IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
REVIEW SPECIES

The Idaho Bird Records Committee is charged, in part, with maintaining a scientifically valuable accounting of both species and species' occurrence in the state of Idaho. Our knowledge and understanding of the status and distribution of certain rare or unusual species in the state is very limited. This Committee solicits documentation of sightings of these "Review Species" from the birding community and general population at large. By providing this documentation, you are better able to help the Committee maintain the integrity of the state database. A more accurate picture of the status and distribution of these rarer species within the state will then emerge.

For which species is documentation requested? Sightings of ANY species listed in the list below should be documented as thoroughly as possible, and the resulting Rare Bird Report Form for that sighting should be submitted to the IBRC Secretary.

Many past sightings of species on this review list were not documented sufficiently to be reviewed or endorsed by the IBRC; indeed the Committee was inactive for a period of time. But reports simply deemed "likely valid" can still show valuable occurrence trends within our borders, even if the documention of those reports failed to meet the threshold for IBRC endorsement. Click any underlined species name in the list below to see a comprehensive tally that contains ALL reports -- even those considered "likely valid" as well as those records that have undergone IBRC review.

The sequence of this list is based on the 7th edition of the AOU Checklist, 45th supplement. The Review List was last updated by the Idaho Bird Records Committee on 28 January 2007. More updates are imminent. IBRC members: Chuck Trost, Jay Carlisle, and Cliff Weisse comprise the Checklist Committee.

Please use the following key to interpret the meaning of the abbreviations used in the review list.  There was a major revision of this list that was adopted by IBRC in December of 2008.  The revision is intended to make more specific requests for data including for some field identifiable subspecies, regionally and or seasonally rare species, and to raise awareness of the possibility that some of these species may be breeding in Idaho despite the fact that it has not yet been confirmed.  Although it may take a bit of effort to become familiar with the format of the current list we feel the potential improvement in the quality of the data obtained far outweighs the slight inconvenience involved in learning how to interpret the list.  If anything needs clarification please feel free to contact any IBRC member with your questions.

Seasonal abbreviations:
S = Summer - June 1-July 31
Wi = Winter - December 1-February 29.
M = Migration
All - all seasons
note that all seasonal abbreviations are in capital letters

Regional abbreviations:
c = central
e = east
p = panhandle
w = west
all = all regions
note that all regional abbreviations are in lower case letters
Regional Map

Breeding reports:
B = Breeding
Confirmation of breeding must include at least one of the following:
1- Nest with young seen or heard
2 - Examined specimen of nestling
3 - Nest with viable egg(s)
4 - Fledgling(s) observed (fledgling is defined as young away from nest but without adult-sized flight feathers)
5 - Occupied nest (adults regularly entering and leaving a nest)
6 - Adults attending young (adults carrying fecal sacs or food for young)
7 - Recently used nest with eggshells (must be in good condition and eggshells identifiable)

Many species are suspected of breeding because of circumstantial evidence (a pair on territory during breeding season, etc). Some of these are regularly occurring or even common species. You can help further the understanding of avian species distribution in Idaho by reporting breeding of these species. For more details and comprehensive information on species distribution, visit the Idaho Bird Distribution/Mapping by Latilong section of this web site.