"Lost" birds. Again (1 Viewer)

[Melanie]

There are still doubts whether the Negros fruit dove is a valid species.

 

[Farnboro John]

If only some of the twitchers that post on the forum here made an effort to go and see/look for some of these species with as much enthusiasm as the do to chase vagrants and stick their big cameras up their backsides, then these 'lost' lists wouldn't need to exist. Surely it would be more satisfying to find one of these species than chase after something that shouldn't be where it is that someone else has found and in some cases already identified for you, the recent grackle in Wales is a relatively good example.

Pretty hard on the wallet though compared to a run down the M4. Not to mention the usual hate-filled camera-birding bashing nonsense.

Leave it to those who actually want to do it. Which one are you planning to relocate? Are you going to take a camera to prove any sighting?

Maybe the AOS could get into it instead of messing about with bird names. Although they'd probably want to rename the lost birds so making them even more lost.

John

 

[Ficedula]

Hi all,

Sorry if I’ve missed this, but, does anyone know anything/tried to look for Negros Fruit Dove? I realised it’s incredibly unlikely with the level of habitat removal and hunting pressure.

Mark

I tried in 1984, but completely messed up transport, didn't have enough time so failed to get to habitat. There are many species more likely to be extant than this one to look for.

 

[Mysticete]

If only some of the twitchers that post on the forum here made an effort to go and see/look for some of these species with as much enthusiasm as the do to chase vagrants and stick their big cameras up their backsides, then these 'lost' lists wouldn't need to exist. Surely it would be more satisfying to find one of these species than chase after something that shouldn't be where it is that someone else has found and in some cases already identified for you, the recent grackle in Wales is a relatively good example.

Slight difference in cost and difficulty between twitching a bird in even a remote/distant part of the UK, and launching an expedition to a remote part of the Philippines.

 

[Patudo]

Not to mention danger to life and limb. Although, if said UK vagrant showed up in Glasgow...

 

[pbjosh]

People are just to lazy to walk up the Sira Mountains. Curassow, Barbet, Tanager all there.
Pics from 2013: Sira Tanager - Stilpnia phillipsi

There are security issues - safety of access sort of varies it seems. I have wanted to go for 7-8 years but just haven’t gotten to it yet. I will

 

[Tomeitsparadise]

Also pictures of Warsangli Linnet on Ebird:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S77363516

I wonder if this Birdquest trip is currently going on:

https://www.birdquest-tours.com/birding-tours/somaliland-djibouti/

My husband and I went on the trip. No photo opportunities of the linnet

 

[Jacana]

Hi all!

Yes, I know that the topic of lost birds has been raised many times on the forum in its various aspects. But, as usual, some questions remain...

This list contains bird species for which I have not been able to find confirmed sightings in the wild or in captivity since 2014. The list does not include the generally accepted “Holy Grails” like Ivory-billed Woodpecker or Pink-Headed Duck. The results of this small study are planned for publication as an appendix to a larger work, which I hope will be published next year. I will certainly inform you about the results here.

Actually, a question to the traveling forum participants: have you seen these guys over the past 10 years? Or maybe you know someone who definitely seen them, or know some new papers? Photos are especially welcome!

* - species for which there are observations in eBird without photos or videos
** - species kept in captivity, but without exact photo dates

