Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Wikipedia subject-area collaboration}}
{{WPBird Navigation}}
{{WikiProject status|parent=WikiProject Dinosaurs}}
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{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds/Tab header}}
This is a draft [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProject]]. The aim of this project is to set out broad suggestions about how we organize data in the [[bird]] articles. In general, these are only suggestions, and you shouldn't feel obligated to follow them.
{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds/Navigation}}
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__NOTOC__
The aim of this [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProject]] is to set out broad suggestions about how we organise articles about [[bird]]s and related topics. In general, these are only suggestions, and you shouldn't feel obliged to follow them.
 
This [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProject]] aims to help organise our rapidly growing collection of articles about birds. Included in its scope are articles for all known species, genera, families, and orders of birds (both [[extant taxon|extant]] and [[extinction|extinct]]), as well as articles relating to bird anatomy, physiology, evolution, behaviours, diseases and parasites. Also included are articles relating to the study ([[ornithology]]) and the keeping ([[aviculture]]) of birds, articles on ornithological organisations, biographies of notable ornithologists and their works, and lists of birds found in various human-defined areas (i.e. countries, states/provinces, counties, etc.).
== Scope ==
This [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProject]] aims to help organise our rapidly growing collection of articles about birds.
 
;Related projects
== Parentage ==
This WikiProject is an offshoot of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life|WikiProject Tree of Life]].
 
:[[Wikipedia:WikiProject ScienceBiology|WikiProject ScienceBiology]].
::[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life|WikiProject Tree of Life]]
:::'''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds'''Animals|WikiProject Animals]]
::::([[Wikipedia:WikiProject Amphibians and Reptiles|WikiProject Amphibians and Reptiles]] and then
:::::[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Dinosaurs|WikiProject Dinosaurs]] if you're a cladist, but not the case for now)
::::::'''WikiProject Birds'''
:::::::'''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds/Domestic pigeon task force|Domestic pigeon task force]]''' (defunct)
:::::::'''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds/Poultry task force|Poultry task force]]''' (inactive)
Related projects include:
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Agriculture|WikiProject Agriculture]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Environment|WikiProject Environment]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Ecology|WikiProject Ecology]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Ecoregions|WikiProject Ecoregions]]
 
{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds/Section header|Article alerts}}
== Descendant Wikiprojects ==
<div style="float:right;margin-left:1em;width:300px;">
No descendant WikiProjects have been defined.
<h3>Hot articles</h3>{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds/Hot articles}}</div>
{{/Article alerts}}
 
===Spoken articles===
== Related Wikiprojects ==
The list of [[Wikipedia:Spoken articles|spoken articles]] concerning WikiProject Birds is found [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds/List of spoken articles|here]].
 
{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds/Section header|Guidelines for layout of bird articles}}
It is worth keeping one eye on several Wikiprojects that overlap with this one, including [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Cetaceans]], [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Ecoregions]] and [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Dinosaurs]].
 
Feel free to request assistance with references at the [[Wikipedia:RX|reference request desk]] and any bird-related assistance on the talk page.
== Participants ==
 
