The following seven new species were accepted into Category A by the Records Committee in 2015. They were added to the 2013 Checklist (385) making the total of 392 species for the 2015 Checklist. Many thanks to all who sent in their records for review.
Indian Pond Heron at Bidadari
- Indian Pond Heron Ardeola grayii: Joseph Tan shot this heron at Bidadari on the 11th April 2015 and did not think too much of this heron. Six days later, Er Bong Siong shot and posted it on his facebook and identified it as a Javan Pond Heron. Francis saw the post and immediately alerted everyone that an Indian Pond Heron was at Bidadari. He and others went the next day and found it at the open grass patch. This confirms an earlier record of another summer bird seen at Senoko on 20 Mar 1994 by Lim Kim Chuah and Lim Kim Seng which now constitutes the first record for Singapore. This record had been listed in Category D for wild species where possibility of escape or release cannot be excluded. (Link1)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk Jv. by Martii Simponen taken at Tuas.
2. Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus: an immature seen and photographed at Tuas on 14 Nov 2010 by Martti Siponen. He did not know that it was an Eurasian Sparrowhawk at the time until some friends of his saw it in his collection a few years later. We had several reports of this accipiter but the evidence presented was not sufficient for confirmation. An unconfirmed report of a female at MacRitchie Reservoir on 23 Jan 2001 had been listed in Category F for species regarded as doubtful due to possible of mis-identification.
Oriental Darter taken at Bukit Combak
3. Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster: One seen at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on 26 June 2006 by Graham Langley. There were also two subsequent records that were accepted, from Bukit Gombak, in August 2014 from Jean-Marc Chavatte, Lee Tiah Khee and Alan Owyong, and Pulau Ubin in July 2015 from Francis Yap. These are the second and third records for Singapore.
Northern Boobook at Tuas South. Photo by Low Choon How.
4. Northern Boobook Ninox japonica: a specimen in the LKC Museum mislabeled as Ninox scutulata and collected in Singapore in Nov 2000 is the first record for Singapore (Sadanandan et al 2015). There were five subsequent records in Oct 2013, Mar 2014, Nov 2014 and Nov 2015 (2 records) that are accepted as the 2nd to 6th records for Singapore. Alan Owyong, David Li and Low Choon How were the observers but it was Alison Wilson’s 23 March 2014 dead specimen’s DNA confirmation that put this difficult species on the Singapore List.
Narcisus Flycatcher, female, taken at Bidadari. Photo by Hio John.
5. Narcissus Flycatcher Ficedula narcissina: a female reported at Bidadari Cemetery on 2 Dec 2015 by Robin Tan, Alan Ng, Hio John and See Toh Yiew Wai.(Link5)
Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker taken in Panti. Photo by Jimmy Tan
6. Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker Prionochilus thoracicus: 1 seen on Pulau Ubin by Yong Yik Shih, Ng Chay Tuan and Elizabeth Rothwell.
Richard’s Pipit taken outside Singapore by Michelle and Peter Wong.
7. Richard’s Pipit Anthus richardi : One seen at Khatib on 19 Oct 2015 by Angus Lamont.
Reference: Lim Kim Seng. The Avifauna of Singapore 2009. Craig Robson. A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand and South-East Asia. Asia Books Ltd 2000. Text copied from Lim Kim Seng’s Records Committee Report 2015. Many thanks to Martii Siponen, Low Choon How, Hoi John, Jimmy Tan and Michelle and Peter Wong for the use of their photos.
Singapore Bird Group 