Return of the Plumed Egret

[Tony Russell <>]

so what conclusions can be drawn following this chat. I'm afraid it largely leaves me totally confuzzed.  I've certainly claimed intermediate along with other people in SA over the years , not frequently but in a number of locations. 

On Tue, 31 Oct 2023 at 20:19, Russell Woodford <> wrote:

Just checking my calendar ... nope. It's not April. 

On Sun, 29 Oct 2023 at 15:48, Martin Butterfield <m("gmail.com","martinflab");" target="_blank">> wrote:

As the eBird update also includes a new species "Supertramp Fantail" I can only conclude that, even more than usual, the taxonomists are having a lend of us.

Martin Butterfield

http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/

https://mallacootaweatherwildlife.blogspot.com/

On Sun, 29 Oct 2023 at 13:31, Geoffrey Dabb <m("iinet.net.au","gdabb");" target="_blank">> wrote:

It was in 2014 that Birdlife International resurrected Gould’s Plumed Egret.  This was followed five years later by Birdlife Australia in its WLAB v.3.  According to the theory behind that, you only (or just about only) find Intermediate Egrets to Australia’s north. I know from bird hide conversations that this particular taxonomic update has been a surprisingly difficult pill to swallow. Even Birdlife Australia has difficulty with it.  The Intermediate Egret A. intermedia is offered for ticking in the recent Aussie Bird Count. Australian Faunal Directory is also slow or unpersuaded.  However, now that eBird and its associated taxonomy (Cornell Lab BoW)  have accepted the return of plumifera the tide has surely turned, and I’d expect other lists to follow.

 

The real Intermediate Egret is listed as vagrant to Australia, but just how difficult will it be to add to your Australian list, maybe even retrospectively?  It seems you’ll need to pay particular attention to those vaguely distinguishable bare parts. There is an intermedia/plumifera record for Christmas Island that will be due for revisiting, so check your diary or photo album for medium-sized egrets seen there. I see from the BARC archive that a claimed sighting of intermedia at Cairns in June 2019 is ‘under review’ (case number 1192).

 

Geoffrey

 

<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR>
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>

<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR>
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>

<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR>
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>

<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR> 
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>