Kotatsu
Phthirapterist
Following the success of last year's communal birdwatching thread, I hereby start the second one.
The rules are as follow (but are subject to change, should the need arise):
1. Only birds observed by the poster may be recorded. The poster need not be the one to discover it or the one to have first figured out what species it is, but he/she has to have seen it. Only live, wild birds count.
2. Records are to be posted in this thread (or via PM, if that is preferred). We would like to have species English name, scientific name, date, and location (at least country, but province/state or city would also be nice). However, as long as you give us the English name and an approximate location, we'll figure the scientific name out for you, so don't let this be an obstacle.
3. All records which would ordinarily require the acceptance of a local or national rare species committee will not be accepted until such an acceptance has been procured. This may take more than a year.
4. For taxonomy, Clements' "Birds of the World: a Checklist" will be used, with some exceptions (1):
4a. Terns have been divided into Thalasseus, Sterna, Gelochelidon, Hydroprogen, Sternula, and so on.
4b. Tits have been divided into Parus, Poecile, Cyanistes, and so on.
4c. Other splits or lumps which have been agreed to in the last thread, or which will over the course of the next year be universally agreed upon by all active contributors to this thread.
5. If you have any questions, ASK. This is not a thread for elitism or for only "professional" birdwatchers. The main purpose is to inspire people to go out in nature and really look at birds. Birds are, along with insects the most readily accessible animals in the world, and for most regions, it is not too hard to learn at least the most common species. If you have nothing to do on a weekend, just borrow or buy a pair of binoculars and go out to a nearby lake. You will feel better afterwards.
From my experience during the last year's list, we have several very talented birdwatchers here who are willing to help out with identification, so please, ask if you have any questions whatsoever. I am pretty experienced by now with birds of Europe, Japan, and Australia, and have access both to an extensive library on birds at my university, and to two of the most experienced field ornithologists in the world (Urban Olsson and Per Alström), and I know there are several other people here whose competence overlap or complement mine.
6. We accept photos, sound recordings, sketches, movies, whatever. Again, we do not demand that quality is 100%; the objective is to learn and to enjoy it. Again, the poster has to be the one taking the photo (etc.), but need not be the one who discovered the bird, nor the one who determined what species it was. Indeed, last year we had several people posting "unknown" birds, which other members helped determine.
7. Unless something changes, I will do the record-keeping while EHocking will handle the technical parts. Since we both travel a lot (2), this may mean interruptions in the processing of records, but we will get there eventually. I have planned trips to Canada, the US, Japan, Austria, Australia, and England already, and will probably do a lot of travel inside Sweden as well.
8. Feel free to discuss anything that has to do with birds here, whether it is relevant for the list or not. Equipment, trip recommendations, field guides, identification tips, books --- anything that is even remotely relevant would be welcome.
9. Lastly: have fun. Birdwatching is a hobby that keeps on giving. There is always something new to discover, and birds are among the most enjoyable animals in the world.
---
(1) References for these splits can be cited or sent on request.
(2) As has been obvious for those who participated in the last list...
The rules are as follow (but are subject to change, should the need arise):
1. Only birds observed by the poster may be recorded. The poster need not be the one to discover it or the one to have first figured out what species it is, but he/she has to have seen it. Only live, wild birds count.
2. Records are to be posted in this thread (or via PM, if that is preferred). We would like to have species English name, scientific name, date, and location (at least country, but province/state or city would also be nice). However, as long as you give us the English name and an approximate location, we'll figure the scientific name out for you, so don't let this be an obstacle.
3. All records which would ordinarily require the acceptance of a local or national rare species committee will not be accepted until such an acceptance has been procured. This may take more than a year.
4. For taxonomy, Clements' "Birds of the World: a Checklist" will be used, with some exceptions (1):
4a. Terns have been divided into Thalasseus, Sterna, Gelochelidon, Hydroprogen, Sternula, and so on.
4b. Tits have been divided into Parus, Poecile, Cyanistes, and so on.
4c. Other splits or lumps which have been agreed to in the last thread, or which will over the course of the next year be universally agreed upon by all active contributors to this thread.
5. If you have any questions, ASK. This is not a thread for elitism or for only "professional" birdwatchers. The main purpose is to inspire people to go out in nature and really look at birds. Birds are, along with insects the most readily accessible animals in the world, and for most regions, it is not too hard to learn at least the most common species. If you have nothing to do on a weekend, just borrow or buy a pair of binoculars and go out to a nearby lake. You will feel better afterwards.
From my experience during the last year's list, we have several very talented birdwatchers here who are willing to help out with identification, so please, ask if you have any questions whatsoever. I am pretty experienced by now with birds of Europe, Japan, and Australia, and have access both to an extensive library on birds at my university, and to two of the most experienced field ornithologists in the world (Urban Olsson and Per Alström), and I know there are several other people here whose competence overlap or complement mine.
6. We accept photos, sound recordings, sketches, movies, whatever. Again, we do not demand that quality is 100%; the objective is to learn and to enjoy it. Again, the poster has to be the one taking the photo (etc.), but need not be the one who discovered the bird, nor the one who determined what species it was. Indeed, last year we had several people posting "unknown" birds, which other members helped determine.
7. Unless something changes, I will do the record-keeping while EHocking will handle the technical parts. Since we both travel a lot (2), this may mean interruptions in the processing of records, but we will get there eventually. I have planned trips to Canada, the US, Japan, Austria, Australia, and England already, and will probably do a lot of travel inside Sweden as well.
8. Feel free to discuss anything that has to do with birds here, whether it is relevant for the list or not. Equipment, trip recommendations, field guides, identification tips, books --- anything that is even remotely relevant would be welcome.
9. Lastly: have fun. Birdwatching is a hobby that keeps on giving. There is always something new to discover, and birds are among the most enjoyable animals in the world.
---
(1) References for these splits can be cited or sent on request.
(2) As has been obvious for those who participated in the last list...
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