==={{anchor|Naming|NAMING}}Bird names and article titles===
* [[User:Aerobird|Aerobird]]
{{See also|Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Animals, plants, and other organisms|Wikipedia:Naming conventions (fauna)}}
* [[User:AGoon|AGoon]]
* [[User:Pigsonthewing|Andy Mabbett]]
* [[User:Corvus coronoides|Australian Raven]]
* [[User:Basar|Basar]]
* [[User:Birdman1|Birdman1]]
* [[User:'Card|'Card]]
* [[User:Casliber|Cas Liber]]
* [[User:Cotinis|Cotinis]]
* [[User:DanielCD|DanielCD]]
* [[User:Deargan|Deargan]]
* [[User:Dixonsej|Dixonsej]]
* [[User:Dsmdgold|Dsmdgold]]
* [[User:Dysmorodrepanis|Dysmorodrepanis]]
* [[User:Elevenzeroone|Ele]][[User:Elevenzeroone/Alternative Music Project|<font color="orange">v</font>]][[User:Elevenzeroone|enz]][[User:Elevenzeroone/Esperanza|<font color="green">e</font>]][[User:Elevenzeroone|roo]][[User:Elevenzeroone/ADW|<font color="red">n</font>]][[User:Elevenzeroone|ne]]<sup>[[User talk:Elevenzeroone|chat]] / [[Special:Contributions/Elevenzeroone|what i've done / ]][mailto:unclemontezuma@hotmail.com email]</sup>
* [[User:EllisD|EllisD]]
* [[User:Elliskev|Elliskev]]
* [[User:Ephraim6888|Ephraim6888]]
* [[User:Figaro|Figaro]]
* [[User:Fredwerner|Fredwerner]]
* [[User:Funereus|Funereus]]
* [[User:Goldfinger820|Goldfinger820]]
* [[User:Greenfinch100|Greenfinch100]]
* [[User:Grmanners|GRManners]]
* [[User:hey jude, don't let me down|hey jude, don't let me down]]
* [[User:JerryFriedman|JerryFriedman]]
* [[User:Jimfbleak|Jimfbleak]]
* [[User:Joelr31|Joelito]]
* [[User:KimvdLinde|KimvdLinde]]
* [[User:Kingturtle|Kingturtle]]
* [[User:Luffy487|Luffy487]]
* [[User:Macgreco|Macgreco]]
* [[User:Maias|Maias]]
* [[User:Metanoid|Metanoid]]
* [[User:Miss Madeline|Miss Madeline]]
* [[User:Miwasatoshi|Miwasatoshi]]
* [[User:Monk of the highest order|Monk of The Highest Order]]
* [[User:Natureguy1980|Natureguy1980]]
* [[User:Open2universe|Open2universe]]
* [[User:Pandion_auk|Pandion_auk]]
* [[User:pmeleski|pmeleski]]
*[[User:Patricknoddy|'''Patricknoddy''']]<font color="#000000">[[User talk:Patricknoddy|<sup style="font-variant: small-caps;">'''TALK''' (reply here)</sup>]]</font><font color="#000000"><sup style="font-variant: small-caps;">|</sup></font><font color="#000000">[[Special:Contributions/Patricknoddy|<sup style="font-variant: small-caps;">'''HISTORY'''</sup>]]</font>
* [[User:Richard Barlow|Richard Barlow]]
* [[User:Sabine's Sunbird|Sabine's Sunbird]]
* [[User:Shyamal|Shyamal]]
* [[User:Smallweed|Smallweed]]
* [[User:Tannin|Tannin]]
* [[User:Teak the Kiwi|Teak the Kiwi]]
* [[User:ThomHasi|ThomHasi]]
* [[User:Tigershrike|Tigershrike]]
* [[User:UtherSRG|UtherSRG]]
* [[User:Verdecillo|Verdecillo]]
* [[User:Voodlecat|Voodlecat]]
* [[User:Vsion|Vsion]]
* [[User:Vultur|Vultur]]
 
In general, use the formal [[common name]] for article titles.
== Wikiproject Birds Userbox ==
* [[Peregrine falcon]] not ''Falco peregrinus''
{{tl|User WP Birds Userbox}}
* [[Wandering albatross]] not ''Diomedea exulans''
results in: {{User WP Birds Userbox}}
* [[Splendid fairywren]] not ''Malurus splendens''
<br />
<br />
== Structure ==
 
Sometimes exceptions need to be made; some individual creatures (usually newly discovered ones) do not yet have a formal common name and some groups are known only by their [[scientific name]].
Bird articles can be on any level that makes sense in context. Most will be about particular taxa. For example:
 
