species formerly on the Scottish List

The following draft list contains species that have appeared on previous 'Scottish Lists' (eg Witherby et al, 1940, Baxter & Rintoul, 1953 and Thom, 1986), but which are currently considered unacceptable. The decisions are those made by the BOURC.

Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber

Witherby et al (1940) and Baxter & Rintoul (1953) list the following as possibly being truly wild birds:

The species is now on Category D of the British List (BOU 1971), but not on the basis of these records.

Baikal Teal Anas formosa

Baikal Teal was moved from Category D to Category A in 1984. However, in 1993, BOURC re-examined 10 British records, including those listed above. The 1958 and 1973 records were accepted, but it was conisdered that the possibilty of escapes from captivity could not be excluded and those records were placed on Category D (Ibis 135: 495). The 1954 record was amongst those considered to be unproven or not acceptable.

Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus

This record was rediscovered in 1951 (Scot. Nat., 1951: 196-197), and was only included in Appendix in Baxter & Rintoul's The Birds of Scotland (1953). The record appears to have been reassessed (?by BOURC) c.1970 and is not included in BOU (1971) or any subsequent publication. Indeed, the species is no longer on the British List (2000).

Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga

Phillips (1997) includes this record in his Rare and Scarce Birds in North East Scotland: "One is said to have been shot in Aberdeenshire on 20th September 1861 by the then Speaker of the House of Commons. Baxter and Rintoul (1953) investigated this occurrence and concluded that the specimen was in the City Museum, Leeds. The bird was unfortunately unlabelled. However, a note appeared in the appendix of the Phil. and Lit. Soc. Annual Report (of Leeds) in 1880-1881, referring to this bird as part of a collection acquired on loan at that time from S.W. Milner. Further investigation found that, unfortunately, the bulk of the collection was destroyed by a bomb in May 1941 and the specimen was lost at that time (A. Norris, Assistant Curator, Leeds City Museum, pers. comm.)."

The record was placed in square brackets by Baxter and Rintoul (1953) and described as a 'probable' in BOU (1971). SBRC (1996) did not include the record on 'The Scottish List'.

Eurasian Eagle Owl Bubo bubo

The following records are amongst those listed by Baxter & Rintoul (1953) and Thom (1986):

In 1996, BOURC made the following announcement: (Ibis 139: 197-201, see also Brit. Birds 90: 71): "An extensive review revealed around 90 reports of this species since 1684. Eagle Owl has been known in captivity in this country since at least the 17th century. After careful consideration, the Committee concluded unanimously that many of the descriptions (where available) were not adequate to allow the unequivocal elimination of alternative species. Of those where the identification as Eagle Owl was accepted by the Committee, members were equally united in believing that the possibility of escapes, releases and confusion over the provenance of skins could not be dismissed. There is no evidence that this species has occurred in the wild state in Britain and Ireland for over 200 years, and the species is therefore removed from Category B of the British and Irish List."

As a result, Eagle Owl was removed from the Scottish List.

Black Wheatear Oenanthe leucura

These two records of O. leucura remained unquestioned until the 1980s, when the possibility of confusion with White-crowned Black Wheatear O. leucopyga, previously not considered a feasible vagrant to UK, was raised. A review by BOU in 1993 found no British records to be acceptable (Ibis 135: 496).

As a result, Black Wheatear was removed from the Scottish List.

Spectacled Warbler Sylvia conspicillata

The above record was accepted from 1980 to 1991 and was included by Thom (1986). Following the re-assessment of English records from 1968 and 1969, the Fair Isle record became a potential first for Britain and was reassessed on this basis. Unfortunately, BBRC and BOURC considered that the record was not sufficiently watertight for a British first and it was rejected. See Brit. Birds 83: 482, 84: 431, Ibis 133: 219-223 for further discussion on this scenario.

As a result, Spectacled Warbler was removed from the Scottish List.

Red-headed Bunting Emberiza bruniceps

The above record was accepted by Witherby et al. (1940) and Baxter & Rintoul (1953), but removed from the British List along with all other records in 1968 (Brit. Birds 61: 41-43; BOU, 1971).