Schlegel's Francolin (Campocolinus schlegelii) *
Somali Pigeon (Columba oliviae) *
New Britain Bronzewing (Henicophaps foersteri) *
Mindoro Bleeding-heart (Gallicolumba platenae)
Tawitawi Brown-Dove (Phapitreron cinereiceps) *
Little Brown Bustard (Eupodotis humilis) *
Ashy-tailed Swift (Chaetura andrei) *
Bare-legged Swiftlet (Aerodramus nuditarsus) *
Three-toed Swiftlet (Aerodramus papuensis) *
Luzon Rail (Lewinia mirifica)
Mayr's Rail (Rallina mayri)
Sulawesi Woodcock (Scolopax celebensis) *
Heard Island Shag (Leucocarbo nivalis) *
Slaty-mantled Goshawk (Accipiter luteoschistaceus) *
New Britain Goshawk (Accipiter princeps) *
Manus Masked-Owl (Tyto manusi)
Bismarck Kingfisher (Ceyx websteri) *
Sira Barbet (Capito fitzpatricki)
Blue-winged Racquet-tail (Prioniturus verticalis)
Striated Lorikeet (Synorhacma multistriata) **
White-naped Lory (Lorius albidinucha) **
Rio de Janeiro Antwren (Myrmotherula fluminensis)
Northern Catbird (Ailuroedus jobiensis)
Golden-fronted Bowerbird (Amblyornis flavifrons) *
Broad-billed Fairywren (Chenorhamphus grayi) *
Long-bearded Melidectes (Melidectes princeps) *
Foja Honeyeater (Melipotes carolae)
Bismarck Honeyeater (Vosea whitemanensis)
Taliabu Myzomela (Myzomela wahe) *
Mayr's Honeyeater (Ptiloprora mayri) *
New Ireland Friarbird (Philemon eichhorni)
Grauer's Cuckooshrike (Coracina graueri)
Ghana Cuckooshrike (Lobotos lobatus)
Mussau Triller (Lalage conjuncta) *
Papuan Whipbird (Androphobus viridis) *
Golden-backed Whistler (Pachycephala aurea)
Yellow-crested Helmetshrike (Prionops alberti) *
Bronze Parotia (Parotia berlepschi)
Santa Cruz Shrikebill (Clytorhynchus sanctaecrucis) *
Rufous Monarch (Symposiachrus rubiensis) *
Sharpe's Lark (Mirafra sharpie)
Somali Long-billed Lark (Mirafra somalica) *
Obbia Lark (Spizocorys obbiensis)
Short-billed Crombec (Sylvietta philippae)
Kabobo Apalis (Apalis kaboboensis)
Slender-tailed Cisticola (Cisticola melanurus) *
Rusty Thicketbird (Cincloramphus rubiginosus) *
Bougainville Thicketbird (Cincloramphus llaneae)
Prigogine's Greenbul (Chlorocichla prigoginei)
Sassi's Greenbul (Phyllastrephus lorenzi)
Naung Mung Scimitar-Babbler (Napothera naungmungensis)
Chapin's Mountain-Babbler (Turdoides chapini)
Guadalcanal Thrush (Zoothera turipavae) *
New Britain Thrush (Zoothera talaseae)
Bougainville Thrush (Zoothera atrigena)
Somali Thrush (Turdus ludoviciae) *
Rufous-breasted Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis camarinensis) *
Prigogine's Sunbird (Cinnyris prigoginei)
Rockefeller's Sunbird (Cinnyris rockefelleri) *
Yellow-legged Weaver (Ploceus flavipes) *
Bates's Weaver (Ploceus batesi)
New Hanover Munia (Lonchura nigerrima) **
Reichenow's Firefinch (Lagonosticta umbrinodorsalis) *
Warsangli Linnet (Linaria johannis) *
Vilcabamba Brushfinch (Atlapetes terborghi)
Saffron-breasted Redstart (Myioborus cardonai)
White-faced Redstart (Myioborus albifacies)
Carrizal Seedeater (Amaurospiza carrizalensis) *
Sira Tanager (Stilpnia phillipsi) *
Duida Grass-Finch (Emberizoides duidae)

Well...

You can take Yellow-crested Helmetshrike off the list. Wowzah!!

ML613671574 - Yellow-crested Helmetshrike - Macaulay Library

Macaulay Library ML613671574; © Matt Brady; Sud-Kivu, DR Congo

macaulaylibrary.org

https://ebird.org/checklist/S158955258

 

[DMW]

Well...

You can take Yellow-crested Helmetshrike off the list. Wowzah!!

