Hi Tweets,

John Chandler writes:

>For those of you with BRC experience, if a bird travels to a distant
>location on a ship does this mean the record will be 'not accepted' by a
>BRC? If there is evidence the bird was not fed or given water while on the
>ship, does this change the situation? For instance the bird was seen to
>feed without assistance from humans.
>
>>From some of the implications in the on-going XAHU discussion, it seems
>that the bird must make the journey without overt assistance from humans
>for the record to be accepted. If a bird on a ship takes advantage of food
>put out for it by the sailors, how is this different from a bird that makes
>a long journey over land, taking advantage of seed/suet/sugar&water along
>the way?

A number of years ago, the British Ornithological Union (BOU), the body
responsible for establishing and maintaining the British List took a long
hard look at this question and then went to work. Over time, the BOU
produced a multi-category/multi-subcategory List which seeks to encompass
every conceivable circumstance of a species being where it can be seen by a
birder in Britain and its appropriateness for inclusion to the British List.

It was my observation that these categories would, with a bit of tweaking in
Cats A & B (the Brit difference between the two reflects a current program
to bring the British List into conformity with the European standards worked
out during the Texel Conference(s)), work just fine in North America, and
more specifically and locally, for the two rarities committee to which I
belonged at the time, the Vancouver BC (from which I recently resigned as
the longest serving member) and the BC provincial committees.

Here's the categories, copied from he BOU website at:

http://www.bou.org.uk/

The British List ? BOU Species categories

In 1997 categorisation was revised to assist protection under national
wildlife legislation, especially of naturalised species. Category C has been
expanded to allow species with different histories to be distinguished;
Category D has been reduced in scope, and a Category E (not included in this
list) has been introduced to enable local and national recorders to monitor
escaped species.

A
Species which have been recorded in an apparently natural state at least
once since 1 January 1950.

B
Species which were recorded in an apparently natural state at least once up
to 31 December 1949, but have not been recorded subsequently.

C
Species that, although originally introduced by man, either deliberately or
accidentally, have established breeding populations derived from introduced
stock, that maintain themselves without necessary recourse to further
introduction.

C1
Naturalised introductions Species that have occurred only as a result of
introduction. E.g. Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus.

C2
Naturalised establishments Species with established populations as a result
of introduction by Man, but which also occur in an apparently natural state.
E.g. Canada Goose Branta canadensis.

C3
Naturalised re-establishments Species with populations successfully
re-established by Man in areas of former occurrence. E.g. Red Kite Milvus
milvus.

C4
Naturalised feral species Domesticated species with populations established
in the wild. E.g. Rock Dove Columba livia.

C5
Vagrant naturalised species Species from established naturalised populations
abroad. E.g. some/all Ruddy Shelducks Tadorna ferruginea occuring in Britain.

D
Species that would otherwise appear in Categories A or B except that there
is reasonable doubt that they have ever occurred in a natural state.
Category D species are included within the lists that follow. They do not
form any part of the species totals, and are not regarded as members of the
British List.

E
Species that have been recorded as introductions, transportees or escapees
from captivity, and whose breeding populations (if any) are thought not to
be self sustaining. Category E species form no part of the British List.

The 'Official' British List

The following organisations have indicated their support for the work
undertaken by the BOU and its Records Committee in maintaining a list of
birds recorded in Britain. They have indicated that the decisions on both
status and taxonomy reached by BOURC are accepted by them as comprising the
'official' British List.

? British Trust for Ornithology ? Countryside Council for Wales ? English
Nature ? Joint Nature Conservation Committee ? Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds ? Scottish Natural Heritage ? Scottish Ornithologists'
Club ? Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust



Species initially relegated to Cats D and E may over time move into one of
the listable categories as patterns of visitation may emerge. There may be a
change in emphasis seen in the phrasing as in the UK the British List was
developed to help in species preservation rather than listing, the latter
being a by-product and not the primary focus that it would be in North America.

Given the BC Committee decision, it's easy to see that the Xantus's
Hummingbird Hylocharis xantusii (by the way, I double-checked the spelling:
on the AOU list, it *is* 'Xantus's', at least until Tweetsters vote to
change it '-) would be happy sitting in Cat D until a pattern of visitation
emerged or failed to emerge.

Several years ago, while I was on the Vancouver committee, whose parent body
is the Vancouver Natural History Society, I suggested that the committee
adopt the categories worked out by the BOU to meet the contingency of
controversial origin issues and to defuse them before they happened.
Suggestion ignored.

I also suggested these categories might help the BC committee in the same
way. Suggestion ignored.

After surveying the wreckage after the long party we've just had over the
Xhummer (oh, there's still a few dancers left on their feet?), I think,
wearily, how avoidable all this was. The next song you hear will be the song
of not one but two chickens coming home to roost, a mellifluous, haunting,
duetting 'itoldyouso, itoldyouso'.

Michael Price
Vancouver BC Canada
mprice at mindlink.net