Michael Waltersetal. 226 Bull. B.O.C. 2007127(3) The eggs ofthe Canarian (or Meade-Waldo's) Black Oystercatcher Haematopus meadeivaldoi by MichaelWalters, Douglas G. D. Russell, & Frank D. Steinheimer Christiane Quaisser Received3July2006 Hockey (1996) stated that the eggs of the probably Extinct Haematopus meadewaldoi Bannerman, 1913, are undescribed and, by implication, unknown. Even in the most comprehensive work on avian eggs, the Handbuch der Oologie & (Schonwetter Meise 1962: 373, Meise 1988: 258-259),no sucheggismentioned. In fact there is an egg, probably the only one, in the collection of Dr Wolfgang Makatsch (Fig. 1). It does not, of course, look any different from any other oystercatcher Haematopus egg. Oystercatcher eggs are oval to elliptical, pale yellowish stone to clay buff in colour, blotched, spotted and streaked brown and black. They are distinctive and unlike those of other waders, but the eggs ofthe different Haematopus are similar, except those of Magellanic Oystercatcher H. leucopodus, which appear consistently slightly darker in ground colour. Figure 1. Egg of Haematopus meadewaldoi, in the Staatliches Museum fur Tierkunde, Dresden (Christiane Quaisser) Michael Waltersetal. 227 Bull. B.O.C. 2007127(3) The Natural History Museum (NHM, Tring) has a file on the Makatsch collection that contains seven images of this egg. According to correspondence MW betweenDrMakatschandthethencuratorofeggs, (followingMakatsch'svisit to Tring), dated 16 December 1982, Makatsch acquired the egg on 4 January 1950 with the egg collection ofDr Ludwig Huhn (d. 1949) at Bautzen. The egg, in good condition and signed by the collector (probably Ramon Gomez), was offered for exchange to the NHM. Subsequent correspondence with Christopher Swann (who sponsored Makatsch's visittoTring) indicates that, following Makatsch's death, the collection was bequeathed to his grandson Christoph Schnabel. Walters wrote to Schnabel on 10 September 1984 suggesting the exchange as per the arrangement with his grandfather, or that the egg be deposited in a German museum. Makatsch (1906-83), was afamous ornithologist inthe formerEastGermany, knownnotonly for his egg collection but for field guides and other works on birds and eggs. His was one ofthe largest private egg collections in Europe (c.32,000 eggs in 16,000 clutches of 1,200 species). In the 1990s the collection (including the egg in question)waspurchased(throughthe late SiegfriedEck)bythe StaatlichesMuseum fur Tierkunde, Dresden, Germany, where it remains. Data relating to the egg ofH. meadewaldoiisontworecordcards inMakatsch'sacquisitionscatalogue: Makatsch collection no. 7770: one clutch ofone egg; Fuerteventura, Canaries; 1898 acquired on 4 January 1950 with the egg collection of Huhn (signed no. 1094). Measurements: 54.5 x 38.8 mm; 3.67 g(i.e. smallerthantypical eggsof//, moquini, as was predictedwouldbe the case by Bannerman 1963). The taxon was named for Edmund Gustavus Bloomfield Meade-Waldo (1855-1934) who collected the holotype. References: Bannerman,D.A. 1913. [ExhibitionanddescriptionofanewsubspeciesofOyster-catcher{Haematopus nigermeade-waldoi)fromtheCanaryIslands.]Bull. Brit. Orn. CI. 31: 33-34. Bannerman,D.A. 1965. ThebirdsoftheAtlanticIslands,vol. 2. Oliver&Boyd,London&Edinburgh. Hockey,P.A.R. 1996.FamilyHaematopodidae(oystercatchers).Pp.308-325indelHoyo,J.,Elliott,A. & Sargatal,J. (eds.)Handbookofthebirdsoftheworld,vol. 3. LynxEdicions,Barcelona. Meise, W. 1988. Nachtrage zu BandI. Pp. 193-384 in Schonwetter, M. & Meise, W. (eds.)Handbuch derOologie, Lieferung44.Akademie-Verlag,Berlin. Schonwetter,M.&Meise,W. (eds.) 1962.HandbuchderOologie,Bd. I,Lieferung6.Akademie-Verlag, Berlin. Addresses: Michael Walters, 62 Mark Street, Portrush, Co. Antrim BT56 8BU, Northern Ireland, e- mail: [email protected]. Douglas G. D. Russell, Curator, Bird Group, The Natural History Museum, Akeman Street, Tring, Herts. HP23 6AP, UK, e-mail: [email protected]. Frank D. Steinheimer, Sylter Strasse 18, D-90425 Niirnberg, Germany, e-mail: [email protected]. ChristianeQuaisser, StraBedesFriedens 12,D-01738Klingenberg, Germany,e-mail: [email protected] ©BritishOrnithologists'Club2007