Sylvia 46 / 2010

A 17th century record of the Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) from Bohemia

Nález tenkozobce opačného (Recurvirostra avosetta) v Čechách v 17. století

Jiří Mlíkovský

Department of Zoology, National Museum, Václavské náměstí 68, CZ-115 79 Praha 1; e-mail: [email protected]

Mlíkovský J. 2010: A 17th century record of the Pied Avosett (Recurvirostra avosetta) from Bohemia. Sylvia 46: 163–164.

Balbín (1679) described a bird, which was unknown to him, in details which allowed its iden­ tification as a Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta). The specimen was collected around 1670, probably at the Labe river near Litoměřice, northwestern Bohemia. It is the first record of this species for Bohemia and the Czech Republic. Today, Pied Avocets occasionally visit the country and rarely breed in it.

Balbín (1679) popsal jednoho jemu neznámého ptáka s dostatečnou přesností, aby bylo možné určit, že se jednalo o tenkozobce opačného (Recurvirostra avosetta). Jedinec byl uloven někdy kolem roku 1670, pravděpodobně na Labi u Litoměřic. Dnes je tenkozobec v Česku řídkým hostem; vzácně i hnízdí.

Keywords: avifauna, birds, Bohuslav Balbín, Czech Republic, Recurvirostridae

The Pied Avocet, Recurvirostra avoset- ornithological data in historical texts see ta Linné, 1758, is a widespread bree­ Mlíkovský (2009). der of the steppe belt of the southern Bohuslav Balbín (1621–1688), a Czech Palearctic and coastal regions of the scholar, described in Chapter LXVIII of western Palearctic, which migrates to the first volume of his Miscellanea histo- coastal regions of southern Europe and rica regni Bohemiae (Balbín 1679: 155) Africa for winter (Pierce 1996). The a pumila ciconia (“tiny stork”), which species is a rare visitor to and occasio­ can be best interpreted as a Pied Avocet. nal breeder in inland central Europe, Balbín mentioned that the bird generally including the Czech Republic (Hudec & resembled a White Stork Ciconia cico- Šťastný 2005). nia (Linné, 1758) (he wrote just “cico­ The first records from the Czech nia”, but he did not know Black Storks Republic come from the first half of the Ciconia nigra (Linné, 1758)), which 19th century (Palliardi 1852, Frič 1872: means that it had long legs, a long neck 76). Here I report on a Bohemian record and a long, not hooked bill, but he stres­ of a Pied Avocet from the second half of sed that it differed from the White Stork the 17th century. For the interpretation of in being much smaller (less than size of

163 Pied Avocet in Bohemia a chicken), had a black bill and black In summary, Balbín (1679) provided legs, and white wings with glossy black the first historical record of the Pied tips. He added that the bill was serrated Avocet from the Czech Republic. The from inside and that the bird had small specimen was collected around 1670, “fishes” in its stomach. probably at the Labe near Litoměřice, This description allows identifica­ northwestern Bohemia. tion of the specimen as a Pied Avocet. The generally similar Black-winged Stilt AcknowledgEments Himantopus himantopus (Linné, 1758) differs in having red legs and all-black Preparation of this manuscript was wings. All other European birds are too supported by the following grants of different in general appearance. Balbín the Ministry of Culture of the Czech did not mention the upcurved bill of Republic: MK 00002327201 and MK Avocets, but this detail was probably 06P04OMG008. of little importance to him, as it was to his contemporary Francis Willughby (1635– 1672), an English ornitholo­ LITERATURE gist, although the latter knew well that Balbín [Balbinus] B. 1679: Miscellanea histori­ Avocets have upcurved bills (Willughby ca Regni Bohemiae. Liber I. qui historiam 1676: 240–241) and this character was naturalem Bohemiae complectitur. Typis described and figured even earlier (e.g. Georgii Czernoch, Pragae. Frič A. 1872: Obratlovci země české. Arch. Gessner 1555: 225–226). přír. pro Proskoumání Čech 4: 1–148. Balbín’s (1679) note that the bird Gessner [Gesner] C. 1555: Historiae natu­ had a serrated bill is probably the first ralium liber III. qui est de avium natura. description of this morphological fea­ Christoph. Froschover, Tigurum. ture in which Recurvirostra Avocets (and Hudec K. & Šťastný K. (eds) 2005: Fauna ČR. related genera) differ from proper wad­ Ptáci 2. Academia, Praha. ers and agree with flamingoes (Olson & Mlíkovský J. 2009: Úvod do historické ornito­ Feduccia 1980). logie. Sylvia 45: 39–50. Balbín (1679) mentioned that he had Olson S. L. & Feduccia A. 1980: Relationships and evolution of flamingos (Aves: received the bird “a few years ago” at Phoenicopteridae). Smithson. Contrib. Litoměřice (50.53°N, 14.13°E), northwest­ Zool. 316: 1–73. ern Bohemia. Balbín traveled widely Palliardi A. A. 1852: Systematische Uebersicht throughout Bohemia, so the fact that der Vögel Böhmens. Carl Wilhelm Medau, he was present at Litoměřice cannot be Leitmeritz. used for an exact estimation of the date. Pierce R. J. 1996: Family Recurvirostridae Considering that he published his book (stilts and avocets). In: del Hoyo J., Elliott in 1679, it can be roughly estimated that A. & Sargatal J. (eds): Handbook of the he received the bird around 1670. birds of the world. Vol. 3. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona: 332–347. Apparently the bird was not collected Willughby F. 1676: Ornithologiae libri tres. far from Litoměřice. As shown by early Joannus Martyn, London. maps, there were no ponds or lakes in the vicinity of Litoměřice, but the Labe (Elbe) Došlo 9. srpna 2010, přijato 25. srpna river was broad with low islets, banks and 2010. flats at Litoměřice, and again down the ri­ Received 9 August 2010; accepted ver at Lovosice. It is thus probable that the 25 August 2010. Avocet was collected directly at the Labe. Editor: P. Adamík

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