in the field. Female common and green-winged teals cannot be separated in the field, unlike drakes.

What individual users count as ticks is a matter of personal choice. The science or rarities committees decisions may not back up what people think. Birders must accept this.