About the project
With the support of Sakertour, the Carpathian International Environmental Association and the Milvus Group have launched www.rarebirds.hu in order to unite records of rare bird species recorded in the Carpathian Basin on a single data base. It is our opinion that ornithological data can be more informative if determined by natural geographical instead of political borders, giving a truer picture of the status of rare species. For the first time, records of rare birds from the whole area of the Carpathian Basin are gathered on one website. A forthcoming handbook entitled ’The Birds of the Carpathian Basin’ is also in preparation.
The website is solely concerned with rare bird records, which were collated by a group of 12 experts (administrators of the website as well) from the countries of the Carpathian Basin and data can be uploaded only for the species found on this list. Some species are considered rare only in certain parts within the basin and are therefore included (eg. Greater Spotted Eagle), although the list will be reviewed regularly as status of rare birds inevitably change continously.
The website is destined to be a complete archive of rare bird records, however, each individual rarity record will only have two photos (the two best available) and individual entries can be merged into one record. We will reserve the right to delete photos and some data from time to time if necessery.
The website also features a single topic forum for serious discussions solely regarding rare birds of the Carpathian Basin.
We will endeavour to co-operate with all the rarity committees of the Carpathian Basin and assure them a platform for their reports and news. However, we reserve the right to comment on certain data and decisions made by them.The four categories for the records in the database:
The small circle next to each record will be red if the rarity committee of the relevant country has not yet accepted the record or there is no photographic evidence, which would support the record. We also include those records of rare birds in this category (with the red in the circle) where the species has five or less records in the Carpathian Basin and the record is not supported satisfactorily (such as no photographic evidence or specimen). Even those historical records included here (with the red in the circle), which have not been reviewed by the national rarity committees and specimens are no longer available (destroyed, lost or never existed).
The small circle next to each record will be green if the rarity committee of the relevant country has already accepted the record or the country’s offical checklist already includes the record and in case of recent observations if the record has a clear photographic evidence, supporting the identification of the bird, hence the record. We also include those records of rare birds in this category (with a green circle) where the species has five or less records in the Carpathian Basin and the record is supported satisfactorily (such as photographic evidence or specimen).
The small circle next to each record will be black if the record is confirmed by photo but no description has been sent to the relevant rarity committee for evaluation by the end of the observation year.There is no red, green or black colour in the small circle next to the record until the administrators have categorized the record.
