what to count?

[gnr479]

Hello All

I was wondering what people count on their world lists.Personally I use clements.I was wondering as clements does not split the 3 darters or diomorphic egret, yet they appear split in most fieldguides to the countries they appear in.I am most interested to know for putting my total in the world list section on surfbirds,do not want to be behind if I can be in front!.

Best Regards

Glyn Nicholson-Ross

[AndyB]

Hi Glyn, I and many others use Clements but everyone has slightly different rules! That's why it's so hard to play on a level playing field. As long as you're happy with your list, that's the most important thing.

[beltonbirder]

I use the UK400 list so I have some armchair ticks

[forktail]

As someone who doesn't keep lists as such I'm perhaps not exactly the best person to reply but most people who do, use Clements. In the Oriental region though there are so many incipient splits and splits that have happened recently (the avifauna is vastly overlumped) that it's almost impossible to keep on top of things and if you only use Clements you might overlook several very interesting local/regional forms that will soon be elevated to species level. Using Clements along with regular checks of journals such as Forktail, Cotinga etc and keeping an eye on a few other important regional publications should enable you to have a list that reflects current taxonomic trends, which being what they are at present will also mean a bigger list.

I only know if I've seen a form or not! And use OBC taxonomy.

atb
F.