HI friends,
I just happened to be browsing through Coates and Bishop’s A Guide to the Birds of Wallacea. Under Masked Lapwing V.miles (p.286) they state: “In the recent literature, the well differentiated forms miles and novaehollandiae are treated as races of a a single species because they hybridise in at least two areas where they meet in E.Australia. However, there seems to be little evidence of intergradation and they may best be considered separate species,as formerly Masked Lapwing and Spur-winged Lapwing.” I have checked HANZAB on the question of intermediates, and they state on page 956 of Vol.2 that intermediates are known from Townsville but only miles occurs in Cairns and only novaehollandiae occurs in Mackay. So we may be looking at a narrow zone of intergradation. And according to modern views of the significance of an area of intergradation, a narrow zone of intergradation is thought to constitute evidence of two distinct species. This is particularly true if large numbers of pairs breeding “true” occur in the zone of intergradation. Also I can see nothing in the page of to what extent taxa breed true around Townsville and to what extent they interbreed. The other area of intergradation is supposed to be the Lake Eyre catchment area. The South Australian Museum holds many intermediates, but it is not known how much Shane Parker might have been biassed in his collecting.
Do any of you have any opinion on either the Townsville or the Lake Eyre situation?
Dr John Penhallurick
86 Bingley Cres
Fraser A.C.T. 2615
Australia
email:jpenhall@bigpond.net.au
Phone: Home (612) 62585428
Mobile:0408585426
Please visit my website:http://www.worldbirdinfo.net
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Comments
One response to “Vanellus miles”
G’day John
I can confirm that in Cairns we get both races, although the southern race novaehollandiae occurs here rather rarely, compared to the abundant race miles.
There are many more individuals seen here displaying traits of both races, than typical pure novaehollandiae, but the odd pure bird does occur rarely. The ‘mixed’ birds seen here are intermediate in size, have intermediate (yet varying) amounts of black extending down the neck, & have intermediate wattle shape/size. These mixed birds are very uncommon when compared to the abundant pure miles.
I haven’t yet witnessed here any breeding between pure individuals of each race, but we sometimes see one member of a breeding pair being a mixed bird, with the other being a pure miles. Also, I have had no observations here of pure novaehollandiae displaying any breeding activity.
I think it would be fair to say that Cairns would be within the zone of intergradation of these 2 races. Due here to the scarcity of pure novaehollandiae & the abundance of pure miles, along with uncommon occurance of mixed birds, you would imagine that we are close to the extreme of the intergradation zone. Perhaps the pure southern birds may only be present here as rare visitors, but there are certainly small numbers of resident mixed birds breeding here with resident pure miles.
Cheers
Martin Cachard Cairns 0428 782 808
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