Tuesday, March 12, 2013

A Christmas Bird-Census

Click here to read Frank Chapman's original proposal for a "Christmas Bird-Census", as published in a 1900 issue of Bird-Lore. In particular, pay particular attention to Chapman’s instructions for recording species:
The birds observed should . . . be added . . . with, if possible, the exact or approximate number of individuals of each species observed [emphasis added].
Clearly, Chapman anticipated that there would be times, at least in the initial years of the count, when participants would merely record the presence of a species, not the actual number of individuals present.

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