On Sun, 28 Apr 1996 00:01:15 PDT, tweeters at u.washington.edu wrote:

>Under the literature reviews section in the back of the volume, Arnold =
>Small's "California Birds: Their Status and Distribution" was reviewed =
>by Carla Cicero and Ned K Johnson of UCal Berkeley under the title - =
>"Declining Scientific Standards in Studies of Avian Distribution". This =
>note laments the lack of quality control in some of the more recent =
>volumes on bird distribution. Their quote: "The birding mentality =
>established in the Preface sets the standards for the remainder of the =
>book. Notably lacking are the well-documented records and meticulous =
>maps that characterized Grinnel and Miller's authoritative work.... =
>Recreational birders will find this book of interest because of its =
>plethora of superb color photographs, three useful maps, and fundamental =
>information on seasonal status, habitats, and distribution in the state. =
>Serious amateurs and professionals, on the other hand, should continue =
>to rely on specimen-based distributional data provided by Grinnell and =
>Miller, supplemented with well-substantiated records in other =
>compilations". Just between you and me, I prefer Gabrielson and Jewett =
>and Jewett et al. to some of the more recent compilations of Northwest =
>bird distribution.

I don't know why this would trouble me so much but I have been thinking about
this all night. I suppose I would like to know how prevalent this attitude is
among ornithologists. The California Bird Records Committee has a reputation
as being one of the most conservative around. Is this the lack of quality
control the reviewers lament? Yes, I see the need for specimen collections
as a useful tool. But to discount any record not obtained at the end of a gun
barrel strikes me as a sign of insecurity. Is this just an individual bias,
or a widespread malaise in the pro ornithologist community?

- Jack



***************************
*Jack Bowling *
*Prince George, BC *
*jcbowling at mindlink.bc.ca *
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