A-B

ABA Area

All species seen within the area encompassed by the 49 continental United States, Canada, the French islands of St. Pierre et Miquelon, and adjacent waters to a distance of 200 nautical miles from land or half the distance to a neighboring country, whichever is less. Greenland, Bermuda and Hawaii are NOT included.

ABA Area Total Ticks

ABA Area Total Ticks is determined by adding one's list for each state, province and territory within the ABA Area. For instance, if you have seen 25 birds in Arizona, 100 in California and 150 in British Columbia your ABA Total Area Ticks would = 275. The ABA Area total ticks is calculated for all species entered into eBird (Life), the current year (Year), or the current month (Month).

What is Abundance?

"Abundance" is the average number of birds reported on all checklists within a specified date range and region. These data tell us what we might to expect when going out birding on an average day. The checklists used in this calculation include those that didn't report the species, providing a measure of relative abundance or how commonly the bird is reported compared to all other species in the region. For example, when looking at data for New York we see that during the week starting 15 May we can expect to find roughly 1 Yellow Warbler while out birding. In contrast, in the same region during the same week we see that zero Rough-legged Hawks, primarily a winter visitor, can be expected in an average day's birding.

AOU Area

The same as North America with the addition of the Hawaiian Islands, Clipperton Island, and Swan, Providencia, and San Andrés Islands in the Gulf of Mexico. In the current version of eBird, this is limited to the 49 continental United States, Canada and Mexico.

What is Average Count?

"Average Count" is the average number of birds seen on checklists with a positive observation for the species within a specified date range and region. This calculation differs from Abundance in that it only incorporates checklists that reported the species (no zeros), essentially telling us how many of each species we can expect to see where the species encountered. For example, starting on the week of 15 Jan we might expect to see about 29 American Crows in areas where the species occurs. This large number indicates the winter flocking behavior of this species. In contrast, starting on the week of 15 May we might expect to see just 3 American Crows where the species occurs. This smaller number indicates the onset of the breeding season when the large flocks break up and disperse to each pairs' breeding location.

Bird Conservation Region (BCR)

Bird Conservation Regions are ecologically distinct regions in North America with similar bird communities, habitats, and resource management issues as defined by mapping teams of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative.

Birding Hot Spot

A specific location open to the general public for bird watching. Hot Spots include Audubon and nature centers, National Wildlife Refuges, Wildlife Management Areas, State and Town Parks, and other locales. “Birding Hot Spots” differs from “My Locations” because Hot Spots are accessible to the general public, while “My Locations” are your private locations. If you know of a public location for watching birds, please take a moment to suggest it for the Birding Hot Spot list.

Birds Per Hour

"Birds per hour" is the average number of birds seen per hour spent birding within a specified date range and region. Similar to Abundance in that it gives the user a measure of the status of birds in a specific area, birds per hour goes one step further and incorporates time into the calculation providing a measure of correction for the effort expended while birding. For instance, if one spent 6 hours birding and recorded just 6 Black-capped Chickadees, the result would be 1 Black-capped Chickadee/hour. But if one spent just 1hr birding and recorded 6 Black-capped Chickadees, the result would be 6 Black-capped Chickadees/hr—indicating a higher abundance. This methodology is used for the Christmas Bird Count and allows for a useful comparison of the various methodologies available in eBird.

C-D

Casual Observation

Observations that involve no time or distance/area components are classified as Incidental Sightings.

Examples of an Incidental Sighting are: an oriole that flies by while you drive to work, or a flock of waxwings that move through your yard while you are weeding your garden.

Required Date/Effort fields: Date.

Checklist Order

A checklist of birds can be presented in two ways, Taxonomic Order or Alphabetical Order. Learning taxonomic order has many benefits, but we suggest ordering your checklist in the method with which you are most comfortable.

Checklist Version

Currently two checklists are available to use when reporting observations:

Most Probable – A checklist that shows only the birds you are likely to see at a specific location for the selected time of year. This checklist is shorter than the official state list because it does not show rare, out-of-range, or out-of-season birds.

Full – A checklist that shows the official state list of all birds recorded in the state where you made your observations. It also shows all birds regardless of season.

Date

The day, month, and year that the birds were observed.

Date and Effort Information

All observations are associated with a specific date, which is selected through drop-down menu selections. Note that you can enter observations as far back in time as January 1, 1965. Effort refers to how much time was spent, how much distance was covered, and how many others were with you when you were recording birds.

