Checklists Home
A key feature of BUBO Listing is that we do not personally decide what is or is not acceptable to count on a list. Instead we make use of official species lists compiled by other "authorities". For each region we assign a suitable authority which determines the species that are available for that region. In some cases more than one authority is assigned to a region and the lister can decide which to follow. We try to keep our authority base-lists up-to-date. If you are aware of an update that we haven’t incorporated then please let us know.
In some cases listers may wish to add a species that has newly occurred but doesn’t yet appear on the authority base-list. We consider such cases on their individual merit. Where we feel that it is likely that a species will be added, following the proper deliberations of the authority, then we may add the species but flag it as 'provisional'. We tend to do this only for newly occurring rarities, not potential taxonomic splits. Additionally some authorities publish a 'provisional' or 'hypothetical' list: species that have been accepted as occuring but do not meet more stringent criteria for inclusion on the official list, e.g. sight records without conclusive documentary evidence. We also flag these species as 'provisional'. Some authorities include species pairs or groups where identification cannot be narrowed down to one confirmed species, e.g. "Pacific-slope/Cordilleran Flycatcher", "Red-necked/Little Stint". In general we do not include these. Because of these differences in approach the species totals and lists may vary between BUBO Listing and the "official" list. Readers should always refer to the authority and not to BUBO Listing if they require the official list.
The different authorities used by BUBO Listing are available below, arranged within regions. Click on a region and then the required authority to read more information about it, follow links to the official websites and to view the full species lists as used by BUBO Listing.
We welcome help in completing gaps in BUBO Listing coverage: if you'd like to contribute then please contact us.
World
A number of different world bird checklists are in existence, e.g. from BirdLife International, Clements, International Ornithological Congress, Howard and Moore, Sibley and Monroe. These differ in their taxonomy, key purpose and frequency of update. For birders interested in keeping personal world lists, Clements has typically been favoured but the newer IOC list is becoming increasingly popular. We offer both of these on BUBO Listing.
Africa
The African Bird Club (ABC) produce a checklist for the entire Africa region, as well as individual country lists. However, these have not been maintained by ABC so we recommend using our IOC Africa list, with individual IOC based lists for each country.
Oceania (Australasia)
The geographical region of Oceania, and subregion of Australasia, do not currently have official checklists available. However official lists are available, and supported by BUBO Listing, for the individual countries of Australia and New Zealand.
Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia
The Ornithological Society of the Middle East (OSME) produce a checklist for the entire region. BUBO Listing supports this as well as official individual country lists where available.
North and Middle America
North and Middle America is the region covered by the American Ornithologists Union (AOU), the official body maintaining a checklist for it. Within continental North America the list produced by the American Birding Association (ABA) is preferred by most listers. BUBO Listing supports both of these lists for the appropriate regions, as well as official lists for individual states.
Oriental (Asia)
The Oriental region is covered by two checklists: one produced by the Oriental Bird Club, and one based on IOC. Similarly, we have both OBC and IOC lists for the subregion of the Indian subcontinent. Since the Oriental Bird Club have not been maintaining their list for taxonomic updates, we recommend using the IOC lists where available.
Where official country lists exist, these are available on BUBO Listing; where no official list exists for a country, we have produced IOC or OBC country lists, again the former now being preferred.
South America
The American Ornithologists Union (AOU) also maintain a checklist for South America via its South American Classification Committee (SACC). BUBO Listing supports the SACC list for the whole region, as well as all individual countries within it. Alternate official country lists, where available, are also supported.
Western Palearctic
The Western Palearctic is the region composed of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Its exact boundaries differ depending on the authority in question: traditionally the definition as per "BWP" (Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palearctic) is used, as shown.
BUBO Listing supports various Western Palearctic lists, including the Association of European Rarities Committees (AERC) list. This is no longer maintained regularly, so we currently recommend using the IOC list.
For individual countries within the Western Palearctic, we use official national lists where available. These are all listed below.