[1] Andy Elliot; Nigel J. Collar; Murray D. Bruce; Guy M. Kirwan: The nomenclature of Lophorina (Aves: Paradisaeidae), with remarks on the type and type locality of L. superba. Zootaxa 4732: 57-78. 2020
“The most mysterious of all the Pacific waterfowl is Coues’ Gadwall, Anas strepera couesi, only two specimens of which have ever been found, on Washington Island, more than six hundred miles south of Hawaii. The two specimens, the male type and a female, collected in 1874, are now in the U.S. National Museum in Washington. In appearance these birds are simply Gadwalls reduced to about two-thirds normal size. The plumage too is rather dull and somewhat unfinished-looking. Washington Island is a marshy place only a few miles long, with a small brackich lake near the centre and a fringe of palms. Since he original pair of birds were discovered, several expeditions have stopped at the island, but no one has ever seen Coues’ Gadwall again. Speculation is perhaps unprofitable, but sometimes it is irresistible. I often like to wonder how these birds ever came to Washington Island. It is my guess, for what it is worth, that these two specimens represent the last of a very small inbred breeding population of true Gadwalls which by an accident of migration had become established on the island. I suspect that their size and coloration are due to environment and inbreeding rather than to any genetic change.“ [4]
This account summarizes quite well what’s known about this bird.
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Then there are some strange accounts, or rather misinterpretations of accounts, let’s start with one that is rather less known, and speaks of the occurence of a form of gadwall on the Society Islands.:
“Forster met with a species of Gadwall on the Society Islands and identified it with A. strepera Linn. It is much more likely that is was C. couesi, for the range of that species doubtless extends beyond Washington Island, the only locality as yet known for it.” [2]
I read this original account by J. R. Forster, which is completely in Latin, and which merely is a enumeration of species, the duck is mentioned here just as “Anatem streperam“, that’s all, and this account almost for sure refers to the Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa Gmelin), which occurs on the Society Islands, and which is not separately mentioned here … and in fact, Forster mentiones “Anas strepera” again in an enumeration of birds he describes from New Zealand, this also clearly refers to the Pacific Black Duck! [1]
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Then there’s another account in a German book, which again is refering to an account in James C. Greenway’S “Extinct and vanishing birds of the world” from the 1960s.:
“Interessant ist eine weitere Bemerkung desselben Autors, wonach nach Angaben von Ripley ein auf den Tuamotu-Inseln gefundenes Entenkücken sich bei Erreichen der Geschlechtsreife als Schnatterente herausstellte.”
translation:
“Interesting is another comment of the same author [J. C. Greenway], based on which according to Ripley a duckling found on the Tuamotu islands, when reaching maturity, turned out to be a gadwall.” [6]
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Okay … after purchasing J. C. Greenway’s book, which took me ages again, I can now proudly present you this abovementioned account by the ominous Ripley.:
“But, on the other hand, Dr. S. Dillon Ripley tells me that a duckling taken on the Tuamotu Islands was raised by Charles Nordhoff at Tahiti. When it reached maturity it turned out to be a gadwall.” [5]
That’s all, we actually deal with hearsay, an account of an account of someone who claimes to have caught a duckling on one of the Tuamotu Islands (these are actually the largest island group in the world consisting of no less than 76 atolls, just by the way ….) without naming the island in question.
However, given the geographic position of Washington Island/Teraina, a former occurence of this bird on the Tuamotu Archipelago makes much more sense than on the Society Islands.
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But now let’s take a look on what these two persons, Dr. S. Dillon Ripley and Charles Nordhoff, have to tell; we start with Mr. Ripley …:
“It sometimes happens that migrating Ducks plummet down on to isolated islands in the Pacific. Mr. Charles Nordhoff told me once that a schooner captain inbound to Tahiti from Flint island, an isolated rock pinnacle three hundred miles or more north towards Hawaii from the Society Islands, brought him a duckling which he had picked up on the island. Mr. Nordhoff was able to raise the bird, and found that it was a Pintail, presumably from wild parents. If Pintails can fly so far south of Hawaii where they are in the habit of wintering, there seems no reason why Gadwalls should not be able to do the same thing.” [4]
… and go on with Mr. Nordhoff.:
“In his article in the Waterfowl number of the AVICULTURAL MAGAZINE, Dillon Ripley mentions a duckling I received some years ago from Flint Island, which when reared proved to be a fine male Pintail. I believe that a good many stray Ducks from the Northern Hemisphere land on the Pacific Islands, and occasionally, as Ripley suggests in the case of Coues’ Gadwall, give rise to a sedentary and eventually inbred race. I have reliable information that Shovelers in winter plumage have vistited both the Marquesas and the Tuamotu on several occasions, and that Pintail have been seen on Atiu in the Cook Group, south-west of Tahiti.” [3]
Well, well, so the Tuamotu Islands suddenly has changed into Flint Island, which in fact is not a part of the Tuamotu Archipelago but of Kiribati – and – the duckling that was supposed to turn out being a Gadwall was in fact a Pintail (Anas acuta L.), a completely different species of duck!
