75 RARE BIRD DOCUMENTATION: A Guideline by G. Tom Hince The common goal and general wish of most Ontario birders who see a rare bird is to have their sighting!discovery included in the Provincial record. In order to do this, the details of their sighting must be accepted by the Ontario Bird Records Committee (OBRC). Documentation of these sightings can be accomplished by anyone of three methods-photograph and!or tape recording, a specimen or a written account of a sight record. This report will discuss briefly the first two methods and deal at length with the last, most widely used method. Specimen: Very few birders will ever need to be concerned with this form of documentation. If you do secure a specimen (e.g. a roadkill) there are some specific steps that should be taken to document the record. Unless professional facilities for the preparation of a study skin are available, the specimen should be frozen as quickly as possible. It should be double-wrapped in freezer bags with as much air as possible evacuated from the bags. Two complete sets of data should be made, one attached directly to the specimen and the other as a label outside. The data should include the following: the date the specimen was found; the exact location; the collector; the colour of fleshy parts (e.g. legs); any relevant comments (e.g. window kill). Arrangements should then be made to transport the specimen to either the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto) or the National Museum of Canada (Ottawa). Photograph/Recording: With the coming of affordable Single Lens Reflex cameras (SLRs) and compact tape recorders many more sightings are being documented with high quality photographs and tape recorded song. The ROM maintains a photo/tape duplicate file of rare bird records for Ontario. The OBRC welcomes mechanically recorded evidence of rare birds and will, if requested, duplicate and return material supplied. A "Rare Bird Report" outlining all relevant details of the sighting should accompany the material evidence. When photographing rare birds a few points should be kept in mind. Ideally, the photograph G. Tom Hince, RR 1, Leamington, Ontario N8H 3V4 VOLUME 2 NUMBER 2
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RARE BIRDDOCUMENTATION:
A Guidelineby
G. Tom Hince
The common goal and generalwish of most Ontario birders whosee a rare bird is to have theirsighting!discovery included in theProvincial record. In order to dothis, the details of their sightingmust be accepted by the OntarioBird Records Committee (OBRC).Documentation of these sightingscan be accomplished by anyone ofthree methods-photograph and!ortape recording, a specimen or awritten account of a sight record.This report will discuss briefly thefirst two methods and deal atlength with the last, most widelyused method.
Specimen: Very few birders willever need to be concerned withthis form of documentation. If youdo secure a specimen (e.g. aroadkill) there are some specificsteps that should be taken todocument the record.
Unless professional facilities forthe preparation of a study skin areavailable, the specimen should befrozen as quickly as possible. Itshould be double-wrapped infreezer bags with as much air aspossible evacuated from the bags.Two complete sets of data shouldbe made, one attached directly to
the specimen and the other as alabel outside. The data shouldinclude the following: the date thespecimen was found; the exactlocation; the collector; the colourof fleshy parts (e.g. legs); anyrelevant comments (e.g. windowkill). Arrangements should then bemade to transport the specimen toeither the Royal Ontario Museum(Toronto) or the National Museumof Canada (Ottawa).
Photograph/Recording: With thecoming of affordable Single LensReflex cameras (SLRs) andcompact tape recorders manymore sightings are beingdocumented with high qualityphotographs and tape recordedsong. The ROM maintains aphoto/tape duplicate file of rarebird records for Ontario. TheOBRC welcomes mechanicallyrecorded evidence of rare birdsand will, if requested, duplicateand return material supplied. A"Rare Bird Report" outlining allrelevant details of the sightingshould accompany the materialevidence.
When photographing rare birdsa few points should be kept inmind. Ideally, the photograph
G. Tom Hince, RR 1, Leamington, Ontario N8H 3V4
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should, without any doubt, clearlyidentify the bird. While distant,slightly blurry shots are oftenadequate for very distinctivespecies (e.g. Clark's Nutcracker),extremely crisp, full-frame shotsmay be needed for others (e.g.Long-billed Dowitcher). A seriesof photographs may be necessaryfor some species and may alsoyield additional information, suchas subspecific identity. Thepresence of other· birds in thephotograph is often useful as it canhelp to determine the relative sizeand external factors such aslighting. A bonus is to identify thelocation of the sighting by adistinctive geographic feature inthe background. Always retain acopy of at least one identifiablephotograph in case of loss ordamage in the transportation orduplication process.
