'Salvin''s Albatross Thalassarche salvini on Gough Island, South Atlantic'

2009·1.2 MB·

by  Paul Visser

In flight, longpointedwings, shallowtail forkand considered to be probablyR.p. chinensis butwith
,
a gOrey-brown underwingO. the proviso that other races, notably R. p.paludi-
cola could not be ruled out. There are no other
:,
Firstacceptedrecord reports of this subspecies in the African region,
The record was accepted as the first Plain Martin nor anysouth ofthe equator.
R.paludicola for Seychelles by SBRC. To identify
the subspecies, members of SBRC checked the References
photograph and description against specimens at Carboneras, C. 1992. Family Anatidae (ducks, geese
The Natural History Museum, Tring. Nine sub- and swans). In del Hoyo,J., Elliott,A. & Sargatal,
speciesofPlainMartinarerecognised,sixofwhich J. (eds.) HandbookoftheBirdsofthe World. Vol. 1.
breed in mainlandAfrica, one in Madagascar and Barcelona: LynxEdicions.
two in southern Asia (Turner 2004). Of the Feare, C. J. 1979. Ecology of Bird Island. Atoll Res.
African subspecies, only the partial migrant R. p. Bull. 226: 1-29.
&
paludicola of eastern and southern Africa might Feare, C.J. High,J. 1977. Migrantshorebirdsinthe
be considered likely to reach Seychelles. The Seychelles. Ibis 119: 323-338.
&
Madagascar subspecies R. p. cowani is a potential Feare, C.J. Watson,J. 1984. Occurrenceofmigrant
vagrant to Seychelles. R. p. chinensis breeding birds in the Seychelles. In Stoddart, D. R. (ed.)
from Afghanistan east to Indochina an,d Taiwan Biogeography and Ecology ofthe Seychelles Islands.
is a migrant in the north of its range and also a The Hag&ue: DrW.JunkPublishers,
potential vagrant to Seychelles. van Gils,J. Wiersma, P. 1996. FamilyScolopacidae
The Seychelles bird closely resembled the (sandpipers, snipes and plover&s) species accounts.
Asian race R. p. chinensis, which has extensive HInanddebloHookyoo,fJt.h,eElBliiortdts, Ao.f theSaWrogartladl., JV.ol(.eds.3).
white underparts. R. p. cowani, which has all- Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
dark underparts, was easily eliminated. R. p. Turner, A. K. 2004. Family Hirundinidae (swal-
ptahlaundischoloawnhasinwhtihetephunodteorgpraarpths,, ebvuetnleisns etxhteenmsoisvte lChorwisstaien,dDm.arAt.ins()e.ds.I)nHdaenldHbooyook,oJf.,thEellBiiortdt,s Ao.ft&he
extreme examples held at Tring. However, given World. Vol. 9. Barcelona: LynxEdicions.
the degree of variability, it was considered that
it could not be ruled out entirely. SBRC noted POBox336, Victoria, Seychelles, orHazeleyBrook, Keele
that anAsian origin was probable given the influx Road, Keele, Staffs. ST5 5AL, UK. E-mail: adrian@
of Eurasian migrants to Seychelles at this same skerrettfsnet.co.uk
time, including unusually large numbers ofBlue- Received 13 April 2009; revision accepted 22 May
cheeked Bee-eaters, with which the Plain Martin 2009.
was associated. The Seychelles bird was therefore
Salvin’s Albatross Thalassarche salvini on Gough Island,
South Atlantic
Paul Vissef, HenkLouuf, RichardCuthberfandPeterRyanb
UnAlbatros deSalvin ThalassarchesalviniaPile de Gough,Atlantiquedusud. UnAlbatros
de Salvin Thalassarchesalviniadulte a ete observe a Pdchmond Hill, lie de Gough, le 21 octobre
2008. Ceci constitue la premiere mention pour l’Atlantique Sud central.
O
n 21 October 2008 an adult Salvin’s an incubating Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross T.
