British Birds » Main articles: From the Rarities Committee’s files: Rare subspecies in Britain

By Andy Stoddart, on behalf of BBRC Abstract This paper updates BBRC's approach to the recording of rare subspecies in Britain. Building on the work of Kehoe (2006), it summarises the history of BBRC's treatment of rare subspecies, reports on developments since 2006, introduces an updated suite of subspecies accounts on the BBRC website (www.bbrc.org.uk) and sets out the Committee's approach to evidence requirements and publication. Also provided is a new list of subspecies considered and some proposed indicative evidence requirements for each. To read this article and each current issue in full, you can subscribe to BB here Male 'Spanish Wagtail' Motacilla flava iberiae, Portugal, April 2006. Yellow Wagtail of the subspecies iberiae, which breeds in southern France, Iberia and northwest Africa, is not yet on the British List but it is a potential vagrant and its occurrence has been suspected. Only males are likely to be identifiable, however. Observers of a possible male iberiae should focus on the precise supercilium, ear-covert/eye-ring and throat patterns and, crucially, the call. It is, however, a somewhat variable subspecies and needs to be distinguished from white-throated first-summer male nominate flava ('Blue-headed Wagtail') and from the not infrequent intergrades both with this subspecies and with the Italian subspecies cinereocapilla ('Ashy-headed Wagtail'). Intergrades with the latter are particularly frequent (resulting in birds with reduced supercilia) and acceptance as 'iberiae/cinereocapilla' might be most appropriate in such cases. Indeed, these two subspecies are included by some authors within a potential new species, 'White-throated Wagtail' M. cinereocapilla. Pic by Dave Appleton The post From the Rarities Committee’s files: Rare subspecies in Britain appeared first on British Birds.