Ornithology publications usually capitalise the vernacular name of a species to differentiate it from more general terms.<ref>{{cite book |title=Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks |publisher=Lynx Edicions |date=1998 |editor1-first=Josep |editor1-last=del Hoyo |editor2-first=Andrew |editor2-last=Elliott |editor3-first=Jordi |editor3-last=Sargatal |___location=Barcelona |page=25}}</ref> Following discussions, it has been decided that capitals will be used on Wikipedia only for parts of the name that are proper names, consistent with practice in more general-audience publications.<ref name="MOS">See guideline at [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Animals, plants, and other organisms]] ([[MOS:LIFE]]). The topic of capitals has been discussed numerous times and discussions may be found in the archives. (Examples: [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Birds/archive 10#Capitalization debate at main WP:MOS|10-1]], [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Birds/archive 7#Capitalization conventions|7-1]], [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Birds/archive 7#Capitalisation|7-2]], [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Birds/archive 2#Capitalisation of alternative names|2-1]], [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Birds/archive 2#Upper case bird names|2-2]], [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Birds/archive 2#Capitalisation of alternative names|2–3]]). In 2014, a request for comments [[Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Archive 156#Bird common name decapitalisation|settled]] that lower case will be used, as is consistent with other taxa.</ref>
* '''[[Class (biology)|Class]]: '''[[Bird]]
* '''[[Order (biology)|Order]]:''' [[Penguin]], [[Coraciiformes]]
* '''[[Family (biology)|Family]]:''' [[Cacatuidae]], [[Shrike]]
* '''[[Genus]]:''' [[Emu]], [[Kookaburra]]
* '''[[Species]]:''' [[Blue Crane]], [[House Sparrow]]
 
In publications that capitalise, the phrase "in Australia there are many Common Starlings" clearly indicates a large number of ''Sturnus vulgaris'', while the phrase "in Australia there are many common starlings" could indicate several different types of starling being common. Clearer formulation must be used in a non-capitalising publication like Wikipedia: e.g., "in Australia the common starling is numerous", vs. "in Australia many types of starling are common". Add binomial names in round brackets (parentheses) to reduce any ambiguity if necessary.
In many cases, it makes sense to combine several taxonomic levels in a single article. For example, the order [[Sphenisciformes]] contains only one family, [[Spheniscidae]], and all Spheniscidae are [[penguin]]s, so the one article covers both levels. [[taxon|Taxa]] which are [[monotypic]] on several subsequent levels should get a single article for all of them. Which names are '''bolded''' in the taxobox is explained [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life/taxobox usage|here]]. Naming the article should use common sense; there is no uniform rule (compare [[Kagu]], [[Turnagridae]] and ''[[Ichthyornis]]'').
 
The [[International Ornithological Congress]] (IOC), which has tried to [https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/english-names/principles/ standardise] the [[Birds of the World: Recommended English Names|English-language vernacular names]] of birds, uses capitalised names. The IOC names have been used in the vast majority of Wikipedia articles (including their titles), [[MOS:LIFE|in lower case]] except where parts of the name refer to a proper noun (e.g. [[New Zealand scaup]]). Wikipedia bird article titles may diverge from the IOC list when the [[WP:COMMONNAME|most common name in reliable sources]] is different from the IOC name.<ref>This might involve a discussion to determine the most appropriate name.</ref> A non-IOC name might also be used in article text in a non-ornithological context, e.g. the animal-related folklore of a traditional culture; or in a specific ornithological context, such as the nomenclature of an organisation other than IOC.
Conversely, sometimes it is better to cover only a part of a taxon: [[kingfisher]] deals with three different (but related) families and ignores the other families in the order [[Coraciiformes]].
 
Some large families such as the [[hummingbird]]s will need to be broken down at some stage because of the number of species. To prevent species lists from cluttering up pages, it is often advisable to use a multi-column formatting such as in [[Bird of paradise]].
 
It may be useful to start with a high-level article, such as a family article, and then split off genus and/or species articles as the material builds.
 
Create links to articles on the levels immediately higher and lower. An article on a family such as [[shrike]]s should link back to the order [[passerine]]s, and down to genus and/or species articles where they exist.
 
Do not be too "precise" when listing species and/or genera in taxa which have many of these. Systematics is an ongoing scientific endeavor, and the number of valid species of, for example, [[hummingbird]]s, has varied by nearly 10% in the last decades due to new discoveries, changes in taxonomy, and of course different opinions favored by different researchers. For such groups, giving a less precise figure like "320-350" or "over 300" is to be preferred by all means! The work required to verify whether a precise number of species is still current is completely out of proportion with the small gain in informative value supplied to the reader.
 
Be aware that many genera and families contain recently [[extinct]] taxa; in such cases, it is advisable to use the term "living species" when discussing how many of these there are, especially in cases where extinct forms already have separate pages. See [[Picidae]] for a good approach when there are only a few, well-known recently extinct forms but many living species, or [[Booby]] when things are the other way around.
 