ML613671574 - Yellow-crested Helmetshrike - Macaulay Library

Macaulay Library ML613671574; © Matt Brady; Sud-Kivu, DR Congo

macaulaylibrary.org

https://ebird.org/checklist/S158955258

What are the odds that this was taken for the LSU collection?

 

[temmie]

I hope the bird in the picture is still alive.

 

[Tomeitsparadise]

Well...

You can take Yellow-crested Helmetshrike off the list. Wowzah!!

ML613671574 - Yellow-crested Helmetshrike - Macaulay Library

Macaulay Library ML613671574; © Matt Brady; Sud-Kivu, DR Congo

macaulaylibrary.org

https://ebird.org/checklist/S158955258

Hopefully my eBird checklists for our Somaliland trip will go through in the next few weeks. I just need to fix the locations on the import to eBird. That should take a few off the list.

Somaliland was wonderful. I loved the desert landscapes.

 

[GDK]

Well...

You can take Yellow-crested Helmetshrike off the list. Wowzah!!

ML613671574 - Yellow-crested Helmetshrike - Macaulay Library

Macaulay Library ML613671574; © Matt Brady; Sud-Kivu, DR Congo

macaulaylibrary.org

https://ebird.org/checklist/S158955258

What a bird. One Ive always dreamed of seeing, along with the Owl and Shelley's Crimsonwing from the same area.

Pic in natural habitat: ML613900307 - Yellow-crested Helmetshrike - Macaulay Library

 

[Argentavis]

The next one from the list found: Accipiter princeps!

New Britain Goshawk (Accipiter princeps)

New Britain Goshawk in March 2024 by Tom Vierus. terrible photo ut since so little data from this region thought to upload it anyway

www.inaturalist.org

 

[Tomeitsparadise]

What a bird. One Ive always dreamed of seeing, along with the Owl and Shelley's Crimsonwing from the same area.

Pic in natural habitat: ML613900307 - Yellow-crested Helmetshrike - Macaulay Library

This one has been seen, but you need to be pretty dedicated to get there 😂. I investigated and I think I would put it on “not practical” 😂

 

[Argentavis]

...and the next one, but only on audio:

Somali Lark (Mirafra somalica) :: xeno-canto

xeno-canto.org

 

[Argentavis]

Some cool new observations of Somalian birds from the list above by M. Watelet!

Somali Pigeon: ML618138486 - Somali Pigeon - Macaulay Library
Little Brown Bustard: ML618167758 - Little Brown Bustard - Macaulay Library
Short-billed Crombec: ML618139388 - Short-billed Crombec - Macaulay Library
Somali Thrush: ML619836339 - Somali Thrush - Macaulay Library

 

[temmie]

Digging up an old topic (the latest of this kind but there are more):

Abdouli Ndure (Senegambia birding guide) has seemingly done the hard work on the ground to try and find sites for Kordofan Lark (a species with zero sightings on ebird, one on observation, have not checked other platforms), and as he is now advertising tours to try and see it in the breeding grounds (breeding = july - sept), it should be fairly reliable, it seems. For those WP twitchers or others aiming for 10.000+, it could be interesting, but maybe also while doing a 'classic' (N-)Senegal tour (albeit in July-Sept = not the prime time for birding tours in that region).

 

[Melanie]

The Mussau triller has been rediscovered after 45 years. Seems that Mussau is not easy to access like many other regions in Papua New Guinea.

Birders rediscover lost species on Mussau in Papua New Guinea

Article: Rarely glimpsed Mussau Triller documented for first time in 44 years

www.rewild.org

 

[jurek]

Kordofan Lark (a species with zero sightings on ebird, one on observation, have not checked other platforms)

If there was a competition which bird unseen by birders is the most common, Kordofan Lark, distributed over a wide belt of sub-Saharan Sahel, probably would be a winner. Only all these countries are politically dodgy to dangerous for Westerners.