Interpretations of the Recording
Rules
The five ABA Recording Rules should
define what is countable in the vast majority of circumstances. The ABA Recording Standards & Ethics Committee has developed the following definitions and interpretations to guide recorders in those few special situations where the Rules may not be sufficiently comprehensive.
RULE 1: The bird must
have been within the prescribed area and time-period when encountered, and the encounter must have occurred within the prescribed time period.
A. Within
means that the bird must be within the prescribed area when observed, although the observer need not be. For example, if an observer on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande identifies a bird across the river on the Mexican side, the bird may be counted on his Mexican list but not on his/her ABA Area list.
B. Prescribed area and time period are
defined for the particular list:
(i) The ABA Checklist Area is defined in the current ABA's bylaws and in the current ABA Checklist as the 49 continental United States, Canada, the French islands of St. Pierre et and Miquelon, and adjacent waters to a distance of 200 miles from land or half the distance to a neighboring country, whichever is less. Excluded by these boundaries are Bermuda, the Bahamas, Hawaii, and Greenland.
(ii) A subarea of the ABA Checklist
Area, or other prescribed area, is as defined by its legal boundaries. If not legally defined otherwise, it includes adjacent waters (rivers, lakes, bays, sounds, etc.) out to half the distance to a neighboring area, but not beyond 200 miles.
(iii) Birds observed on or over an ocean are counted for the area having jurisdiction over the nearest land, if within 200 miles.
C. "Encounter" means seen and/or heard live and not remotely.
(i) A bird seen on a webcam or other remote camera may not be counted, except for lists specifically defined to include birds seen remotely.
(ii) A bird heard via a sound augmentation device may be counted only if the recorder is present at the location of the device and hears the vocalization in real-time.
RULE 2: The bird species must
have been a species currently accepted by listed on the ABA Checklist Committee for lists
within its the ABA area, or by the on the A.O.U. Checklist for lists outside the ABA area and
within the A.O.U. area, or by Clements Checklist for all other areas.
A. Species means that each full species
is counted only once on most ABA lists. Additional subspecies or color morphs
are not counted as additional entries except on lists specifically defined to
include such identifiable forms.
B. currently accepted by listed on the ABA Checklist Committee
means:
(i) the species must be (a) included in
the current published ABA Checklist, as modified by subsequent Supplements, or
(b) formally accepted by the ABA Checklist Committee for inclusion in the next
published ABA Checklist or Supplement. Species listed as “species of
hypothetical origin” and species that have been deleted from the main ABA
Checklist are NOT considered to be accepted;
(ii) species listed in Appendix: Part 2, Provenance Uncertain, are not considered countable;
(iii) a species listed in Appendix Part 1, Extirpated Exotics, may be counted if encountered prior to its removal from the main Checklist;
(iv) an indigenous species currently
accepted by listed on the Checklist Committee but observed in the past when it was not
considered a valid full species may be counted;
(v) an individual of an introduced species may be
counted only where and when it [sic] part of, or straying from, a population that meets the ABA Checklist Committee’s definition of being established; for being
an established population. An introduced species observed well away from the
accepted geographic area is not counted if it is more likely to be a local
escape or release rather than an individual straying from the distant
population;
(vi) an individual of a reintroduced indigenous species may be counted if it is part of a population that has successfully hatched young in the wild which is
reintroduced into an historic range of the species may be counted when the
population meets the ABA Checklist’s definition of being established or when it
is not possible to reasonably separate the reintroduced individual from a wild-born individual; individuals from
naturally occurring individuals;
(vii) hybrids are not countable. Any bird
with physical characteristics outside the natural range of variation for the
species and clearly suggesting that it is a hybrid should be treated as a
hybrid under the ABA Recording Rules. Songs in oscine passerines are is a learned behavior and should not
be used as evidence of hybridization with that group;
C. A.O.U. Check-list means the latest
edition of the American Ornithologist's Union Checklist of North American Birds and its Supplements.
D. AOU Area means the geographic area covered by the AOU Check-list of North American Birds.
E. Clements Checklist means the latest edition of
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World “Birds of the World: A Check List”, by James F. Clements, and its Supplements and its Updates and Corrections.
F. The taxonomic status of a bird as a
full species, and thus its countability, is determined by the standard for the
list on which the bird is to be counted. The ABA Checklist is the standard for
all list areas contained completely within its the ABA Area. The A.O.U. Check-list of North American Birds is
the standard for all list areas contained completely within its the Check-list's area covered, and with
at least some portion outside the ABA Checklist Area. Clements is the standard
for all list areas with at least some portion outside the A.O.U. Check-list
area. (Updated supplements will be issued annually for the ABA Checklist, the
A.O.U. Check-list and Clements.) Thus, it is possible that two birds seen in
the continental USA would be counted as one species on state and ABA Area
lists, and as two species on a World List, or vice versa if their taxonomic treatment differs between the ABA Checklist and the Clements Checklist. (from Winging It,
October 1992, p. 20).
G. Updated supplements will be issued
annually for the ABA Checklist, the A.O.U. Checklist, and the Clements Checklist. Should
updating supplements be overdue by one year for any of these three standards,
recorders may petition the ABA Recording Rules Standards and Ethics Committee for exceptions to the
standards, based on recent publication of a significant taxonomic change.
