WEST VIRGINIA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE ESTABLISHED
George A. Hall

Until recently the criterion for adding a species to the official state list of bird species was to have a specimen preserved in a museum.  Today it is impossible to use this criterion since collecting permits are difficult to obtain, and most of the birding community is unhappy with the idea of collecting.  How then to evaluate sight records of new species?  Many states have organized bird record committees.  These communities, the members of which are presumed to have expert knowledge of identification, consider the evidence supporting the occurrence of a species in the state, and decide by vote whether to add the species to the state list.

West Virginia has lagged behind other states in forming such a committee, but with the cooperation of the Nongame Wildlife and Natural Heritage Program of the Division of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Section, a West Virginia Bird Records Committee has now been established.  An Organizing Committee of 15 volunteers representing all parts of the state established a set of Bylaws to guide the action of the Committee.  These Bylaws are published in The Redstart, 63: 65-68.  The Bylaws call for a committee of five voting members and a non-voting Secretary with one member of the Committee being replaced each year.  The Secretary is a member of the Nongame Wildlife & Natural Heritage Program staff.  The Organizing Committee elected the initial five members to serve for 1996.

The Committee is charged with maintaining the official list of West Virginia Birds.  The starting point is the List given in West Virginia Birds (Hall, 1983) and the supplements to the List (Hall, 1991: Hall, 1996).  There are two parts to this list: the Regular List, and the Hypothetical List.  The Committee will consider all reports concerning new species for the List, as well as species that are included on a “Review List” now being prepared.  This Review List contain all species on the Hypothetical List as well as those species on the Regular List for which there are five or fewer records.
Persons wishing to have a report acted upon will submit to the Secretary full documentation, and any supporting material, e.g., photographs, sound recordings, feathers, or specimens.  The Committee will then decide if the evidence indicates that the record is satisfactory.
 

References
Hall, G.A. (1983).  West Virginia Birds.  Pittsburgh: Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Special Publication No. 7.
Hall, G.A. (1991).  Supplement III to the List of West Virginia Birds.  The Redstart, 58: 107-109.
Hall, G.A. (1996).  Supplement IV to the List of West Virginia Birds.  The Redstart, 63: 41-44.
 

INTRUCTIONS & FORM for submitting a new record.

WV State Bird List (PDF format)
WV Bird Review List-less than 5 records (PDF format)

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