Decimal Degrees (DD)

An alternate method to the more familiar Degrees-Minutes-Seconds of expressing latitude and longitude. You can use either Degrees-Minutes-Seconds or DD to enter your location, if you are entering your lat/long directly.

Degrees-Minutes-Seconds (DMS)

A method of expressing latitude and longitude. One degree is roughly equivalent to 72 miles, one minute is roughly equivalent to 1.2 miles, and one second is roughly equivalent to 100 feet. You can use either Decimal Degrees or DMS to enter your location, if you are entering your lat/long directly.

E-F

eBird Random Count

See "Random Count"

Effort Information

Measures how much time was spent and how much distance was covered when recording bird observations. This measure allows scientists to estimate abundance. Effort varies with Observation Type.

Exhaustive Area Count

Exhaustive Area Counts are made while thoroughly searching a given location or area. These types of counts are sometimes used by biologists when monitoring a specific site, however, they can be appropriate for casual birding if you are able to estimate the size (acres or hectares) of the area you searched. The key measure of effort is the size of your area. Secondary measures of effort are time (duration) and distance traveled. If you are unsure of the size of your search area, but have a reliable estimate of the distance you traveled, consider submitting your observations as Travel Counts.

If you are unsure of the area you covered, but have a reliable estimate of distance, consider entering your observations as a Traveling Count.

Examples of Exhaustive Area Counts include: actively searching a local park or woodlot for breeding birds or canoeing back and forth through a marsh to count wading birds. A birding trek around your neighborhood or privately owned property can be an Area Count if you are able to estimate the size of the area you searched.

Required Date/Effort fields: Date, Start Time, Duration, and Area Covered.

What is Frequency?

"Frequency" is the percentage of checklists reporting the species within a specified date range and region. This is the most conservative way of displaying the eBird data. For example, when looking at data from across North America we learn that the Yellow Warbler is reported on roughly 25% of checklists during the week starting 15 May. In contrast, the Cassin’s Sparrow is only reported on .1% of checklists from the same region and date range.

H-K

What is High Count?

"High Count" is the highest count of a species submitted on a single checklist within a specified date range and region. For example, a high count of 16 Ospreys during the week of 15 Sep indicates the fall migratory peak for this species. By refining the date range to the month level one can see specific high counts for each day.

L-N

Latitude and Longitude

A coordinate system made up of imaginary lines that are used to locate points on the Earth’s surface.

Longitude lines run north-south, from the North Pole to the South Pole, and divide the globe into sections shaped like orange wedges. Because the Earth is a sphere, it can be divided in to 360 degrees, just like a circle. Therefore, there are 360 degrees of longitude that divide the globe. Mapmakers long ago decided to place 0 degrees longitude through Greenwich, England. New York State, for example, is west of Greenwich by about 75 degrees of longitude, or about one-quarter of the way around the Earth.

Latitude lines run east-west. The longest line of latitude is the equator, which circles the midsection of the planet. The latitude of the equator is 0 degrees. Latitude lines are parallel to each other, north and south of the equator. The North Pole is 90 degrees north latitude and the South Pole is 90 degrees south latitude. North America lies in between the equator and the North Pole. Forty degrees north latitude runs east-west through the center of the United States.

Life List

All species that you have entered into eBird from all years combined.

Location

The latitude and longitude where you made your observations. All locations are tied to a specific latitude and longitude, whether they refer to a general area, such as a state, or a specific point, such as your backyard.

Mapping Tool

An interactive method to designate your favorite bird-watching locations, or to pinpoint the precise location of an Incidental Sighting. The Mapping Tool allows you to find the location using a street map, topographic map, or aerial map, then pinpoint the exact location and give it a unique name. All locations you create are stored under “My Locations” and are only accessible by you. If you designate a public area, please take a moment to suggest it for the Birding Hot Spot list so others will be able to enter and retrieve observations for that bird-watching location. Private locations (e.g., your backyard) will be stored under “My Locations,” and will only be accessible by you.

My Locations

Your personal list of bird-watching locations. All locations you create are stored here for easy access.

My Observations

Your personal list of bird-watching observations. All observations you submit are stored here for easy access.

My Yard Counts

My Yard Counts is a citizen-science project that combines bird-watching observations around residences in rural, suburban, and urban settings with information about yards. Participants in My Yard Counts follow a standardized bird-watching protocol. We are testing the idea that protecting wilderness areas for birds will be more successful if we also understand the impacts of improving the altered, human-dominated landscapes in between, yard by yard. Visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/MyYardCounts for more information.

