Hi friends,
Can anyone give me information about Vanellus miles around Lake Eyre.Coates and Bishop,The Birds of Wallacea,say under V.miles:” In the recent literature, the well differentiated forms miles and novaehollandiae are treated as races of a single species because they hybridise in at least two areas where they meet in E. Australia. In the past, they were treated as two good species Masked Lapwing V. miles and Spur-winged Lapwing V.novaehollandiae.
In Peters’ time, any evidence of hybridisation was taken as evidence of conspecifity. But thinking about this has changed. Now we need to take into account whether the zone of overlap is broad or narrow
And also what kinds of birds are evident in the zone. Are most of the birds breeding true with only a minority of hybrids?
The two zones of hybridisation are 1) around Cairns. Information kindly supplied by Martin Cachard suggests to me that the situation there supports viewing them as two species.But I have not received any information about the the other supposed zone of hybridisation 2) in the Lake Eyre Basin. The South Australian Museum holds many hybrids from that area, all collected by Shane Parker. But it could be that Shane was more intrested in the presence of hybrids than the larger questions.
Any information gratefully received.
Dr John Penhallurick
86 Bingley Cres
Fraser A.C.T. 2615
Australia
email:jpenhall@bigpond.net.au
Phone: Home (612) 62585428
Mobile:0408585426
sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt Aeneid Book 1,line 462 “The world is a world of tears, and the burdens of mortality touch the heart.”
Magna est veritas et praevilabit Vulgate, Book of Edras
Si vis pacem para bellum Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publius_Flavius_Vegetius_Renatus ‘s De Re http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Re_Militari Militari, book 3
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Please also visit my blog at http://jpenhall.wordpress.com/2011/04/02/proof-that-there-is-not-a-scrap-of- evidence-in-favour-of-the-ipccs-attack-on-carbon-dioxide/
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