==Criteria for inclusion==
 
'''At what level is it worth having a separate Wikipedia article for a particular bird?''' Any level you like. If we write individual articles for all 9000-odd species, we will be at it for a ''long'' time! The simplest (and probably best) rule is to have no rule: if you have the time and energy to write up some particularly obscure subspecies that most people have never even heard of, go to it!
 
As a general guideline though, combine several species or subspecies into a single article when there isn't enough text to make more than short, unsatisfying stubs otherwise. If the article grows large enough to deserve splitting, that can always be done later.
 
'''What about extinct birds?''' At the very least, we should include birds that have become extinct within historical times&mdash;i.e., within the last 5000 years or so (but see below). There seems no obvious reason to exclude ''any'' birds: there is already a nice page for ''[[Archaeopteryx]]''; if an expert on fossil birds comes along and wants to contribute more, all the better.
 
As it stands, there is a list of [[Fossil Birds]] extinct before ''Homo sapiens'' spread across the globe, another list of [[Later Quaternary Prehistoric Birds]] which became extinct during the last 30000 years, (mostly) through or "aided" by human interference, but before modern scientific exploration, and of course [[Extinct birds]], which attempts to list ''all'' bird taxa extinct after [[1500]]. The first list will benefit from the efforts of the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject_Dinosaurs|WikiProject Dinosaurs]]. Species of completely extinct genera on the first list should not be listed there, as the species-level taxonomy of pre-Late Quaternary birds is often very confused and suffering from a small hypodigm. For fossil species of extant genera, they can be worked into the respective genus articles when enough information has accumulated to add a general evolution/systematics section.
 
It would be desirable to create an article for every taxon on the post-1500 list (or mention extinct ssp. in the respective species article). Short articles for extinct genera of the other two lists would be nice, too. Prehistoric species and subspecies of extant taxa probably do not deserve separate articles (which should keep nobody from creating them, [[Nēnē-nui]] is a very nice example).
 
==Bird names and article titles==
 
In general, use the formal common name for article titles.
 
* [[Peregrine Falcon]] not ''Falco peregrinus''
* [[Wandering Albatross]] not ''Diomedea exulans''
* [[Splendid Fairy-wren]] not ''Malurus splendens''
 
Sometimes exceptions need to be made; some individual creatures (usually newly discovered ones) do not yet have a formal common name. Some distinct groups are known only by their scientific name. [[Dicruridae]], for example, is a much better title than [[monarch flycatchers, flycatchers, fantails, drongos and the Magpie-lark]].
 
The common name of a species is always capitalised to differentiate it from more general terms. The phrase "in Australia there are many Common Starlings" indicates a large number of ''Sturnus vulgaris''. In contrast, the phrase "in Australia there are many common starlings" indicates several different types of starling.
 
<table border="1" cellspacing="1" align="right" cellpadding="4">
<tr><th bgcolor="#aadddd">'''Article title'''</th><th bgcolor="#aadddd">'''make a [[Wikipedia:redirect|redirectredirects]] from'''<br /></th></tr>
<tr><td>[[White-necked raven]]</td><td>'''[[White-necked Raven]]'''<br />'''[[White-Necked Raven]]'''</td></tr>
<tr><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Black-faced cuckoo-shrike]]</td><td>'''[[BlackbirdBlack-faced Cuckoo-shrike]]'''<br /td>'''[[Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike]]'''<tdbr />'''[[blackbirdBlack-Faced Cuckoo-Shrike]]'''</td></tr>
<tr><td>'''[[White-neckedPrairie Ravenwarbler]]'''</td><td>'''[[white-neckedPrairie ravenWarbler]]'''</td></tr>
<tr><td>'''[[Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike]]'''</td><td>[[black-faced cuckoo-shrike]]</td></tr>
<tr><td>'''[[Prairie Warbler]]'''</td><td>[[prairie warbler]]</td></tr>
</table>
When creating a new article for a species, make sure the title is correctly capitalised and '''always''' create a [[Wikipedia:redirect|redirect]] from the uncapitalised form. For example, name the article [[Bald Eagle]] but create a redirect to it from [[bald eagle]]. See the table at right for more examples. Creating the redirect is ''not'' optional.
 