North America

As defined by the American Birding Association, North and Central America from the North Pole to the boundary of Panama and Colombia. This includes all of the Aleutian Islands, and is divided from Eurasia by a line in the Bering Sea running midway between Attu, St. Matthew, St. Lawrence, and Little Diomede islands on the North American side, and Mednyy (in the Commander Islands), the Siberian coast, and Diomede Island on the Eurasian side. The North America Region includes Greenland, other related islands within 200 nautical miles of the Pacific and Atlantic coasts; the Bahamas, all of the cays and islands lying between Nicaragua and Jamaica, and all of the Greater and Lesser Antilles south to an including Grenada and Barbados (but excluding Trinidad and Tobago, the Venezuelan islands near 12 degrees north latitude, Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba). In the current version of eBird, this is limited to The United States, Canada and Mexico.

O-R

Observation

An observation consists of two fields: which species you recorded and how many individuals you counted.

Observation Information

An observation consists of two pieces of information: the species and how many individuals of each were noted. This information is entered directly on the interactive checklist and then presented as a summarized checklist for editing before it is uploaded to the central database. The observer must confirm any unusual observations, which will be brought to the attention of an editor.

Observation Type

The protocol followed to record bird observations. The current possible methods to record birds are Casual Observation, Stationary Count, Traveling Count, and Exhaustive Area Count.

Random Count

Observations made at a randomly selected location over period of at least five minutes. This protocol relates to how the location was selected. For other eBird protocols, the birder selects the location, but the eBird Random Count is different in that the birder randomly selects the location, thus eliminating the bias inherent when birders select areas that they deem to be 'good for birds'. To find a random location travel 3 or 5 miles in any direction from the last location you selected. Choose 3 or 5 miles depending on how much ground you intend to cover for the day, and try to avoid double-counting birds from a previous birding location (i.e., travel farther in open habitats than in forested ones). Stop at the first available, safe, location and conduct your count for at least five minutes, keeping track of duration and distance. Required Date/Effort fields: Date, Start Time, Duration, and Distance Covered. Distance can be zero (i.e., a 'stationary count').

Remember Me

When selected, this option will store your username and password on your computer so you won't have to sign in when you return to eBird. The "Remember Me" feature does require cookies to be enable. Cookies are enabled by default by your Web browser.

You should only use this option if no one else uses your computer. If you select this option on a shared computer, others will be able to enter eBird under your account.

S-T

Stationary Count

Observations made over a known period of time, but without any distance/area components, are classified as a Stationary Count. This does not mean you must stand completely still as you record the birds, but you should remain in an area approximately 30 meters (30 yards) in diameter while you are recording birds. If you move much farther than that, you should consider entering your observations as a Traveling Count or an Exhaustive Area Count.

Examples of Stationary Counts are: a hawk watch, lake watch, or sea watch, or even sitting in your backyard for a period of time identifying birds.

Required Date/Effort fields: Date, Start Time, and Duration.

Taxonomic Order

A method of grouping birds based on how closely they are related to one another.

What is Totals?

"Totals" is the sum of all observations of a species from all checklists submitted within a specified date range and region. For example, a total of 885 Ospreys during the week of 15 April indicates the peak spring migration of the species when many congregate at coastal migration points. In contrast, a total of 67 Ospreys during the week starting 1 November indicates that many have left North America for more southerly wintering grounds.

Total Checklists

The total number of checklists that you have recorded and entered into eBird. The Total Checklists may be for all checklists submitted to eBird (Life), those during the current year (Year), or limited to the current month (Month).

Total County Ticks

Within the United States, the Total number of species you have submitted from each county within a given state added together. For instance if in Colorado you had seen 10 species in Morgan county, 100 species in Weld county and 200 species in Pueblo county, your TOTAL COUNTY TICKS for Colorado would be 310.

Total Species

Calculates all species that you have entered into eBird. Total species is calculated for all species entered into eBird (Life), current year (Year), or current month (Month).

Traveling Count

Observations made over a known period of time while traveling a known distance are classified as a Traveling Count. You should be able to estimate the distance that you traveled during your outing, which can be walking, driving, or even by boat. If you do have a reliable estimate of the area you covered while you recorded the species, consider entering your observations as an Exhaustive Area Count. If you aren't sure of the distance or area you covered, please enter your observation as an Casual Observation.

Examples of Traveling Counts are: walking a trail at a local park, driving an auto loop at a National Wildlife Refuge, participating on a pelagic (boat) trip, or even birding while jogging through your neighborhood.

Required Date/Effort fields: Date, Start Time, Duration, and Distance Covered.

U-Z

Year List

All species that you have entered into eBird during the current year.