A stuffed bird from Victorian times
gathering dust in a museum stockroom is causing a flutter in learned circles as
experts decide whether it can be confirmed as the first specimen of its type
recorded in the UK.
The Least Bittern – Ixobrychus
exilis in Latin – is normally found in North America.
It breeds in reed beds and can be
difficult to observe due to its shy and secretive nature – and until now has
never been recorded in the UK.
All that could be about to change,
but Mark Ilett – who chairs the Herts Rare Birds Panel and is co-author of
Birds of Hertfordshire, isn’t getting his hopes up just yet.
The bird in question is part of the
collection held at Hitchin Museum, and at the moment it’s held in storage while
the heritage base transfers from its former home next to the town library to
the revamped Hitchin Town Hall site, which is due to open its doors later this
year.
Mark said: “The bird in question was
a specimen labelled in the 1890s as the more common Little Bittern.
“As part of preparation for the book
it was photographed and subsequently re-identified as the far rarer Least
Bittern.”
It was apparently once owned by
prominent local photographer TB Latchmore, and at the time it was recorded that
it had been shot on Oughtonhead Common in the 1890s.
“Whether it was Latchmore who
claimed it or someone before him we aren’t sure,” said Mark.
“The fact that it was labelled as a
Little Bittern – not as the rarer and far more valuable Least Bittern – would
indicate Latchmore wasn’t trying to be underhand.
“If that had been the case he would
surely have labelled it as a Least Bittern, making it far more valuable.
“There’s currently no accepted
record of the Least Bittern in Britain, so details have been submitted to the
British Ornithologists Union Records Committee.
“It would be amazing if it was
confirmed – but in the 1890s the practice was to shoot birds to confirm their
species before stuffing them.
“Many dubious characters would buy
stuffed birds and either pass them off as their own, or buy stuffed birds and
label them falsely in order to make money out of them.
“We’ll probably never know if
Latchmore was the person who shot the bird, or whether it just fell into his
hands as a genuine collector, or even if it was actually shot on Oughtonhead
Common as claimed.
“But as I say in my book, due to the
lack of supporting evidence it would seem unlikely the particular record of
this Least Bittern will be accepted as a first for Britain.”
Birds of Hertfordshire is one of a
number of books published by the Herts Natural History Society.
Find out more online at
www.hnhs.org, where you can also find a log of more recent rare bird sightings
recorded by birders in Hertfordshire.
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