BQ Rarities Appraisal Committee species list – Updated 2026
Taxonomy follows AviList Checklist v2025
This is a list of species that the Bird Queensland Rarities Appraisal Committee would like to review. It was last updated in 2026 with a few species removed and several more species and subspecies added.
Reports should be submitted for any of the following species and, if the species is of National significance (shown in bold in the table), then the report will be referred on to Birdlife Australia’s Rarities Committee (BARC).
All records of birds found in Australia but not yet recorded in Queensland are eligible for a submission.
Explanatory notes are given at the bottom of this page.
From 2026 the list has been broken into two tables:
- vagrants and rarities to be reported from anywhere in Qld
- Qld residents with a restricted range that are considered at-risk
Report from Anywhere in Qld
| Common name | Scientific name | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Cape Barren Goose | Cereopsis novaehollandiae | |
| Australian Shelduck | Tadorna tadornoides | |
| Garganey | Spatula querquedula | BARC |
| Northern Shoveler | Spatula clypeata | |
| Mallard | Anas platyrhynchos | Wild migratory type from SE Asia or domestic type from self-sustaining populations in Sydney and New Zealand |
| Long-tailed Koel | Urodynamis taitensis | BARC |
| Collared Imperial Pigeon | Ducula mullerii | BARC |
| Zoe’s Imperial Pigeon | Ducula zoeae | BARC |
| Orange-fronted Fruit Dove | Ptilinopus aurantiifrons | BARC |
| Orange-bellied Fruit Dove | Ptilinopus iozonus | BARC |
| Chestnut Rail | Gallirallus castaneoventris | |
| Banded Stilt | Cladorhynchus leucocephalus | |
| South Island Oystercatcher | Haematopus finschi | |
| Common Ringed Plover | Charadrius hiaticula | BARC |
| Hooded Plover | Thinornis cucullatus | |
| Little Ringed Plover | Thinornis dubius | |
| Kentish Plover | Anarhynchus alexandrinus | |
| Australian Painted-snipe | Rostratula australis | |
| Hudsonian Godwit | Limosa haemastica | |
| Swinhoe’s Snipe | Gallinago megala | |
| Red Phalarope | Phalaropus fulicarius | BARC |
| Red-necked Phalarope | Phalaropus lobatus | |
| Common Redshank | Tringa totanus | |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | Tringa flavipes | BARC |
| Nordmann’s Greenshank | Tringa guttifer | |
| Ruff | Calidris pugnax | |
| Long-toed Stint | Calidris subminuta | |
| Buff-breasted Sandpiper | Calidris subruficollis | |
| Dunlin | Calidris alpina | BARC |
| Little Stint | Calidris minuta | |
| Chestnut-backed Buttonquail | Turnix castanotus | |
| Buff-breasted Buttonquail | Turnix olivii | BARC |
| South Polar Skua | Stercorarius maccormicki | |
| Brown Skua | Stercorarius antarcticus | |
| Grey Noddy | Anous albivitta | |
| Fairy Tern | Sternula nereis | |
| Arctic Tern | Sterna paradisaea | |
| Common Tern (Atlantic) | Sterna hirundo hirundo | Subspecies Hirundo only |
| White-fronted Tern | Sterna striata | |
| Laughing Gull | Leucophaeus atricilla | |
| Franklin’s Gull | Leucophaeus pipixcan | |
| Pacific Gull | Larus pacificus | |
| Black-tailed Gull | Larus crassirostris | BARC |
| Kelp Gull | Larus dominicanus | |
| Slaty-backed Gull | Larus schistisagus | BARC |
| Little Penguin | Eudyptula minor | |
| Southern Royal Albatross | Diomedea epomophora | |
| Snowy Albatross | Diomedea exulans | |
| Light-mantled Albatross | Phoebetria palpebrata | |
| Sooty Albatross | Phoebetria fusca | |
| Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross | Thalassarche carteri | |
| Grey-headed Albatross | Thalassarche chrysostoma | |
| Black-browed Albatross (Campbell Is) | Thalassarche melanophris impavida | |
| Buller’s Albatross | Thalassarche bulleri | |
| Shy Albatross | Thalassarche cauta | |
| Salvin’s Albatross | Thalassarche salvini | |
| Polynesian Storm Petrel | Nesofregetta fuliginosa | BARC |
| Band-rumped Storm Petrel | Hydrobates castro | |
| Leach’s Storm Petrel | Hydrobates leucorhous | BARC |
| Southern Giant Petrel | Macronectes giganteus | |
| Southern Fulmar | Fulmarus glacialoides | |
| Bulwer’s Petrel | Bulweria bulwerii | |
| Westland Petrel | Procellaria westlandica | |
| White-chinned Petrel | Procellaria aequinoctialis | |
| Buller’s Shearwater | Ardenna bulleri | |
| Sooty Shearwater | Ardenna grisea | |
| Little Shearwater | Puffinus assimilis | |
| Tropical Shearwater | Puffinus bailloni | BARC |
| Common Diving Petrel | Pelecanoides urinatrix | |
| Blue Petrel | Halobaena caerulea | |
| Broad-billed Prion | Pachyptila vittata | |
| Salvin’s Prion | Pachyptila salvini | |
| Antarctic Prion | Pachyptila desolata | |
| Slender-billed Prion | Pachyptila belcheri | |
| Kerguelen Petrel | Aphrodroma brevirostris | |
| Soft-plumaged Petrel | Pterodroma mollis | |
| White-headed Petrel | Pterodroma lessonii | |
| Great-winged Petrel | Pterodroma macroptera | |
| Stejneger’s Petrel | Pterodroma longirostris | BARC |
| Collared Petrel | Pterodroma brevipes | |
| Mottled Petrel | Pterodroma inexpectata | |
| Herald Petrel | Pterodroma heraldica | |
| Australasian Bittern | Botaurus poiciloptilus | |
| Yellow Bittern | Botaurus sinensis | BARC |
| Papuan Spinetail | Mearnsia novaeguineae | BARC |
| House Swift | Apus nipalensis | |
| Glossy Swiftlet | Collocalia esculenta | BARC |
| Uniform Swiftlet | Aerodramus vanikorensis | BARC |
| Gurney’s Eagle | Aquila gurneyi | BARC |
| Little Paradise Kingfisher | Tanysiptera hydrocharis | BARC |
| Peregrine Falcon (Siberian) | Falco peregrinus calidus | two-ssp, the migratory subspecies |
| Peregrine Falcon (Japanese) | Falco peregrinus japonensis | two-ssp, the migratory subspecies |
| Superb Parrot | Polytelis swainsonii | |
| Princess Parrot | Polytelis alexandrae | |
| Night Parrot | Pezoporus occidentalis | |
| Elegant Parrot | Neophema elegans | |
| Scarlet-chested Parrot | Neophema splendida | |
| Swift Parrot | Lathamus discolor | |
| Australian Ringneck (Port Lincoln) | Barnardius zonarius zonarius | Subspecies zonarius |
| Paradise Parrot | Psephotellus pulcherrimus | |
| Double-eyed Fig Parrot (Coxen’s) | Cyclopsitta diophthalma coxeni | ssp coxeni only (Coxen’s) |
| Sandhill Grasswren | Amytornis oweni | |
| Eastern Bristlebird | Dasyornis brachypterus | |
| Rufous Fieldwren | Calamanthus campestris | |
| Grey Honeyeater | Conopophila whitei | |
| Regent Honeyeater | Anthochaera phrygia | |
| Australian Magpie (southern Vic) | Gymnorhina tibicen tyrannica | two-ssp, any white-backed form – even if you cannot distinguish ssp |
| Australian Magpie (Eyre Pen.) | Gymnorhina tibicen telonocua | two-ssp, any white-backed form – even if you cannot distinguish ssp |
| Grey Fantail (Tasmanian) | Rhipidura albiscapa albiscapa | two-ssp |
| Grey Fantail (inland) | Rhipidura albiscapa albicauda | two-ssp |
| Black-billed Magpie | Pica hudsonia | |
| Little Raven | Corvus mellori | |
| Flame Robin | Petroica phoenicea | |
| Oriental Reed Warbler | Acrocephalus orientalis | |
