Guidelines

• Report only species which are on the CBRC Review List or which are new to California.
• Please email all documentation including photos and written descriptions to [email protected], or mail to Tom Benson, California State University San Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino, CA 92407
• An optional fill-in-the-blank form is available for submitting your sightings electronically.
• Photos should be submitted as separate JPEGs with original metadata (exif) rather than embedded in word processing documents.
• For more information on documenting and reporting rarities, click here.
• We encourage you to become a member of Western Field Ornithologists which includes a subscription to Western Birds where our annual reports are published.

Additional Resources

• "Rare Birds of California" - Electronic version of the whole book with full updates online!
• CBRC Photos - The CBRC rare bird photo gallery.
• Counties - Standard CBRC county abbreviations.
• Age and Molt - Standard CBRC terminology.

Describing Rarities

• A Lost Art?: Writing Descriptions of Rare Birds - David Irons
• Elements of a Bird Description- Lauren Harter
• How to Document Rare Birds- Donna L. Dittmann and Greg W. Lasley
• How to Write Convincing Details - Mike Patterson
• Writing a Rare Bird Report - Steve Summers
• Reporting Rarities - Elements of a Bird Description