RULE 3: The bird must
have been alive, wild, and unrestrained when encountered.
A. “Alive” means after hatching. Eggs
are not counted as live birds.
B. “Wild” means that the bird’s
occurrence at the time and place of observation is not because it, or its
recent ancestors, has ever been transported or otherwise assisted by man for reasons other than rehabilitation purposes.
(i) An otherwise wild bird that
voluntarily uses or is attracted to a feeder, nest box, audio playback tape recorder, ship at
sea, or other nonnatural device, without being captured is still considered to
be wild. Physical contact between an observer and a bird does not automatically
preclude a bird from being counted, as there are situations where wild birds
have learned to eat from outstretched hands, or have used people as temporary
perches.
(ii) A species observed far from its
normal range may be counted if, in the observer’s best judgment and knowledge, it
arrived there unassisted by man. A wild bird following or riding a ship at sea,
without being captured, is considered to be traveling unassisted by man.
(iii) Birds Individuals of exotic species descendant from escapes escapees or
released birds are considered “wild” when they are part of a population which that
meets the ABA Checklist Committee's definition of an established. introduced population.
(iv) A bird that is not wild and which
later moves unassisted to a new location or undergoes a natural migration is
still not wild.
C. “Unrestrained” means not held
captive in a cage, mist trap, mistnet, hand, or by any other means, and not under the
influence of such captivity. A bird is considered under the influence of
captivity after its release until it regains the activities and movements of a
bird which that has not been captured.
(i) A bird is under the influence of
captivity during its initial flight movement away from its release point and during
subsequent activity reasonably influenced by the captivity. such as initial
perching and preening or early sleeping or roosting near the release point.
(ii) A nocturnal species released
during daylight which goes to roost near the point of release is considered
under the influence of captivity until the next nightfall, when it has left its
roost and begun normal nocturnal activities.
(ii) A wild bird that is injured,
sick, oiled, or otherwise incapacitated, but which retains a reasonable freedom
of movement, may be counted.
(iv) Banders working
on licensed projects under proper permits may count, for their
personal lists, the birds that they band, without the restrictions described in
(i) and (ii).
D. “When observed encountered” means that a bird
alive and unrestrained when observed, but which later dies or is collected or
captured, may be counted.
RULE 4: Diagnostic
field-marks characteristics for the bird, sufficient for the recorder to identify it to species, must have been
seen and/or heard and/or documented for the bird encountered. by the recorder at the time of the
encounter.
A. “Diagnostic field-marks characteristics” means the natural characteristics
needed to uniquely determine the species of the bird while it is wild and
unrestrained. It is not necessary to experience every possible field mark diagnostic characteristic, but
simply sufficient field marks characteristics to eliminate the possibility of the bird being
any other species.
(i) Identification is not valid if it
is based on nonnatural characteristics, such as an injury, anomalous plumage
modification, a leg band, or other artificial marking.
(i) Identification of the bird may be
made subsequent to after the initial encounter. It is not always possible to secure a
positive identification initially, but, using physical and/or written
documentation made at the time of the encounter, identification is sometimes
possible after the fact, upon consultation with of references and/or other
authorities. In rare, With very tricky identifications, for example, photographs or recordings
sometimes reveal minute, yet critical, details, that were not visible discernible during
the initial encounter. Furthermore, our knowledge of how to separate similar
species in the field is continually advancing. On rare occasions, a species may
not be identifiable until after it has been captured and studied in the hand,
or had feather and blood samples analyzed. In such instances of “after-the-fact”
ID, the bird may be counted on one’s life-list lists.
(ii) Since all recorders, from time to
time, have birds pointed out and identified to them by others, it is not
necessary that the recorder be the one who identifies the bird species, merely
that he/she sees and/or hears sufficient diagnostic field marks at the time of
the encounter A recorder may identify the bird encountered based on information and/or documentation provided by other observers.
B. For a first encounter with a
species, no matter which list is involved, identification may be by sight or
sound. The sighting or sounding encounter may be brief, but in combination, field marks characteristics seen or heard must be sufficiently distinctive to distinguish the bird from all
other species. Recorders must also assure themselves that tape recordings audio playbacks are
not being mistaken for birds. In any situation for any list, a species may not
be counted if the attempts to see or hear the bird are in violation of the
ethical provisions of Rule 5.
C. “By the recorder” means that the recorder himself/herself
must discern the distinguishing characteristics either visually or audibly. The
recorder’s identification is not valid if it is based on characteristics seen,
heard, or recognized by another person but not by the recorder, or if the
recorder does not recognize the characteristics seen or heard as being uniquely
distinctive to the particular species.
RULE 5: The bird must
have been encountered under conditions that conform to the ABA Code of Birding
Ethics.
A. The bird must have been encountered under conditions that conform to the ABA Code of Birding Ethics version current at the time of the encounter. In any situation for any list, a species may not be counted if the attempts to see or hear the bird are in violation of this ethical Code. “ABA Code of Birding Ethics” means
the Code of Ethics adopted officially by the ABA at the time of the observation.
