[cobirds] eBird and Willet and Fox Sparrow (among others)

Hi all:

Being responsible for the filters used by eBird to determine for entries which species are regular for time and place and which are not, I decided last year to change how certain aspects of those filters are presented in relation to a few species, particularly Willet and Fox Sparrow.  Willet is a rare-and-localized breeder in the state, but a common (and widespread) migrant.  As far as anyone knows, all occurrences of the species in the state refer to the western subspecies inornata, known colloquially as Western Willet or, in eBird parlance, 'Willet (Western).'  The eastern subspecies has not been shown to occur and is an exceedingly unlikely candidate for vagrancy to the state.  Thus, essentially, all Willets in the state are Western Willets, so I have altered all of the state's eBird filters to allow for 'Willet (Western)' but NOT for the straight-up species category, 'Willet.'

One monkey-wrench that this action creates is that anyone entering data needs to check the 'Show Subspecies' box in the checklist view when entering data.  I have provided an example of this in a screen capture (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tony_leukering/9119119084/).  This picture also shows that the 'Show Rarities' box is checked, thus showing the straight-up Willet entry (which is noted as 'RARE'); this entry would not appear without that box being checked.  The entry in this checklist for Willet is indicated by the left arrow, pointing to the 9 Western Willets at Barr Lake, Adams Co., on 24 April 2004.  This subspecies entry would not appear without the 'Show Subspecies' box being checked.

Fox Sparrow presents something of a slightly different treatment, as at least two forms of the species are found annually in the state:  Slate-colored Fox Sparrow [in eBird, 'Fox Sparrow (Slate-colored)] and Red Fox Sparrow [Fox Sparrow (Red)].  However, the two forms are virtually never in the state at the same time (barring the odd wintering Slate-colored Fox Sparrow that seems to like the McConnells' yard).  Slate-colored is the breeding form in the mountains and is present, typically, from some time in April to some time in September.  Despite this form's breeding occurrence in the mountains, it is exceedingly rare on the plains and fairly rare anywhere as a migrant.  This form seems to be able to come and go from the state without making stopovers outside breeding elevations and habitat, though that is somewhat less true on the West Slope than it is in eastern Colorado.  Red Fox Sparrow, a form for which the Colorado Bird Records Committee requests documentation, is of annual occurrence in very small numbers, primarily on the plains, typically as a fall migrant in Oct-Nov, but with a bird or two in some winters.

Because Fox Sparrows of any sort are rare on the plains, the Colorado eBird filters for that region do not allow for the species at all, and one must check the 'Show Rarities' box to have any Fox Sparrow category visible for entry.  In the montane counties, Fox Sparrow (Slate-colored) is allowed by the relevant eBird filters for the time that the form is typically in those areas.  Since nearly all of the Fox Sparrows found during that time period (~April - ~September) are local breeders or progeny thereof, no other category of Fox Sparrow is permitted by the eBird filters for montane Colorado; one must check the 'Show Rarities' box to have any other categories become available.  I have provided an example of Fox Sparrow from a checklist from Jersey Jim Flats, Montezuma Co., on 7 July 2006, that shows the 'Show Subspecies' box checked and the filter-allowed Fox Sparrow entry (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tony_leukering/9119054654/in/photostream/lightbox/).  The species-level category ('Fox Sparrow') would have been available had I checked the 'Show Rarities' box.

I did all of this to prepare Colorado eBird data for the possible/probable split of such species.  I am preparing to perform similar filter tasks for Sage Sparrow, because it seems likely that the American Ornithologists' Union will accept the proposal to split that species.  As far as we know, all Colorado records of Sage Sparrow are of what would be the interior species (whatever the AOU would decide to call it, perhaps Great Basin Sage-Sparrow).

Thanks for your attention and for using eBird!

Tony Leukering
Colorado eBird reviewer
San Clemente Island, CA

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