The British Birds Rarities Committee (BBRC), established in 1959, is the national bird rarities committee for Britain. It assesses claimed sightings of bird species that are rarely seen in Britain, based on descriptions, photographs and video recordings submitted by observers. Its findings are published in an annual report in the journal British Birds.
The BBRC covers around 280 species whose annually recorded sightings in Britain fall below a threshold deemed to signify rarity. Since the establishment of the committee, some previously included species have become more common—or at least better recorded; this has resulted in their removal from the committee's list and their reclassification as "scarce migrants".
The committee has a chairman, a secretary, and ten voting members, and is supported by others who serve in an advisory capacity. Since its inception, a total of 69 people have served on the committee as assessors. In addition to assessing annual records of rare birds, the committee conducts regular reviews of batches of previously accepted records on a species-by-species basis, to ensure that only those consistent with advances in knowledge of bird identification are retained, and to determine the subspecies of accepted records. Several species have been problematic for assessment, and extreme examples have taken more than 20 years from initial observation to acceptance. The committee has been criticised for its approach to assessing records where only one observer was present, for not publishing reasons for rejecting the validity of records, and for placing undue weight on descriptive detail when assessing record submissions. Seabird identification has proved particularly difficult, leading some observers to suggest that the committee sets too high a standard.
Role and status
The "Rarity Records Committee" (as it was originally known) was established in 1959 by the editors of the journal British Birds.The editors of British Birds (1959) Editorial: Records of Rare Birds British Birds 52(8): 241–44 Its original purpose was to provide a means whereby uniform assessment standards could be applied to all rare bird records across Britain. Prior to the establishment of the committee, records were assessed by local bird recording organisations using varying standards.Dean (2007), p. 150 The most recent statement of the British Birds Rarities Committee's role is given in Bradshaw, Harvey and Steele (2004):
BBRC aims to maintain an accurate database of the occurrence of rare taxa in Britain, in order to enable individuals or organisations to assess the current status of, and any changes in, the patterns of occurrence and distribution of these taxa in Britain.
Contradictory information has been published on the exact nature of the committee's status. On its website,British Birds Rarities Committee, BBRC website (retrieved 19 September 2007) BBRC describes itself as the "official adjudicator of rare bird records in Britain" (although it does not say on what basis it has this status). In Birders: Tales of a Tribe,Cocker (2001), p. 134 author Mark Cocker erroneously describes the committee as a "statutory vetting body" (i.e. one established by an Act of Parliament). BBRC's constitution states that it "has no automatic or legal expectation that birders submit records".BBRC constitution (accessed 26 October 2007)
The committee does not assess records of birds from Ireland; that task is carried out by the Irish Rare Birds Committee, which publishes its decisions in Irish Birds. Records of IRBC-assessed rarities were included in BBRC annual reports for many years, although this ceased in 2002 at the request of IRBC.BBRC report for 2001, pp. 476–78 Although the British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee does not regard records from the Isle of Man as contributing towards their British list, BBRC does include records from there in its totals.BBRC report for 2006, pages 703-04 BBRC has had an ongoing sponsor in the German optical equipment manufacturer Carl Zeiss since 1983.Lansdown (1987), p. 487
Species covered
Over 580 bird species have been recorded in Britain;British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (2009) British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee: 37th Report (October 2008) (PDF) Ibis 151:224-30 some 250 have regular breeding or wintering populations, or are common migrants, and a further 50 are "scarce migrants". The BBRC assesses the remaining species.Preddy, Steve (2007) Rarities in Britain Birding 38(4):10–12 A list of the species the committee assesses (known as "British Birds rarities", or "BB rarities" for short)Cocker (2001), p. 158 is on its website,British Birds Rarities Committee BBRC website, Current rare species (accessed 15 August 2009) although the list has not been updated to account for the most recent changes. The committee generally considers only the records of species rare enough to meet its criteria for inclusion on the BBRC rarities list, based on a numerical threshold. In addition to considering full species, records of some rare subspecies are considered and, in a few cases, the committee considers indeterminate records (birds that belong to a pair or group of rare species that are particularly difficult to separate, such as frigatebirds).