Albatross Thalassarche salvini was observed chlororhynchos. The bulk ofthe population of T.
at Richmond Hill, Gough Island, in the central salvini breeds on the Bounty and Snares, two of
South Atlantic (Figs. 1-2). It was loafing next to New Zealand’s subantarctic island groups, but a
ThreenewspeciesforSeychelles:Skerrett BullABCVol16No2(2009)-215
Figure 1. AdultSalvin’sAlbatross Thalassarche Figure2.AdultSalvin’sAlbatross Thalassarchesalvini,
salviniwithanAtlanticYellow-nosedAlbatross T. showingthediagnosticgreyheadanddarktip to the
chlororljynchos, Gough Island, SouthAtlantic, 21 October lowermandible, Gough Island, SouthAtlantic, 21
2008 (PaulVisser) October2008 (PaulVisser)
AlbatrosdeSalvin Thalassarchesalviniadulteavec un AlbatrosdeSalvin Thalassarchesalviniadulte, liede
Albatrosa beejaune T. chlororhynchos, liedeGough, Gough,Atlantiquedusud, 21 octobre2008 (Paul
Atlantiquedu sud, 21 octobre2008 (PaulVisser) Visser). Noterlatetegriseetlapointefonceedela
mandibuleinferieure, quisontdiagnostiques.
few pairs also nest on lie des Pingouins, in the References
Crozet archipelago, in the south-west Indian Arata, J. 2003. New record of Salvin’s Albatross
Ocean (Brooke 2004). Non-breeding birds typi- [Thalassarchesalvini) at the Diego RamirezIslands,
cally disperse from New Zealand across the South Chile. Notomis30: 169-171.
Pacific to thewestcoastofSouthAmerica (Brooke Brooke, M. 2004. Albatrosses and Petrels Across the
2004), with a few birds dispersing as far as the World. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress.
Drake Passageandsouth-westAtlantic, apparently Harrison, P. 1983. Seabirds: An Identification Guide.
after rounding Cape Horn (Tickell 2000). One Beckenham: Croom Helm.
was recentlyobservedashoreat the Diego Ramirez Hockey, P. A. R., Dean, W. R.J. & Ryan, P. G. (eds.)
Islands, south of Cape Horn (Arata 2003) and 2005. Roberts’ Birds ofSouthern Africa. Seventh
edn. Cape Town: Trustees of the John Voelcker
there is a recent record from the Patagonian Shelf
Bird Book Fund.
(Seco Pon etal. 2007). Contratoearlyreports (e.g.
Ryan, P. G. 2007.FieldGuidetotheAnimalsandPlants
Harrison 1983), it is a rare vagrant to southern ofTristan da Cunha and Gough Island. Newbury:
African waters, with only a few sightings from the
Pisces Publications.
SWaelsvtine’rsnAClabpaetr,osSsouitshpaArftriocaf(thHeocSkheyyAeltbaalt.r2o0s0s3)T.. SecoFiProstn,reJ.coPr.d, oWfeiSnaelvcikne’,s ABl.ba&troRsosbe(rTthsaolna,ssGar.ch2e00sa7l.-
cauta (sensu lato) species complex. ShyAlbatrosses vini) on the Patagonian Shelf. Notomis 54: 49-51.
occur occasionally in the waters offTristan (Ryan Tickell, W. L. N. 2000. Albatrosses. Robertsbridge:
2007), but this is the first record of a Salvin’s Pica Press.
Albatross for the central South Atlantic.
‘‘Royal Society for the Protection ofBirds, The Lodge,
Acknowledgements Sandy, Beds. SG192DL, UK. E-mails:paulvisser1984@
We thank the UK Overseas Territories Environment yahoo.com, [email protected]@
rspb.org.uk
Programme and the South African Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism (Directorate: hPercy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology,
Antarctica and Islands) for financial and logistical sup- University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South
port. Bill Bournecommented on a draft ofthis note. Africa. E-mail:peter,[email protected]
Received 4 November 2008; revision accepted 7 May
2009.
216-BullABCVol16No2(2009) SalvinsAlbatrosson GoughIsland: Visseretal.