Changes to the British List (May 17)
18 May 2017
The British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (BOURC) has accepted the following to the British List
Siberian Accentor Prunella montanella
Mossy Hill, Scousburgh, Mainland, Shetland, 9-10 October 2016 (photographed).
The species is admitted to Category A of the British List.
Siberian Accentor, Shetland, October 2016 | Mike Pennington | CC-BY-SA-2.0 | geograph.org.uk
This was one of the most straightforward additions to the British List dealt with by BOURC, being accepted by the Committee after just two days of consideration. The description and excellent photographs confirmed identification. The species is a long-anticipated Siberian vagrant to Britain: this individual was part of an unparalleled invasion to north-western Europe in October and November 2016, when over 200 birds were recorded, with at least another 10 subsequently found in Britain.
Siberian Accentor breeds in the taiga zone across northern Russia, from north-east Europe east to Chukotka; wintering from north-east China to Korea.
It should be placed after Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris on the British List.
Further details of this decision will be published as part of the BOURC’s 47th report expected to be published in Ibis in October 2017. Upon publication of this decision, the British List stands at 606 species (Category A = 588; Category B = 8; Category C = 10).