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We report Records Appraisal Committee (RAC) decisions regarding Unusual Bird Reports received between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2018. Among the 160 submissions accepted by the RAC were the first New Zealand records of Macquarie Island shag (
Leucocarbo purpurascens) and Cox’s sandpiper (
Calidris x paramelanotus), and the first accepted at-sea sightings of blue petrel (
Halobaena caerulea), Salvin’s prion (
Pachyptila salvini), Antarctic prion (
P. desolata), and thin-billed prion (
P. belcheri) from New Zealand coastal waters. We also report the second accepted breeding record (and first successful breeding) for glossy ibis (
Plegadis falcinellus), and the second accepted records of red-footed booby (
Sula sula) and laughing gull (
Leucophaeus atricilla). Other notable records included the first record of nankeen kestrel (
Falco cenchroides) from Campbell Island, and at least 5 northern shovelers (
Anas clypeata) simultaneously present in June 2018.