Checklists

A key feature of BUBO Listing is that we do not personally decide what is or is not acceptable to count on a list. Instead we make use of official species lists compiled by other "authorities". For each region we assign a suitable authority which determines the species that are available for that region. In some cases more than one authority is assigned to a region and the lister can decide which to follow. We try to keep our authority base-lists up-to-date. If you are aware of an update that we haven’t incorporated then please let us know.

In some cases listers may wish to add a species that has newly occurred but doesn’t yet appear on the authority base-list. We consider such cases on their individual merit. Where we feel that it is likely that a species will be added, following the proper deliberations of the authority, then we may add the species but flag it as 'provisional'. We tend to do this only for newly occurring rarities, not potential taxonomic splits. Additionally some authorities publish a 'provisional' or 'hypothetical' list: species that have been accepted as occuring but do not meet more stringent criteria for inclusion on the official list, e.g. sight records without conclusive documentary evidence. We also flag these species as 'provisional'. Some authorities include species pairs or groups where identification cannot be narrowed down to one confirmed species, e.g. "Pacific-slope/Cordilleran Flycatcher", "Red-necked/Little Stint". In general we do not include these. Because of these differences in approach the species totals and lists may vary between BUBO Listing and the "official" list. Readers should always refer to the authority and not to BUBO Listing if they require the official list.

The different authorities used by BUBO Listing are available below, arranged within regions. Click on a region and then the required authority to read more information about it, follow links to the official websites and to view the full species lists as used by BUBO Listing.

We welcome help in completing gaps in BUBO Listing coverage: if you'd like to contribute then please contact us.