Checklist & Nomenclature Notes
OVERVIEW
The bird checklists on our website under the Definitions link have been carefully created and edited based on available information. They have been checked against field guides and other sources for accuracy. Nevertheless, mistakes have a way of creeping in. If you notice an error, please let us know. Because the meaning of common terms often varies between tour operators, we provide definitions here. We also provide notes regarding species distribution and nomenclature needed to interpret our checklist information. The term 'target birds' has different meaning for different people and often depends on what a person has already seen before. We therefore clarify what we mean by the term when used on this website. Possible splits that we treat as separate species that are not currently recognized as such are indicated by an asterisk on all checklists.
STATUS CODES
Status codes are based on IUCN classifications of species as critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable or near-threatened.
DISTRIBUTION CODES
Endemic Found in a limited range within one country. Some authors will treat a species as endemic even if it's range encompasses a large portion of a single large country such as Brazil. We don't think that is a helpful or particularly informative expansion of a concept that typically implies a species is range restricted as well as found in only one country.
Near Endemic Found in a limited range within two countries. In some cases we expand the term to include a third country if it's located in a small area where 3 countries are adjacent. For example, we use the term "Near Endemic to refer to Guyana birds restricted to the Guianan Shield geological formation and the Tepui Highlands located at the confluence of Venezuela, Guyana, and northeastern Brazil (often called Tepui Endemics). Similarly, we apply the term to a few species found only in a small corner of Panama (Bocas del Toro), Costa Rica, and a tiny corner of Honduras. We don't use the term for species whose range extends into Suriname and French Guiana along with Brazil or even Venezuela unless it has a small range or is extremely rare in Venezuela or Brazil (often called Guianan Endemics). We also don't use the term for species restricted to the Amazon basin but have large ranges encompassing one or several countries, species that some refer to as Amazonian Endemics.
Local Species has a very patchy distribution within a large area, is found in multiple small, geographically separated locales, or is erratic within a restricted range.
Range restricted Species has a limited range in the country. This can mean different things in large and small countries. Limited range implies that the species is found in a small geographical area within the country, within narrow altitudinal band(s) along mountain ranges, or at the very edge of a larger range that is mainly in adjacent or other countries. In some cases a species is somewhat locally distributed within a restricted range, in which case we choose the designation that seems most descriptive.
PRESENCE CODES
Presence codes indicate seasonal presence of a species in a country or locale.
Boreal Migrant Non-breeding visitor during boreal winter (Austral summer). May include transients passing through as well as individuals remaining throughout non-breeding season, in which case species is more common during spring and/or fall migration. A few (or many young non-breeding) birds may remain in summer. A few South American species that visit a country during boreal winter are also shown as "boreal" migrants (eg Lesson's Seedeater in Peru).
Austral Migrant Non-breeding visitor during austral winter, typically from farther south (eg. from Argentina or other South American countries).
Transient Primarily a spring and/or fall migrant. A few birds may rarely over-winter. A few non-breeding birds may remain during breeding season.
Erratic Moves about erratically following food supply, breeding in different locales from one year to the next. Or, is irregularly and unpredictably present in the area.
Non-breeding Dispersal Disperses into area during non-breeding season. Includes altitudinal movements as well as other dispersals. Species not present during breeding season.
Breeding Season Only Species is present during breeding season only. Species migrates or disperses out of area during non-breeding season.
Very Rare/Casual/Vagrant A few records of wanderers. None to a few records per year may occur. Very rare resident birds are not included in this category.
Accidental One or two reliable records. Species not to be expected again. Some accidentals are old records that may represent species once rarely present but now extirpated.
DISTRIBUTION NOTES
Species can be widely distributed or confined to very small ranges. These are relative terms and a whole continuum in between is possible. Nevertheless, we use discrete terms such as endemic, range-restricted, and the like to describe a species distribution.Also, distributional designations are not mutually exclusive. For example, a species can be both endemic or range restricted and locally distributed at the same time. Hence, to some extent our categorizations are subjective and may be inconsistent.
Sometimes information about species distribution is incomplete, especially for more secretive species, so designations may be inaccurate. For the most part we've relied on information provided in field guides along with various sources on the internet. However, range maps in field guides are sometimes out of date, and we have found many gross errors in checklists found on the internet.
We do not distinguish between common migrants and scarce or rare migrants or between transients and winter residents on our checklists. We do not typically provide distributional information about boreal migrants or winter visitors even though in some cases these species are very range restricted or localized on their wintering grounds. We do provide distributional information for some austral migrants where applicable.
We tried to be as accurate as possible, but the information should not be taken as necessarily scientifically proven, and errors are certainly possible. Our main intent is to provide guidelines for birders planning their trips with specific target species in mind. We would appreciate feedback about any errors that are noticed.
NOMENCLATURE NOTES
Species nomenclature follows specific taxonomic rules, with both scientific and common names depending on precedence with the earliest names being used in most cases. Common names recognized by standards committees are sometimes changed due to conflicts with other names, non-descriptiveness, or other reasons. They can also change when species are split based on the latest research results. Of equal consequence is the ordering of families and species within families. These are meant to reflect the closeness of relationships between taxa. With DNA research on many species, the relatedness of families, genera, and species originally based on morphological or behavioral characteristics has been shown to be inaccurate. Hence, the latest Clements nomenclature has families and even genera within families ordered quite differently than earlier classifications used by field guides and most familiar to birders. In some cases, we've retained the common names generally used in field guides and best known to birders, with the new official names given in parentheses.
Finally, authorities do not agree in many cases as to whether different populations or subspecies should be split into separate species or not. We have relied on authorities other than Clements in some cases, splitting species that we think are likely to be future splits as more information becomes available and standards committees take future action.
NOTES ABOUT TARGET BIRDS
Target birds are species a person most wants to see when visiting a locale. In many cases, a person's target bird list is very personal and depends on what they've already seen or not seen before. For first-time visitors to a region, everything is new. That doesn't make every species a target bird. Some birds are hard to miss, while others are readily seen elsewhere even though they're locally distributed, uncommon, or rare in a particular destination country. In a more general sense, target birds as species best seen in relatively few places and deserve special attention when visiting those places.
We've put together target bird lists for many locales we visit while on tour. Our target bird lists are more or less based on the following criteria: (1) the species is very range restricted or endemic, (2) the species is found in only a few places readily accessible to typical birding tours, (3) the species is widely distributed but most easily seen in a few particular places, or (4) the species is hard to see anywhere but this is a good place to look for it. We don't include many widely distributed species that are "good" birds because they're rare or very hard to see everywhere. We also don't usually include species having limited distribution in a given country but are readily seen in other countries. Exceptions are birds with disjunct ranges that are good candidates for future splits.
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