When creating a new article for a species, make sure the title is correctly capitalised and create a [[Wikipedia:redirect|redirect]] from the capitalised IOC name. For example, name the article [[Bald eagle]] (and write "bald eagle" in the text) but create a redirect to it from [[Bald Eagle]]. See the table at right for more examples. You should also create redirects for any names regularly used for distinctive subspecies. For example, redirects for [[pale-bellied brent goose]], [[light-bellied brent goose]], [[black brant]], and [[dark-bellied brent goose]] all point to our [[brant (goose)]] article. In this case, redirect links should also be made for the full scientific names of those subspecies as well.
Note that the convention for capitalisation of names applies primarily to articles about fauna, not to the whole encyclopedia. Contributors to other areas of the 'pedia (politics, music, sport, and so on) cannot be expected to know or conform to the conventions of ornithology. Someone writing on a sports team called the "Christchurch King Penguins" may refer to "king penguins" without worrying about species capitalisation rules. And if they make an in-text link to [[king penguin]], it should be redirected to [[King Penguin]]. It is the responsibility of the writer on [[King Penguin]]s, not the writer on sports, to make the redirect.
 
Per [[WT:WikiProject Biology/Archive 4#Consensus|this discussion]] and as amended in [[WT:WikiProject_Biology#RfC_on_boldfacing_of_scientific_names_in_articles_about_organisms|this discussion]], the consensus style to write the combination of common name plus scientific name in the lead is bolded common name followed by bolded italicised scientific name in parentheses:
'''Summary of naming guidelines - common names'''
 
{{block indent|1=The '''house sparrow''' ('''''Passer domesticus''''') is a passerine bird&nbsp;...}}
* The name of a particular species is always capitalised; Common Blackbird, Metallic Starling, Emu, Ostrich, Western Marsh Harrier.
* The word immediately following a hyphen in a species name is ''not'' capitalised; Red-winged Blackbird, Black-faced Butcherbird, Splendid Fairy-wren.
* The name of a ''group'' of species is ''not'' capitalised; birds, thrush family, kingfishers, turtle doves, marsh harriers.
* Alternative names should be mentioned where appropriate; with bold type in the opening line of the article if they are in wide use, elsewhere in the article (with or without the bold type) if they are less-used. This is usually a matter for individual judgement.
 
'''Summary of naming guidelines - scientificcommon names'''
* The common name of a particular species is not capitalised, except where proper names appear (e.g. common blackbird, metallic starling, emu, ostrich, New Zealand scaup).
* The name of a group of species is not capitalised (e.g. birds, thrush family, kingfishers, turtle doves, marsh harriers).
* Alternative common names should be mentioned where appropriate; with bold type in the opening line of the article if they are in wide use, elsewhere in the article (with or without the bold type) if they are less-used. This is usually a matter for individual judgement.
 
'''Summary of naming guidelines – scientific names'''
* Orders, families and other taxa above genus level are written with an initial capital and in roman (not italic) text: bats belong to the class Chiroptera; rats and mice are members of the family Muridae and the order Rodentia.
* Orders, families and other taxa above genus level are written with an initial capital and in roman (not italic) text: birds belong to the class Aves; ducks are members of the family Anatidae and the order Anseriformes.
* The names of genera are always italicised and capitalised: ''Turdus'', ''Falco'', ''Anas''.
* Species epithets are never capitalised, always italicised, and always preceded by either the genus name or ana one-letter abbreviation of it: ''Alcedo pusilla'' or ''A. pusilla'', ''Cisticola juncidis'' or ''C. juncidis''. The abbreviation is used only when it is unambiguous in the context of the article.
* The placements in families and genera as well as the boundaries of the species are themselves not always unambiguous or without debate. Although the IOC list is usually up-to-date, new species and large-scale phylogenetic studies may sometimes suggest alternate placements (both binomial combinations as well as higher level classification). These alternate positions are best included with citations with the taxonomic history, older combinations and rationale explained with citations in the article.
 
===Regional lists===
==Taxonomy and references==
It is recommended for the sake of consistency that regional lists are named as '''List of birds of {{var|[Region]}}''' rather than '''List of {{var|[Region-adjective]}} birds'''.
 
