British Ornithologists' Union

British Ornithologists' Union
Abbreviation BOU
Formation 1858
Purpose Ornithological research
President
 Prof Jenny Gill
University of East Anglia
Vice-president
 Prof Graham Martin
University of Birmingham:
Vice-president
 Shelley Hinsley
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
Secretary
 Helen Baker
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Key people
 Alfred Newton (founder)
Main organ
 Council of Trustees
Website www.bou.org.uk

The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds ("ornithology") in Britain, Europe and around the world, in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry Baker Tristram and other scientists.[1] Its quarterly journal, Ibis, has been published since 1859.

The Records Committee (BOURC) is a committee of the BOU established to maintain the British List, the official list of birds recorded in Great Britain.

BOU is headquartered in Peterborough and is a registered charity in England & Wales[2] and Scotland.[3]

Objectives and activities

Records Committee

The British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee (BOURC) is the recognised national bird records committee for Britain. It maintains a list of birds of Britain. Its findings are published in Ibis, the house journal of its parent body the British Ornithologists' Union (BOU). From time to time, BOURC re-reviews records which it has previously accepted, to ensure they are acceptable in the light of improved knowledge of the species in question.

The Committee does not assess records of birds from Ireland; that task is carried out by the Irish Rare Birds Committee, which publishes its decisions in Irish Birds. For many years, records of IRBC-assessed rarities were included in the BOURC's reports, but this ceased in 2002, at the request of IRBC.[4]

BOURC is widely recognised as maintaining the most authoritative list of birds of Britain.[5]

BOURC has a chairman, a secretary and a number of voting members. It has a taxonomic subcommittee, set up to advise on taxonomic matters.

Committee and taxonomic reports

The Committee publishes an annual report in Ibis (the BOU's international journal of avian science). All reports can be accessed via the British List pages of the BOU website.

The Committee's Taxonomic Sub-committee also publishes regular reports, also in Ibis, and these too can be accessed via the British List pages of the BOU website.

The Druridge Bay curlew

Following a detailed review by the British Birds Rarities Committee into the controversial identification of a curlew seen at Druridge Bay in Northumberland in 1998, which came to the conclusion that it was, as had been believed by many observers, a first-summer slender-billed curlew, this identification was accepted by BOURC, leading to the addition of this species to the British List.[6]

Awards and lectures

The following are awarded:[7]

List of presidents

Honorary members

The following have been elected as honorary overseas members:[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bowdler Sharpe, R (1908). "Alfred Newton". British Birds 1: 33–9. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  2. ↑ British Ornithologists' Union, Registered Charity no. 249877 at the Charity Commission
  3. ↑ British Ornithologists' Union, Registered Charity no. SC044850 at the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator
  4. ↑ Rogers, Michael J. and the Rarities Committee (2002) Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 2001 British Birds 95(10): 476-528
  5. ↑ The BOU website lists the following organisations as having indicated that they regard the decisions on status and taxonomy reached by BOURC as comprising the 'official' British List: British Trust for Ornithology, Countryside Council for Wales, English Nature, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Ornithologists' Club, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and The Wildlife Trusts.
  6. ↑ Steele, Jimmy and Didier Vangeluwe (2002) From the Rarities Committee's files: the Slender-billed Curlew at Druridge Bay, Northumberland, in 1998 British Birds 95(6):279-299
  7. ↑ http://www.bou.org.uk/about-the-bou/administration-and-people/medals-and-awards/
  8. ↑ http://www.bou.org.uk/about-the-bou/administration-and-people/medals-and-awards/

External links