After all, we are left with probably more questions than answers.
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References:
[1] Johann Reinhold Forster; Hinrich Lichtenstein: Descriptiones animalium quae in itinere ad Maris Australis terras per annos 1772, 1773 et 1774 suscepto. Berolini: Ex Officina Academica 1844 [2] Lionel K. Wiglesworth: Aves polynesiae: a catalogue of the birds of the Polynesian subregion (not including the Sandwich Islands). Berlin: R. Friedlaender & Sohn 1891 In: Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königl. Zoologischen und Anthropologisch-Etnographischen Museums zu Dresden Bd. 3: 1-84. 1890/91. herausgegeben von Hofrath Dr. A. B. Meyer, Director des Museums [3] Charles Nordhoff: Notes on the birds of Tahiti. The Avicultural Magazine ser. 5. 8(5): 119-120. 1943 [4] Dillon Ripley: Pacific Waterfowl. The Avicultural Magazine ser. 5. 8(3): 67-70. 1943 [5] James C. Greenway, Jr: Extinct and vanishing birds of the world. Dover Publications, 2nd Edition 1967 [6] Dieter Luther: Die ausgestorbenen Vögel der Welt. Westarp Wissenschaften 1986
While researching some accounts reffering to the Washington Island Gadwall (Mareca strepera ssp. couesi Streets), I stumbled accros a footnote that made me wonder … a bit at least.:
“The native birds of Tahiti are in a sad state; the Porphyrio is extinct, as is the small grey, Thrush-like Omaomao [Tahiti Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus caffer (Sparrman))], famous for its beautiful song, and the magnificent large Fruit Pigeon [Polynesian Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula aurorae (Peale))], of which a few existed as late as 1920.” [1]
Well, aside the fact that the name “Omaomao” is rather applied to the Garrett’s Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus musae ssp. garretti (Holyoak & Thibault)), the Tahiti Reed-Warbler is still alive.
What amazes me is that the author mentiones the term “Porphyrio” in a absolutely casual way, and this certain author, Charles Nordhoff, knew what a Porphyrio is, he kept six New Zealand Swamphens (Porphyrio melanotus (Temminck)) in the garden of his house while living on the island of Tahiti.
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There is furthermore a painting by Paul Gaugin, made in 1897 during a stay on Tahiti, it is called “Vairumati” (see below) and shows a female islander sitting on a chair and to her left a strange-looking white bird that very much reminds on a swamphen.
I personally do not think that Gaugin painted a real bird here because the same bird appears in several of his paintings, always in the same pose, differing only in the coloration.
***
It nevertheless is almost certain that a swamphen species once inhabited the island of Tahiti, and that additional species inhabited all of the other Society islands, however, the only true evidence for that assumption are the subfossil remains of McNab’s Swamphen (Porphyrio mcnabi Kirchman & Steadman) found on the island of Huahine.
I only somehow doubt that this Tahiti Swamphen disappeared only around the 1940s … but, who knows.
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References:
[1] Charles Nordhoff: Notes on the birds of Tahiti. The Avicultural Magazine ser. 5. 8(5): 119-120. 1943
Auf den ersten Blick sieht dieser Vogel wie ein typischer Strahlenparadiesvogel aus, der einen glänzenden Brustschild und längliche, fadenförmige Hinterhaupt’fähnchen’ trägt. Er hatte jedoch nur zwei von ihnen anstelle der üblichen sechs, so dass sein Trivialname eigentlich eher Duivenbodes zweistrahliger Strahlenparadiesvogel sein sollte.
Die Form ist anhand von zwei männlichen Exemplaren bekannt und wurde als Hybrid des Kragenparadiesvogel (Lophorina superba (J. R. Forst.)) und des Arfak-Strahlenparadiesvogel (Parotia sefilata (Pennant)) identifiziert.
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Quelle:
[1] Clifford B. Frith; Bruce M. Beehler: The Birds of Paradise: Paradisaeidae. Oxford University Press 1998
Nun ja, viele – laut einer neuen Studie (deren Fertigstellung offenbar etwa 40 Jahre gedauert hat!!!).
Die Tapaculos der Gattung Scytalopus sind durchweg kleine, meist gräulich gefärbte, unauffällige Vögel mit schlechten Flugfähigkeiten, die im dichten Unterholz der Andenwälder im Südwesten Südamerikas leben (einige Arten kommen nördlicher vor).
Der Magellantapaculo (Scytalopus magellanicus (J. F. Gmelin)) (siehe Abbildung unten) ist einer von ihnen und Teil eines Komplexes, der seinen Namen teilt, dem Scytalopus [magellanicus]-Komplex, der wiederum mehrere Arten umfasst, von denen einige erst vor kurzem entdeckt und beschrieben worden.