===Article sections===
This is likely to be the single most difficult part of the project. Not only does bird taxonomy vary significantly from one authority to another, but it is in a state of constant change. There is no single authority to rely on; no one list can claim to be ''the'' list.
Most of the bird species articles have a common structure which include various combinations of the following:
* '''Taxonomy and systematics''' ''(including subspecies, relation to related species, history of naming, alternate names, and evolution)''
* '''Description''' ''(often including details on immature plumage, moult, vocalisations, identification, and similar species)''
* '''Distribution and habitat'''
* '''Behaviour and ecology'''
** '''Breeding'''
** '''Food and feeding'''
** '''Threats''' or '''Survival'''
* '''In culture''' or '''Relationship to humans'''
* '''Status'''
 
Additional sections may be included to cover aspects that are particularly interesting or well studied in that species.
The ''de facto'' standard for Wikipedia bird articles is [[Handbook of Birds of the World]] for the northern hemisphere, and the [[Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds]] (ISBN 0195532449) for exclusively southern groups. These should be used for all articles except for those dealing with a country or region, where the appropriate local official list should be used, as in [[List of North American birds]] and [[British birds]].
 
===Taxoboxes===
The major official sources include:
{{Speciesbox
| name = Barn swallow
| image = Landsvale.jpg
| image_caption = ''H. r. rustica''
| genus = Hirundo
| species = rustica
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[Aves in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| range_map = Hirundo rustica.png
| range_map_caption = Range of ''H. rustica''
{{leftlegend|#E0CF01|Breeding range|outline=gray}}{{leftlegend|#007D1D|Resident year-round|outline=gray}}{{leftlegend|#0080FF|Non-breeding range|outline=gray}}
}}
 
In general, bird articles should have [[Wikipedia:Automated taxobox system|taxoboxes]] (taxonomy [[WP:Infobox|infoboxes]]). This is something we have inherited from the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life|WikiProject Tree of Life]]. There are many examples there to look at.
* For [[Africa]] Roberts' ''Birds of Southern Africa'' has been recognised as the authoritative book on southern Africa's birds since its first publication in 1940. A [http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/fitzpatrick/docs/roberts.html new edition] has been published. The list is available online [http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/fitzpatrick/docs/birdlist.html here].
 
See [[Wikipedia:Automated taxobox system]] for the full details on constructing a taxobox.
* For [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Antarctica]], and the [[Southern Ocean]]: '''HANZAB''', the 7 volume ''[[Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds]]'' (ISBN 0195532449) is the standard reference. The [http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/hanzab/HANZAB_spp_list.pdf HANZAB species list] is available online. (PDF format.)
 
There are several example bird taxoboxes, suitable for cut-and-paste insertion into entries:
* The British Ornithologists' Union publishes [http://www.bou.org.uk/recbrlst.html this list] of [[United Kingdom|British]] birds. Also see [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1046/j.0019-1019.2001.00026.x/pdf Taxonomic Recommendations for European Birds] and [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1046/j.1474-919x.2002.00110.x/pdf Taxonomic recommendations for British birds] (both in PDF format).
* [[/family taxobox example with picture]]
* [[/genus taxobox example]]
* [[/species taxobox example]]
* [[/species taxobox with subspecies example]]
 
=== Adding images ===
* For [[Europe]], the [[Middle East]], and [[North Africa]] (i.e. the Western Palearctic), the nine-volume '''BWP''' or ''Birds of the Western Palearctic'' is considered the standard reference. It is also available as a two-volume concise edition. (See the [http://www.oup.co.uk/academic/science/ornithology/bwp/ publisher's site].) BirdGuides has combined the text of ''BWP'', the text and plates of the concise edition, with text from the ''BWP Update'' journal, images, video and sound recordings into '''Birds of the Western Palearctic ''interactive''''' DVD-ROM. The list does not seem to be available online, however.
Images in bird articles should be added with care and captioned carefully. If the taxobox is empty - consider adding one that shows the full bird, preferably facing into the text. If the species is sexually dimorphic, you may consider adding a second image to the taxobox, or distribute the other images in the text carefully. Do not add images to the lead section. If a bird article is well-illustrated, examine the quality of the images before adding your own, and do not add an image just because you took the picture. If the species has multiple subspecies with distinctive plumage variations, make a note of the features in the caption and the general region (not to the accuracy of a delivery address - accurate locations and dates should be included in the image metadata on Wikimedia Commons). Photos of live birds are preferred in an article's taxobox, but artwork or photos of stuffed specimens can be used if the first are unavailable or of inadequate quality
 