Sight Records: This type ofdocumentation is of interest tomost observers. But what exactlyis the purpose of a sight record? Itshould be an historic account ofan observation which willcontinue to stand as validmaterial evidence in the future.Documentation of a sight recordmust therefore, be as complete andprecise as possible. For example,even if an OBRC member has seena rarity but does not feel thesubmitted documentation iscomplete, then that member shouldnot accept the record. This mayseem perplexing but it is the onlyway to utilize sight records in avalid scientific record.
Asa member of the OBRC, Ifind it extremely difficult to rejectany record. In a pastime where we
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all share a common goal suchdecisions are a loss not only to thereporter( s) but to the historicalrecord. At present the OBRCrejects about 25% of submittedrecords. I am sure I speak for allmembers of the committee insaying our goal is 100%acceptance of submitted records.
What are the reasons for theserejected records? Usually they arenot complex. Often they are simpleyet critical omissions or generallyincomplete descriptions. Forexample, a common problem isthat while the' field marks' may bedescribed, the actual shape, sizeand proportions of the bird areneglected! Finally, it simply hasnever been stated what isconsidered adequate documentation for a sight record.
Therefore it seems appropriateto present a basic interpretation ofhow to document a sight recordwith some examples. This is notintended as a rigid format but as aguideline which can be adapted.
The logical place to start is withthe" Rare Bird Report" orverification form. About 20different forms with a variety offormats are circulating throughoutthe province. I would recommendthat all submissions to the OBRCbe done on the new standardreport form available from theSecretary, OBRC'(see backcover). Much of the informationrequested may seem tedious but itis all necessary.
There are four basic parts to anyreport form: miscellaneous details;circumstances of the observation;complete descrip~ion; discussion.Each section will be discussedseparately with examples.
Miscellaneous Details: This isusually a straightforward series offill in the blank type questions.The most necessary ones are listedbelow.1. Species? Sex? Plumage?
Number? (e.g. Red Phalarope,sex unknown, fall adult)
2. Locality? (e.g. Essex Co.,Leamington, Leamington Pierat end of Erie St)
3. Date and time of observation?(e.g. 4 October 1981,12:4112:53 p.m.)
5. Weather? Lighting conditions?(e. g. no wind or precipitation,overcast)
6. Date and time of writing report?(e.g. 4 October 1981, 6:006:30 p.m.)
7. Name? Address? Signature(e.g. John Doe, RR 3,Leamington, Ont N1 T 3V6)
Circumstances of theobservation: This section shouldinclude the following details: howyou came upon the bird; initialimpressions of the bird; who youwere with; when you identified thebird; conditions for viewing thebird; distance over which theobservation was made as well asinformation which helps to clarifythe observational circumstances.For example, "As Jane Doe andmyself drove up to the base ofLeamington Dock we noticed agreyish-white robin-sized birdsitting in the water about 30m upthe south side of the pier. Westopped and viewed it through theopen car window and immediatelyidentified the bird as a fall adult
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Red Phalarope. We slowlyapproached the bird to withinabout 10m in completelyunobstructed view for two minutes.Viewing conditions were excellentWhen we left after about 10minutes the bird was still in thesame location."
Complete Description: This is byfar the most important section ofthe report. Where possibleoriginalfield notes or sketchesshould be attached or photocopied. The OBRC realizes thatnot everyone is artistically inclined(myself included) but by all meansuse simple, rudimentary diagrams.These sketches are extremelyhelpful when well labelled andclearly presented and are almostessential for complex featheringpatterns. A description can bebroken into five parts: plumage;fleshy parts; size and shape;behavior; vocalizations.