Nun, dieser Komplex ist jetzt noch artenreicher geworden, mit der Beschreibung von drei völlig neuen Arten, die sich von anderen unterscheiden: dem Jalcatapaculo (Scytalopus frankeae), dem Weißflügeltapaculo (Scytalopus krabbei) und dem Ampaytapaculo (Scytalopus whitneyi), sowie einer Unterart (die selbst erst 2010 beschrieben wurde), die in den Artrang erhoben wurde, dem Lojatapaculo (Scytalopus androstictus). [1]
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Quelle:
[1] Niels K. Krabbe; Thomas S. Schulenberg; Peter A. Hosner; Kenneth V. Rosenberg; Tristan J. Davis; Gary H. Rosenberg; Daniel F. Lane; Michael J. Andersen; Mark B. Robbins; Carlos Daniel Cadena; Thomas Valqui; Jessie F. Salter; Andrew J. Spencer; Fernando Angulo; Jon Fjeldså: Untangling cryptic diversity in the High Andes: Revision of the Scytalopus [magellanicus] complex (Rhinocryptidae) in Peru reveals three new species. The Auk 137: 1-26. 2020
Ein gut erhaltener, mumifizierter Vogelleichnam, der im sibirischen Permafrostboden gefunden wurde, wurde als Ohrenlerche (Eremophila alpestris (L.)) identifiziert, der Körper wurde nun weiter untersucht, und die Ergebnisse sind erstaunlich.
Die Radiokarbondatierung des gefrorenen Körpers ergab ein Alter von 43600 bis 41600 Jahren, das bedeutet, er stammt aus der letzten Eiszeit innerhalb des Oberpleistozäns (als Wollhaarmammuts überall auf der Nordhalbkugel häufig und weitverbreitet waren).
Die DNA des Vogels wurde ebenfalls überprüft und es wurde festgestellt, dass es sich um eine Ohrenlerche handelt, allerdings konnte das gefrorene Exemplar keiner der bekannten Unterarten zugeordnet werden. Es scheint hingegen der direkte Vorfahr zweier noch existierenden Formen zu sein, nämlich der Steppenlerche (Eremophila alpestris ssp. brandti (Dresser)) und der Uferlerche (Eremophila alpestris ssp. flava (J. F. Gmelin)) (siehe Foto), die sich aufgrund der Veränderungen der Umweltbedingungen während des Übergangs vom Pleistozän zum Holozän zu eigenständigen Unterarten aufspalteten. [1]
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Quelle:
[1] Nicolas Dussex; David W. G. Stanton; Hanna Sigeman; Per G. P. Ericson; Jacquelyn Gill; Daniel C. Fisher; Albert V. Protopopov; Victoria L. Herridge; Valery Plotnikov; Bengt Hansson; Love Dalén: Article Open Access Published: 21 February 2020 Biomolecular analyses reveal the age, sex and species identity of a near-intact Pleistocene bird carcass. Communications Biology 3: 1-6. 2020
Dies könnte der erste Teil einer kleinen Serie sein ….
Le Nébuleux oder der Nebulöse ist nur anhand zweier Gemälde von Jacques Barraband in François Le Vaillants “Histoire naturelle des Oiseaux de Paradis et des Rolliers” aus dem Jahr 1806 bekannt, die sehr wahrscheinlich ein einzelnes Exemplar in zwei verschiedenen Positionen zeigen. Es ist bekannt, dass Jacques Barraband absolut genau war, daher muss der von ihm dargestellte Vogel existiert haben und tatsächlich exakt wie in seinen Darstellungen ausgesehen haben.
Das Exemplar ist ganz klar ein Fadenhopf (Seleucidis melanoleuca (Daudin)), jedoch mit nur neun (oder zehn?) Anstelle von zwölf ‘Fäden’ und mit einer schwarz- statt gelb gefärbten Unterseite; seine weibchenähnlich braun gefärbten Flügel weisen darauf hin, dass es sich um einen subadulten Vogel handelte. [2]
Der Nebulöse könnte derselbe gewesen sein wie Bruijns Reifelvogel (Craspedophora bruyni Büttikofer) alias Mantous Reifelvogel (Craspedophora mantoui Oustalet), welche beide Hybriden des Prachtparadiesvogels (Ptiloris magnificus Vieillot) und des Fadenhopfes sind. [2]
Diese Form wurde nie wissenschaftlich beschrieben und trägt daher auch keinen wissenschaftlichen Namen.
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Quellen:
[1] François Le Vaillant: Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis et des rolliers: suivie de celle des toucans et des barbus. Paris: Chez Denné le jeune, Libraire, rue Vivienne, n°. 10. & Perlet, Libraire, rue de Tournon 1806 [2] Clifford B. Frith; Bruce M. Beehler: The Birds of Paradise: Paradisaeidae. Oxford University Press 1998
This is actually a undetermined cardinal, a member of the family Cardinalidae and thus not a real finch in the general sense … I need a picture of such a ‘thing’ for something I plan to write about, but I don’t want to say anything further now.