[Joren van Schie]

Hi,

where can I find the official checklist of European birds (like the AOU for America)?

Joren van Schie, Netherlands

[Richard Klim]

Very good question, Joren. Coincidentally, I made the following posting on a related subject to EuroBirdNet earlier today:

"I have been impressed by the work of the AERC (Association of European
Records and Rarities Committees) TAC (Taxonomic Advisory Committee) in
recent years. Some of the best minds on the European birding scene were
working towards achieving a consensus on the taxonomy of European and
Western Palearctic birds, with regular minuted meetings of the key players.
This culminated in the wide-ranging December 2003 taxonomic recommendations
(www.aerc.eu/DOCS/AERCTAC.pdf), and the 15th draft of the WP checklist,
which together provided solid foundations for an ongoing process of review
and standardisation, supported by a carefully designed voting system.

After such excellent progress, I was concerned by the lack of visible
activity on the AERC website in the past 3-4 years, and contacted AERC to
seek clarification of the current situation. Marnix Vandegehuchte kindly
responded, as appended below. It is encouraging to hear that AERC is still
in good health, but it is hard not to conclude that perhaps some momentum
has been lost.

Europe and the Western Palearctic are represented by a fragmented collection
of records committees, each beholden to the current taxonomic preferences of
a relatively small group of individuals. The AERC TAC offers the best hope
for achieving some level of consensus despite this complex background.

To varying degrees, the member committees are of course primarily concerned
with matters related to their own 'patches'. But DBA/CSNA, STC and CAF for
example have demonstrated a clear interest in making a positive contribution
to the wider WP picture. In contrast, BOURC has taken a narrower view, its
remit extending only to species on the British list, and has generally
participated only in taxonomic decisions of immediate local relevance. This
is unfortunate given the wealth of expertise available within the British
birding community which consequently has no effective representation on
wider taxonomic issues at the European/WP level.

Despite the Western Palearctic being arguably the most intensively birded
region in global terms, it is embarassing that birders must use the American
Clements checklist as the only widely recognised and up to date taxonomic
baseline for the region, despite its complete lack of specific justification
for taxonomic decisions. [Unfortunately the infinitely superior and more
rigorous Dickinson / Howard & Moore checklist is not maintained between
issues, except to correct errors.]

Hopefully my concerns will prove unjustified, and the forthcoming AERC TAC
document will provide evidence of further real progress in the last 4 years.
Ideally there would one day be a widely accepted and respected regional
taxonomic baseline to fulfill the role played in North America by the AOU
checklist."

Richard Klim
Somerset, UK

----- Original Message -----
From: "Marnix Vandegehuchte" <marnix.vandegehuchte@telenet.be>
To: "Richard Klim" <richard@klim.co.uk>
Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2007 5:03 PM
Subject: Re: AERC

> Hello Richard,
>
> There have been 2 smaller meetings (Belgium and Luxembourg) but no minutes
> where written.
> There were plans to organize a meeting this year in Belgium but there was
> not enough time. It will probably be for next year.
> Laurent Raty is working on a new document for AERC TAC. As soon as it is
> finished it will be published on our site.
> There is still much cooperation between European members. There is a
> closed mailing list and forum for members of rarities committees.
>
> Hope this helps a little bit
>
> Regards
>
> Marnix
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Richard Klim" <richard@klim.co.uk>
> To: <marnix.vandegehuchte@pandora.be>
> Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2007 10:53 AM
> Subject: AERC
>
>> Dear Marnix,
>>
>> I am interested to understand the current status of AERC.
>>
>> The most recent significant output seems to have been the comprehensive
>> December 2003 Taxomomic Recommendations of the AERC Taxonomic Advisory
>> Committee. And the most recent meeting minutes on the AERC website refer
>> to
>> the August 2003 meeting in Romania.
>>
>> Has such dialogue and cooperation between European members now been
>> discontinued?
>>
>> Many thanks for any clarification.
>>
>> Richard Klim
>> Somerset, UK

[Joren van Schie]

Hi Richard,

thanks a lot for your post. I'm impressed by the work of the AERC TAC too.
That list is exactly what I was looking for. Too bad it runs behind time.
I hope the AERC TAC will continue the list and keep up with new taxonomic changes as it could be very valuable to all European birdwatchers when it's completed. It's a shame that Europe has no checklist such as the AOU-list at this moment.
That makes the latest version of the AERC-list (2003) the most recently published official list for birds of Europe. Is that correct?

Joren van Schie

[Richard Klim]

Joren,

A number of Western Palearctic checklists have been produced in recent years, some more recent than the latest AERC draft (= 2004). These of course 'include' (and give a taxonomic position on) all European taxa, but do not state which of these taxa have occurred within Europe as opposed to the wider WP. But none could be described as 'official' in the sense of region-wide formal acceptance. Examples include:

DBA/CSNA - Dutch Birding's names: list of WP bird species (2006)
Netfugl.dk (website)
UK400 Club (website)
British Birds - List of Birds of the WP (1997)
Birdwatch Magazine - Checklist of the Birds of the WP (2000)
Birding World - Complete List of the Birds of the WP (1995)

[Joren van Schie]

Ok, it's clear for me now. Thanks for your help.