Cox's sandpiper
Cox's sandpiper | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Scolopacidae |
Genus: | Calidris |
Species: | |
Synonyms | |
Calidris paramelanotos Parker, 1982 |
Cox's sandpiper is a
Discovery and naming
The first Cox's sandpiper was recorded in Australia in 1955. Observers initially identified the birds as
Following Parker's description, the view that these birds represented a good species (as opposed to aberrant individuals or hybrids) gained some ground; the "species" was listed in the Shorebirds volume of the Helm Identification Guides,[4] for example, although with a note indicating that the possibility of hybrid origin could not be ruled out.
Appearance
Cox's sandpipers are similar in size and shape to pectoral sandpipers and sharp-tailed sandpipers (Calidris acuminata). The bill is fairly long, blackish and slightly drooping, sometimes with a yellowish base; the legs are dull brownish-green in colour. The birds' wings at rest extend just slightly beyond the tail.[4]
Cox's sandpiper has never been observed in breeding plumage. All mature specimens that have been observed have been in non-breeding plumage, although some have started to acquire a few breeding-plumage feathers. In non-breeding plumage, birds are brown-grey above and white below, with a brown-grey breast-band and no flank-streaks. When hints of a breeding plumage are acquired, a rusty tinge develops on the breast and ear-coverts, some flank streaks appear, and on the upper parts the non-breeding-plumaged feathers are replaced by feathers with black centres, grey tips and buff or pale chestnut fringes.
Juvenile Cox's sandpipers are known from only two individuals, one from Massachusetts[2][5][6][7] and one from Japan,[8] both believed to be Cox's sandpiper based on their morphology, but not identified with certainty. These birds closely resembled juvenile pectoral sandpipers, but without a well-demarcated breast-band (although the Japanese bird showed strong streaking on the breast-sides). In this plumage, the birds also showed large amounts of white on the uppertail-coverts.
Subsequent (and earlier) records
The original specimen of "Cooper's" sandpiper
Cooper's sandpiper, "Calidris" × cooperi, was described (as Tringa cooperi) by Spencer Fullerton Baird in 1858 based on a specimen collected on Long Island, New York, in May 1833 and deposited at the American Museum of Natural History. It was named after the conchologist William Cooper, who collected the bird.
When John Cox examined slides of the specimen in February 1988, he found a number of features in common with the Australian birds. The birds appeared to be of the same size and structure, with several plumage features in common including a heavily streaked head and neck with a rusty wash, a split supercilium, and identically-patterned upperparts feathers.[clarification needed] Although the bill of the Cooper's specimen was straight (compared to the drooping bill of Cox's), it was suggested that this could be due to damage and distortion.[9] The birds do differ insofar as that the Cooper's specimen has a spotted, not streaked, breast. This could be accounted for by the plumage stage, given the differences in the times of year when the specimens were collected; also, some of the Cox's sandpipers seen in Australia have had similar underparts markings to the Cooper's specimen.[clarification needed] Nonetheless, those that have directly compared the Cooper's and Cox's sandpipers feel that they are not identical.[2][10]
Pattern of records in Australia
Most records to date have come from the more heavily populated south and south-east of Australia.[9]
Records outside Australia
A mysterious juvenile Calidris sandpiper was encountered on
In late August, 2001, another juvenile Calidris showing features of both pectoral and curlew sandpipers was found at Shintone, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. An account of this bird, illustrated with photographs, was published in the British journal Birding World.[8] This bird was believed to be another juvenile "Cox's sandpiper".
The mystery solved
The birds were conclusively shown to be hybrids by Christidis et al. (1996).
See also
References
- .
- ^ a b c d Buckley, P. A. (1988). "The World's first known juvenile Cox's Sandpiper" (PDF). British Birds. 81 (6): 253–257. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ Parker, Shane A. (1982). "A new sandpiper of the genus Calidris". South Australian Naturalist. 56: 63.
- ^ ISBN 0-7470-1403-5.
- ^ Twitching. 1: 311–312.
- ^ a b Kasprzyk, M. J.; Forster, R. A.; Harrington, B. A. (1987). "First Northern Hemisphere record and first juvenile plumage description of the Cox's Sandpiper (Calidris paramelanotos)" (PDF). American Birds. 41 (5): 1359–1364.
- ^ a b Vickery, P. D.; Finch, D. W.; P. K. Donahue (1987). "Juvenile Cox's Sandpiper (Calidris paramelanotos) in Massachusetts, a first New World occurrence and a hitherto undescribed plumage" (PDF). American Birds. 41: 1366–1369.
- ^ a b Ujihara, Michiaki (2002). "An apparent juvenile Cox's Sandpiper in Japan". Birding World. 15 (8): 346–347.
- ^ a b Cox, John B. (1988). "Cox's, Cooper's or hybrids?". Birding World. 1: 238–239.
- ^ Cox, John B. (1990). "The enigmatic Cooper's and Cox's Sandpiper". Dutch Birding. 12: 53–64.
- JSTOR 1369559.
External links
- Juvenile Calidris Hybrid ? Photos of the 2001 Shintone specimen.