An inclusive publication for birdwatchers and bird photographers to share their field observations and expertise

Reporting Bird Observations

USING eBIRD TO REPORT BIRD OBSERVATIONs

eBird LogoeBird is a project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that allows birdwatchers worldwide to share their observations with other birders and contribute to science and conservation.

Many Malaysian birdwatchers use the site to document their observations, field trips and rare birds. It is a good site to check what species have been seen at a particular location. Rare and uncommon observations are extracted by Dave Bakewell and published in the ‘From the field’ section of the BirdingASIA journal.

We encourage all Malaysian birdwatchers to use eBird.

If you are interested in getting started with eBird, here is a summary of the steps you need to follow:

  1. Create a free You can use your existing Cornell Lab account if you have one, or create a new one. This account will let you access eBird and other Cornell Lab projects such as Merlin Bird ID and Bird Academy.
  2. Take the eBird Essentials This is a free, self-paced course that will teach you how to use eBird’s features, such as keeping checklists, exploring data, and making your observations more valuable for science and conservation.
  3. Submit birding You can use the eBird website or the free eBird Mobile app to record your bird sightings. You will need to provide information such as where, when, how, and what you saw. You can also upload photos, audio, and video of the birds you observed.
  4. Explore You can use eBird to discover what birds are being seen near you or anywhere in the world. You can also view maps, graphs, charts, and photos of the birds you are interested in.
  5. Follow eBird Best To make your observations more useful for science and conservation, you should follow some guidelines such as reporting all the birds you detected, counting the number of individuals, documenting rare or unusual sightings, and choosing and managing locations accurately.

For more details, please read Get started with eBird

Reporting Rare Birds

MNS – Bird Conservation Council – Records Committee

All birdwatchers are encouraged to report new birds seen. See details at the Records Committee Website

The species that are assessed by the Records Committee (species that you should submit) include:

  1. All claims of potentially new species for Malaysia.
  2. All claims of potentially new species for Bornean Malaysia.
  3. All claims of potentially new species for Peninsular Malaysia.
  4. All claims of wild species which are currently only in Category B, C or D (for either Bornean or Peninsular Malaysia)

B: Species recorded at least once in a wild state, but not since before 1963.

C: Species believed to occur only as a result of human introduction. The population is considered self-sustaining.

D: Species believed to occur (or to have occurred) only as a result of human introduction. Continued existence in the wild is considered dependent upon repeat introductions.

You can download the latest (2020) Malaysia Checklist of birds in pdf format.

Rare & New Records submission form (shortened version for submissions with photos attached).

The Records Committee encourages observers to submit all observations of wild birds in Malaysia to eBird. Claims of rare and scarce species will be assessed by a team of eBird reviewers on that site.