I just got the excellent new Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago Field Guide by James Eaton et al, and it is quite piece of work, I am still processing all the many taxonomic changes, this is drongo and fantail central!
The ever-vexatious English names are noteworthy too, I was very pleased to see the reappearance of old favourites Satanic Nightjar and Invisible Rail, which got written out of history a while back for unknown reasons / some checklist compiler didn’t approve of them, and Wallace’s Standardwing reappears after long absence, as indeed it will appear in my own Birds of Paradise and Bowerbirds title.
There are a couple of interesting choices too, notably the use of Monarch for Myiagra Flycatchers, so we would have Leaden Monarch and Satin Monarch. I know they are Monarch-Flycatchers but remain unconvinced by the change. The one that made me smile though was to discover I’d seen Willy Fantail, a bridge too far if ever there was one surely?
Phil Gregory
oreornis@gmail.com
ornithological writer/tour leader/tour facilitator
Email: info@s2travel.com.au
Website1: www.sicklebillsafaris.com
Website 2: www.cassowary-house.com.au
Website 3: www.cassowarytours.com.au
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