Pacific Diver - first for Western Palearctic

02 February 2007

News of an apparent Pacific Diver Gavia pacifica at Farnham Gravel Pits, near Knaresborough in Yorkshire, broke on 29 January 2007, although the bird had apparently been present for about two weeks by this stage.

Pacific Diver has, in the past, been considered a subspecies of Black-throated Diver, but the two species have been split by the American Ornithologists' Union. The two forms are known to coexist without hybridising in some areas.

For the time being, BUBO Listing will treat Pacific Diver as an acceptable provisional species for lists of all authorities. Should the record not be accepted by any at a later stage, relevant records will then be deleted from lists.