Potential occurrence of the long-tailed Skua subspecies Stercorarius longicaudus pallescens in Scotland

• Main Authors: McInerney, C J, McGowan, R Y
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Scottish Ornithologists' Club 2017
• Subjects: AS Academies and learned societies (General); DA Great Britain; DK Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics; QL Zoology; Long-tailed Skua; Stercorarius longicaudus
• Online Access: http://repository.nms.ac.uk/1927/; http://www.the-soc.org.uk/publications/the-clubs-journal/

Two Long-tailed Skuas Stercorarius longicaudus reported in Scotland, an adult male collected at Sule Skerry, Orkney in June 1908, and an adult observed at East Burra, Shetland over four summers during 2009-2012, showed features suggesting the east Siberian and Nearctic subspecies S. I. pallescens. If confirmed they would be the first two records of that subspecies for Scotland and the UK. At present, The British Birds Rarities Committee (BBRC) does not accept records of the subspecies in Britain without independent confirmation of their origin, such as a ringing recovery, as 'BBRC's research has not established criteria by which a vagrant could be identified' (BBRC 2016, Stoddart 2016). This note puts these observations on record pending future developments, so that they can be considered and, if accepted, added to the Scottish and British Lists.