| Barn Swallow (orange bellied ssp tytleri) | Hirundo rustica tytleri | two-ssp, Any orange-bellied subspecies |
| Barn Swallow (orange bellied ssp erythrogaster) | Hirundo rustica erythrogaster | two-ssp, Any orange-bellied subspecies |
| Singing Starling | Aplonis cantoroides | excl-Torres |
| Eyebrowed Thrush | Turdus obscurus | BARC |
| Blue Rock Thrush | Monticola solitarius | BARC |
| Isabelline Wheatear | Oenanthe isabellina | BARC |
| Red-capped Flowerpecker | Dicaeum geelvinkianum | excl-Torres |
| Star Finch (Eastern) | Emblema ruficauda ruficauda | ssp ruficauda only (Eastern form) |
| Eurasian Tree Sparrow | Passer montanus | excl-Torres |
| Grey Wagtail | Motacilla cinerea | |
| Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Green-headed) | Motacilla tschutschensis taivana | |
| White Wagtail | Motacilla alba | |
| European Greenfinch | Chloris chloris | |
| Redpoll | Acanthis flammea | BARC |
| European Goldfinch | Carduelis carduelis |
Report from Outside Normal Range
Species or subspecies that are resident in Queensland can be submitted when they are seen substantially out of range.
These submissions will be assessed on a case by case basis.
At-risk or poorly known species are considered a high priority in this regard and those that should be submitted are listed below.
| Common name | Scientific name | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Plains-wanderer | Pedionomus torquatus | Outside of Astrebla Downs National Park |
| New Caledonian Storm Petrel | Fregetta lineata | North of Sunshine Coast |
| Letter-winged Kite | Elanus scriptus | Outside its Channel Country range (Diamantina, Boulia, Barcoo, Winton, McKinley and Cloncurry LGAs) |
| Red Goshawk | Erythrotriorchis radiatus | South of 16° S latitude |
| Golden-shouldered Parrot | Psephotellus chrysopterygius | Over 100km away from Artemis Station (Dixie Road) |
| Slaty-backed Thornbill | Acanthiza robustirostris | Outside Quilpie LGA |
| Chiming Wedgebill | Psophodes occidentalis | Outside Ethabuka Sanctuary boundary |
| Black-throated Finch (white-rumped) | Poephila cincta cincta | South of 21° S latitude (white-rumped form) |
| Gouldian Finch | Chloebia gouldiae | East of 140°E |
Explanatory Notes
BARC notification
Records in bold (and with “BARC” in the Notes column) indicate species that need to be also referred to BARC (Birdlife Australia Rarities Committee). When you make a submission to BQRAC that refers to such a species then a committee member will contact you to determine if you have already submitted to BARC, or intend to do so, or if you wish the committee to do so on your behalf.
Restrictions and Subspecies limits
The “restrictions” column indicates when the committee requires notification only under a limited set of circumstances
- “excl-Torres”: All Qld records except those from Boigu Island (Malu Kiyay or Malu Kiwai) and Saibai Island (Saybay, Saibe) (i.e. close to PNG mainland)
- When certain subspecies are listed then BQRAC requires notification only for those subspecies.
- “two-ssp“: BQ only requires notification of two of the possible subspecies. You must be able to demonstrate how your observation does not refer to the more common local subspecies. You do not need to be able to discriminate between the two requested subspecies, although it would be preferred if you can. For example, the white-backed forms of Australian Magpie are readily distinguishable from the common local subspecies, but are harder to distinguish between each other.
