James Lowther
Well-known member
Yes yes I know Turnix sylvatica is common throughout Africa and Asia (and Australia?), but Andalucian Hemipode/Small Buttonquail strikes me as the nearest thing we in Europe have to the IBWO (hardly any documented claims, but they MAY still be there).
Looking through my three regional guides,
Gosney (1996) says "somewhere in the coto del Rey [Donana] AH were located in May 1991 and 1992"
Palmer (1997) equates belief in AH with belief in fairies (uh oh..), but says " the writer has only..met one birder who has reliably seen one in Spain! Coastal scrub in Huelva province was the site of that momentous find..a tiny population may still be there"
Garcia and Patterson (2001) claim "a relict population...survives in the coastal palmetto scrub of western Andalusia but they are rarely recorded.."
and also re: Donana "the AH appears to survive in the north of the park (Coto del Rey)"
so what's the current situation??
has anyone on the forum actually seen this species in Europe?
does anyone know of anyone who has seen or heard them, or even searched for them more recently??
What about other areas away from Donana? The Collins guide has a spot of purple in central portugal for this species, why is that? Gosney suggests a large area of dwarf fan palms near Cabo de Gata (Almeria province) might be worth checking out. Has anyone ever tried?
Whatever, it would be interesting to know if there have been any developments re: this species' status in Europe..
James
Looking through my three regional guides,
Gosney (1996) says "somewhere in the coto del Rey [Donana] AH were located in May 1991 and 1992"
Palmer (1997) equates belief in AH with belief in fairies (uh oh..), but says " the writer has only..met one birder who has reliably seen one in Spain! Coastal scrub in Huelva province was the site of that momentous find..a tiny population may still be there"
Garcia and Patterson (2001) claim "a relict population...survives in the coastal palmetto scrub of western Andalusia but they are rarely recorded.."
and also re: Donana "the AH appears to survive in the north of the park (Coto del Rey)"
so what's the current situation??
has anyone on the forum actually seen this species in Europe?
does anyone know of anyone who has seen or heard them, or even searched for them more recently??
What about other areas away from Donana? The Collins guide has a spot of purple in central portugal for this species, why is that? Gosney suggests a large area of dwarf fan palms near Cabo de Gata (Almeria province) might be worth checking out. Has anyone ever tried?
Whatever, it would be interesting to know if there have been any developments re: this species' status in Europe..
James