The BOU Record Committee’s (BOURC) 35th Report has recently been published and includes the following changes to the British List: rejection of first British records of Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri and Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius; addition of Long-billed Murrelet Brachyramphus perdix and Chestnut-eared Bunting Emberiza fucata fucata to Category A; removal of the White-headed Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava leucocephala.
A new category is to be set-up, Category F, which will include species known to have occurred in Britain before 1800 (before the period for Category B species). As this will go well back into pre-history, and include fossil records, a new sub-committee has been set up and this will assess the evidence and publish a history of occurrences. The period covered will be from c700,000BP to 1800AD.
A new table of British bird names can be found on the BOU website, that lists not only the BOU’s accepted English names, but also those of the International Ornithological Congree, together with scientific names. An interesting addition is the English and scientific names that were used in 1923 List of British Birds, published by the BOU. The changes are substantial, not least the removal of a lot of hyphens!!
The full report can viewed online here
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