We present a detailed bird list for the north-east Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte. This is the first inventory of the avifauna of the state that complies with strict criteria as to its compilation and documentation. To achieve this, we reviewed all records published for the state, as well as records in several online databases and museum collections. Our consolidated list is enhanced by our own unpublished records, and encompasses 425 species, 391 of them based on available specified physical evidence. The list includes 12 taxa not previously documented in the state and 35 documented taxa that are considered nationally or globally threatened. Other noteworthy records include three documented range extensions of 1,000 km or more and the first proven breeding by three species in far north-eastern Brazil. The rather diverse avifauna of Rio Grande do Norte reflects its location at the juxtaposition of three major domains: Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, Cerrado, and their ecotones, bordered by a marine environment.

As explained in the Code (ICZN 1999), an illustration cannot be considered a type, which remains the physical specimen depicted in the photograph or depiction. Complexity arises if the illustrated specimen was unique and is no longer extant, meaning that the illustration is the only available visual representation of the lost type. In such cases how should we treat the illustration? As part of a wider study of the taxonomy and history of the Echo Parakeet Psittacula eques, we attempt to answer two questions pertaining to the specific case of Boddaert's (1783) naming of a new species, P. eques from Réunion, which is now extinct there, namely: (1) were the published hand-coloured engravings by François-Nicolas Martinet on which Boddaert based his name illuminated by one hand?, and (2) how reliably do they represent the type? We conclude that the published illustrations were hand-coloured by different persons, and they vary too much to use them to ascertain the true appearance of the lost type. We suggest that only original drawings or the coloured original artwork (preparatory drawings) for the engravings or lithographs can used to establish the appearance of a type, if the specimen itself is missing.

We conducted an ornithological survey of the Kilkerran massif on Fergusson Island, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. Our records of Torrent Flycatcher Monachella muelleriana represent the first confirmation of the family Petroicidae in the D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago. Additionally, Rainbow Bee-eater Merops ornatus, Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus, Red-collared Myzomela Myzomela rosenbergii longirostris and Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus were all additions to the avifauna of Fergusson Island. We also report the first visual record of Papuan Mountain Pigeon Gymnophaps albertisii. In total, we recorded 70 species. Notably, we did not observe Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon Otidiphaps insularis, a Fergusson Island endemic, and express concern as to the vulnerability of this virtually unknown species to extinction.

In 1813, based on the single foot of a large chicken, Temminck named a ‘new' species of junglefowl, Gallus giganteus. He considered this ‘species’ the ancestor of several large domesticated chicken breeds and believed it was one of six wild ancestral species of domestic fowl. Temminck's hypothesis was rejected by Blyth who thought Red Junglefowl G. gallus was the sole ancestor. The arrival into Britain of several very large Asian chicken breeds in the mid-19th century led to speculation that Temminck's G. giganteus may have been their wild ancestor. Darwin, who had initially agreed with Blyth, noted several peculiarities in the Cochin, a large Asian breed, which he concluded might not have been achieved by selective breeding, and questioned whether G. giganteus was involved in their ancestry. Temminck's giant junglefowl appeared to be a significant hurdle for Darwin in his effort to prove a single ancestral origin for domestic chickens.

‘My very decided opinion, that we may seek in vain for wild types of G. giganteus' (letter from Blyth to Darwin, 1856).

‘We have not such good evidence with fowls as with pigeons, of all breeds having descended from a single primitive stock' (Darwin 1868: 239).

A new small fossil species of vulture from Quaternary asphalt and cave deposits in western Cuba is described herein. Some specimens of this taxon are the smallest known in the genus Cathartes, including the modern Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture C. burrovianus. The extinction of the Cuban megafauna, coupled with the loss of open habitats once dominated by grassland savannas, contributed to the population decline and final extinction of endemic vultures in Cuba during the Holocene.

We present data on the breeding and biometrics of Common Pauraque Nyctidromus a. albicollis, a species found virtually throughout Middle and South America, including Brazil. We made observations on this species in a forest fragment in south-west Amazonian Brazil, and we evaluated the breeding season in Brazil based on citizen science data. Our field studies between 2011 and 2020 produced 25 nests each with a clutch of one egg. The minimum incubation period was 13 days. Nestling mass was c.8 g on hatching. Searches of the citizen science platform Wikiaves resulted in 253 photographic records of active nests throughout Brazil. These data together indicate that Common Pauraque breeds almost year-round in Brazil, albeit with a peak between the dry/rainy seasons (September–November).

Two species of Erythrura parrotfinches, differing mainly in bill size, are described from the New Guinea highlands: Blue-faced Parrotfinch E. trichroa and Papuan Parrotfinch E. papuana. Morphological measurements from museum specimens support two non-overlapping groups, but mitochondrial DNA sequence data show negligible differences between the two species. These observations suggest that E. trichroa and E. papuana may form a single species in the highlands of New Guinea that exhibits a resource-based bill size polymorphism.