Rare birds in Slovenia in 2015 – Slovenian Rarities Committee’s Report

Summary This report by the Slovenian Rarities Committee presents records of rare bird species in Slovenia in 2015, with some addenda for previous years. The numbers in brackets refer to the number of records (first number) and individuals (second number) recorded between 1 Jan 1950 and 31 Dec 2014. Since 1 Jan 2013, submission to the Committee has been required for 37 additional species, 17 of which are regional rarities. Records of these species are not numbered, since records from previous years were not collected by the Committee. One new species, the Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti, was added to category A. Other notable observations were the first record of Parrot Crossbill Loxia pytyopsittacus after 1909, the second record of Baillon’s Crake Zapornia pusilla, the third and fourth records of Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra, the fourth of Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus, the fifth of Richard’s Pipit Anthus richardi and the sixth of Grey Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius. Four species were added to category E: Bahama Pintail Anas bahamensis, Rosy-billed Pochard Netta peposaca, Harris’s Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus and Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria. The list of birds recorded in Slovenia (as of 31 Dec 2015) contains 386 species (371 in category A, 6 in category B, 9 exclusively in category C; 4 species are both in categories A and C). Category D contains 6 species, while category E contains 38, two of which are classified into subcategory E*. These two categories are not part of the list.