The committee keeps the list of species it considers under review and, from time to time, makes changes. These are usually because species have increased in frequency and no longer meet the numerical criteria for inclusion. A species is removed if it has more than 150 records in the preceding ten years, with ten or more in at least eight of those years. Different criteria were used in a review in 2006 (see below). There have been three major "purges" of species since the committee's formation. The first was soon after the committee's formation, in 1963, when 16 species were removed: red-crested pochard, snow goose, pectoral sandpiper, Mediterranean gull, Sabine's gull, melodious warbler, icterine warbler, yellow-browed warbler, northern goshawk, golden eagle, red kite, Kentish plover, crested tit, bearded tit, marsh warbler and Dartford warbler.BBRC report for 1962, p. 394 Records of the last eight species had been considered only outside their "normal" British range (e.g. crested tits outside Scotland, and red kites outside Wales). Kentish Plover was readmitted in 2020 following the loss of breeding populations in both the UK and nearby continental Europe leading to a massive decline in records. The second was in 1982, when ten further species were removed: Cory's shearwater, purple heron, white stork, buff-breasted sandpiper, Richard's pipit, tawny pipit, Savi's warbler, aquatic warbler, serin and common rosefinch.Grant, P. J. and the Rarities Committee (1982) Rarities Committee news and announcements British Birds 75(7): 337–38 Savi's warbler was re-admitted to the committee's list in 1998, due to declining numbers of occurrences, with Tawny Pipit and Aquatic Warbler being reinstated in 2015. Thirdly, in 2006, a further 17 species were dropped from the list: ferruginous duck, Wilson’s petrel, great white egret, black kite, red-footed falcon, American golden plover, white-rumped sandpiper, white-winged black tern, alpine swift, red-rumped swallow, red-throated pipit, subalpine warbler, greenish warbler, dusky warbler, Radde's warbler, Arctic redpoll and rustic bunting. Their selection was based on different criteria from those previously used: more than 200 records in Britain ever, and more than 100 occasions in the last decade.Announcement: BBRC says goodbye to birders' favourites British Birds 99(1):52; BBRC press release, 12 January 2006 Of the 17 species that were removed in the 2006 purge, three have been reinstated - Ferruginous Duck in 2017, and Red-throated Pipit and Rustic Bunting in 2015.
Many other species and subspecies have been removed over the years: Cetti's warbler (in 1976);Grant, Peter J. and the Rarities Committee (1977) Rarities Committee news and announcements British Birds 70(7): 306–38 long-tailed skua (in 1979);Grant, P. J. and the Rarities Committee (1979) Rarities Committee news and announcements British Birds 72(10): 487–88 common crane and ring-billed gull (in 1987);Lansdown, P. G. and the Rarities Committee (1987) Rarities Committee news and announcements British Birds 80(9): 421–36 surf scoter, little egret, European bee-eater, Pallas's warbler and woodchat shrike (in 1990);Lansdown, P. G. and the Rarities Committee (1990) Rarities Committee news and announcements British Birds 83(10): 411–14 green-winged teal (in 1992);Lansdown, P. G. and the Rarities Committee (1992) Rarities Committee news and announcements British Birds 85(7): 330–33 ring-necked duck, greater short-toed lark and little bunting (in 1993);Lansdown, P. G. and the Rarities Committee (1993) Rarities Committee news and announcements British Birds 86(9): 415–16 white-tailed eagle and Kumlien's gull (in 1998);Bradshaw, Colin (1999) Rarities Committee Announcements British Birds 92(2): 113–14; BBRC press release, 12 October 1998 (1); BBRC press release, 12 October 1998 (2) American wigeon, black-crowned night heron and rose-coloured starling (in 2001);Rarities Committee news: night heron, American wigeon and rosy starling to be removed from BBRC list British Birds 94(6): 290; BBRC press release, 30 July 2001 and black brant (in 2005).Rarities Committee news: BBRC dumps black Brant British Birds 98(6): 336; BBRC press release, 7 June 2005
Until 2009, the parrot crossbill was an anomaly, in that it was on the committee's list of species, even though a breeding population existed in Scotland.Summers, R.W. (2002) Parrot Crossbills breeding in Abernethy Forest British Birds 95: 4–11 In 2009, this species was removed, along with white-billed diver and cattle egret.Rowlands, Adam (2009) Rarities Committee News, British Birds 102(5): 274–77 Latter removals included Glossy Ibis and Olive-backed Pipit in 2013, Lesser Scaup, Citrine Wagtail and Blyth's Reed Warbler in 2015 (although Lesser Scaup was reinstated in 2020), Black-winged Stilt and Red-flanked Bluetail in 2017, and Lesser Yellowlegs and Arctic Warbler in 2019.
In 2021, for the first time, White-spotted Bluethroat became the first taxon to be added to the BBRC list that hadn't previously been removed (except British firsts).
Once removed, a species is classed as a "scarce migrant": British Birds publishes a separate annual report summarising the occurrence of these species,The most recent report, for 2003, was published in two parts in 2006: Fraser, Peter A. & Michael J. Rogers (2006) Report on scarce migrant birds in Britain in 2003—Part 1: American Wigeon to Wryneck British Birds 99 (2): 74–91; Fraser, Peter A. & Michael J. Rogers (2006) Report on scarce migrant birds in Britain in 2003—Part 2: Short-toed Lark to Little Bunting British Birds 99(3): 129–47 and the data is also presented on the Scarce Migrants website.Scarce Migrants records compilers Scarce Migrants website 16 August 2009 Aside from breeding species, Cetti's warbler, little egret, long-tailed skua, Mediterranean gull, Cattle Egret, Great White Egret and Yellow-browed Warbler have become so common that they no longer qualify even as scarce migrants.Fraser, Peter A., Peter G. Lansdown & Michael J. Rogers (1999) Report on Scarce Migrant Birds in Britain in 1996 British Birds 92(1): 3–35; Fraser, Peter A., Peter G. Lansdown & Michael J. Rogers (1999) Report on Scarce Migrant Birds in Britain in 1997 British Birds 92(12): 618–58
Structure and personnel