Abstract
This report of the Czech Rarities Committee, working under the Czech Society for Ornithology (CSO), includes records of rare and unusual bird species collected in the Czech Republic in the year 2023 and early 2024. The Committee assessed altogether 74 records; one of them was accepted only at the genus level. Out of 89 closed records, 84 (94%) were accepted, and five (6%) were rejected. Out of 73 closed records, 66 (90%) were accepted, and seven (10%) were rejected. Besides that, the report also includes 274 records of species which are subject to registration. In 2023 the Committee was composed of the following members: Jiří Horáček (chair), Jiří Šírek (secretary), Martin Vavřík, David Heyrovský, Robert Doležal, Jan Studecký and Jaroslav Šimek. In 2023, the fauna of the Czech Republic was enriched by the Wilson‘s Storm Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus), two species were removed following merging of all redpoll taxa into a single species (IOC 2024). Interesting observations include the second records of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis) and European Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus), third records of the Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) and Black-winged Pratincole (Glareola nordmanni), third and fourth records of the Cetti‘s Warbler (Cettia cettia), fourth record of the Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia), fifth records of the Collared Pratincole (Glareola pratincola), Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis), Radde‘s Warbler (Phylloscopus schwarzi), and Booted Warbler (Iduna caligata), seventh record of the Sabine‘s Gull (Xema sabini), and eighth to eleventh record of the Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus). Further records include four sightings of Pectoral Sandpipers (Calidris melanotos), and a record number of Pallid Harriers (Circus macrourus). In the following list, numbers in brackets in each species show the number of accepted records before 1988, in the years 1989–2022 and in 2023. Compound numbers such as n+2 indicate that, besides the accepted records, there is an uncertain number of reports not yet considered by the Committee. A dash (–) instead of a number means that records from the particular period were not collected. An asterisk (*) in front of the species name marks a new species for the country, “(r)” in front of the species name marks species whose records are only subject to registration. In the species subject to registration since 2008, the numbers of records in the years 2008–2022 and in 2023 are given in brackets. The cases when the bird was first found already in the year 2022 and stayed in the country till 2023, as well as added records from earlier years are shown in italics. We applied the nomenclature of the IOC World Bird List (version 14.2; IOC 2024). The Czech Rarities Committee is a member of the Association of European Records and Rarities Committees (AERC). See http://fkcso.cz and http://www.aerc.eu.