1. Plumage-In this section theentire plumage of the bird shouldbe described. Try to be as specificas possible. If, for example, youare describing wing-bars, saywhether they were broad ornarrow, which coverts they wereon, what colour they were, etc. Allfield guides have a basic outline ofthe topography of a bird indicatingall the feather details. Theseoutlines can be very helpful inindicating specific areas of theindividual. If you are usingcomparatives such as "sandcoloured" remember that thecomparative itself is often variable.In this case, sand can vary fromblack to red to white! Figure Igives an example of a simplydiagrammed, yet completely
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e~e!l",e -~e!\ow on lore.s)Whl-t-e beh.'l\d eye
bold bl~c.k o.f eC\. Or'\.. c~e.ek~r\d nec..k
b('\~h.t ./"~ellow-+h('CAt
Two !toldwh.rte UJI(\~'oo.r5
b 0 \d bla.d< s-tre.o.ksen. f 1C\.i\ks
Figure I. A simply diagrammed, yet completely diagnostic plumagedescription of a Yellow-throated Warbler. Other notes on the page givefurther details of sighting.
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diagnostic plumage descriptioneven to subspecies.
2. Fleshy Parts-This includesthe legs, bill, eyes, occasionallyfacial skin (e.g. Black Vulture),and eye-ring, if fleshy as in gulls.Special attention should be placedon colour as this is a crucial factorin some groups. Bill shape,proportions and leg length are
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important considerations as well.Figure 1 provides adequatedocumentation, for the speciesdescribed, in respect of this sectionof the description.
3. Size and Shape-What type ofbird was it? (e.g. a grebe? aheron?) More importantly, howlarge was it? The best measure ofcomparison is another nearby
species. Remember that thesespecies must be correctly identifiedto make the comparison valid.Differentiate between tallness andbulk. Many short-legged shorebirds are as large and bulky aslong-legged species but are"shorter". If there is no yardstickfor comparison, say so. Describethe shape using the same method.
4. Behaviour-Describe what thebird did. Was it sitting? flying?resting? preening? If it was feeding,was it probing in the mud,flycatching or drilling holes? If itflew, describe the flight pattern.Was it undulating or direct, weakor powerful? If it was swimming,how high was it in the water? Didit dive? How often? How did ittake off? Did it pump or flick itstailor wings?
5. Vocalizations-Vocalizationsare important, even the smallestchip-note. Try to be as precise aspossible, although admittedlydescribing a call or song is verydifficult. Avoid saying "It was thecall of the Swainson' s Warbler,with which I am totally familiar."This is not considered validevidence. Was the song long orshort, loud or soft, clear and liquidor harsh and chattery? Was itjumbled, continuous or crescendo?Use phonetics if you are familiarwith them. However, I have rarelyheard two people describe thesame song with the samephonetics!
Discussion: In this section youshould explain why you believe itto be the stated species. Explainyour reasoning and considerationofall similar species. This can
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include marks you checked for butdid not see. Describe yourexperience, and that of otherobservers (if any), with the-reported species, similar species,in similar plumage, other plumage.Include any reference material youhave consulted during or after theobservation and how it affectedyour decision, if at all. If you knowof any observers who saw the birdbut disagree with your identification or were not completelyconvinced list their names orpersuade them to either submittheir own written report or appendand identify their comments toyour report. The first and lastdates of observation should beincluded, where possible.
To many experienced birders,the foregoing may seem insultinglyobvious. Unfortunately someindividuals continue to submitincomplete reports. To allobservers, experienced to novice, Ihope this guideline is of use. Tosummarize sight records again, thefollowing are crucial. 1) Be ascomplete and precise as possible.2) Do not assume anything.3) Field notes, sketches anddiagrams should be used, ifpossible.
A final selfish plea! Judgingyour peers records is already causefor much agonizing and soulsearching. Complete, well-writtenreports would make the job offuture OBRC members mucheasier.
AcknowledgementsThank you to Dave Brewer whosethoughts were extremely helpful inpreparing this report. Also OBRCmembers, particularly Bob Curryfor critical comments.
