Abstract

A putative specimen of a Great Shearwater Ardenna gravis from Hampshire, dated 1878, was located at Leicester Museums & Galleries. On examination, it was found to be a male Scopoli’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea. If shown to have a wild origin, the specimen would potentially represent the first British record of the taxon, which is an extremely rare vagrant to Britain. Although the identification was confirmed, a critical consideration of the provenance of the specimen cast some doubts about its origin. We therefore suggest that the record does not have the credentials for consideration as a first for Britain. This paper describes the processes that led to this conclusion.IntroductionWhile undertaking research for his book, Rare Birds of Hampshire (Clark 2022), JMC noted in Kelsall & Munn (1905) a reference to two Great Shearwater Ardenna gravis specimens from the Hart Collection, reportedly collected in 1878 and 1894, in the vicinity of Christchurch, Dorset (formerly Hampshire). The Hart Collection was transferred to the Leicester Museums & Galleries (LMG) in 1950 for restoration. Given the potential significance of these county records (there are no modern observations of Great Shearwater in Hampshire), JMC sought further information and photographs of the specimens. Only one specimen was extant, labelled as a male collected on 29th May 1878. The photographs that were sent to JMC strongly suggested the bird was not a Great Shearwater but instead was likely a Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris borealis, another species recorded only rarely in Hampshire (Clark & Eyre 1993; Clark 2022). This discovery prompted JMC and MPM to visit LMG to examine the specimen in person and to scrutinise relevant associated documentation in the Hart Collection catalogue. The catalogue revealed that two specimens, a male and a female, had been shot by Hart between the Shingles, Hampshire, and the Needles, Isle of Wight. Contra the information given in Kelsall & Munn (1905), the Hart Collection catalogue stated that both of these birds were shot on 29th May 1878, and there was no relevant entry for any birds in 1894. The two birds had originally been cased as mounted specimens but the specimen of the female had deteriorated over time and, in 1959, was destroyed. At the same time, the male was ‘relaxed’ and reset as a study skin.