Illustrate specific behaviours or plumages in the appropriate ___location. If absolutely necessary, add a gallery towards the end of the article to accommodate multiple images, there is no need to explicitly add a section called "Gallery". The captions ideally need to add value to the text, calling attention to specifics mentioned in the article where possible. If the text flow is being disrupted or if the images are flowing into the reference section, it probably means that there are more images than needed for the article, consider researching and improving the article with more text. Remember that people can always visit the images in the appropriate Commons categories or gallery pages which should linked using the appropriate template at the end of the article.
* For [[North America]], the American Ornithologists' Union ''Check-list of North American Birds'' is the official source on the taxonomy of birds found in North and Middle America. It is available in both HTML and PDF form [http://www.aou.org/aou/birdlist.html here]. The American Birding Association [http://www.americanbirding.org/checklist/chklst1.htm ABA Checklist] is available online.
 
* For [[South America]], the South American Checklist Committee of the American Ornithologists' Union has a [http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html preliminary checklist].
 
* '''World lists:''' [http://www.itis.usda.gov/ ITIS], the Integrated Taxonomic Information System, offers a complete but idiosyncratic classification. The radical [[Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy]] has been very influential. Don Roberson's [http://montereybay.com/creagrus/list.html Bird families of the world] tries to strike a balance between the radical and the traditional. Also see his essay on [http://montereybay.com/creagrus/essay.html choosing a family listing].
 
* For [[South Asia]], the most recent species treatment is [[Pamela C. Rasmussen|Rasmussen, P.C.]] & J. Anderton (2005) '''Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide''' in two Volumes Lynx Edicions ISBN 8487334679. For common names, the names used in the earlier mentioned work, together with the usage suggested in Inskipp, T., Lindsey N. and W. Duckworth (1996) '''An Annotated Checklist of Birds of the Oriental Region''' Oriental Bird Club [http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/publications/checklist/obcchecklist.txt] as well as older local usage in [[Salim Ali (ornithologist)|Ali, S.]] and [[Sidney Dillon Ripley|S. D Ripley]] (1987) '''Compact Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan''' Oxford University Press may be followed.
 
*Birds of the World: Recommended English Names Frank Gill & Minturn Wright on behalf of the International Ornithological Congress http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/titles/8271.html
* Further suggestions are welcome!
 
There are also a number of family monographs (such as the Hayman "Shorebirds" and Harrison's "Seabirds" in the [[Helm Identification Guides]] series) but these are not available on line, and although a mine of information reflect the author's idiosyncrasies and soon become dated.
===Online resources===
A number of useful free to view online resources exist that are useful in writing bird related articles.
*[http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/index.php SORA] Searchable online research archive; This site has decades worth of archives of the following journals [[The Auk]], [[Condor (journal)|Condor]], Journal of Field Ornithology, North American Bird Bander, Studies in Avian Biology, Pacific Coast Avifauna, and [[the Wilson Bulletin]]. Coverage ends around 2000, but still extremely useful. The ability to search all journals or browse exists on the front page.
*[http://www.notornis.org.nz/index.php Notornis] the journal of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand. Covers New Zealand and the South Pacific.
*[http://www.nzes.org.nz/nzje/ New Zealand Journal of Ecology] Often published bird related articles. Like Notornis concerns itself with New Zealand and surrounding areas.
*[http://www.marineornithology.org/ Marine Ornitholgy] published by the numerous Seabird Research Groups, it is specific but goes back many years.
*[http://www.birdlife.org/ BirdLife International] The Data Zone has species accounts for every species, although only threatened species have any detail beyond status and evaluation. But there is still a lot of information to be had there.
*[http://www.zoonomen.net/avtax/frame.html Authors Names] A great source of authors for the taxoboxes.
 
There is also [http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/ Birds of North America], Cornell University's massive project collecting information on every Breeding bird in the ABA area. It isn't free, but available for 40 USD a year.
 
==Use a taxobox==
{{Taxobox
| color = pink
| name = Torresian Crow
| image = Torresian crow.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Image of the Torresian Crow.
| status = LC
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Aves]]
| ordo = [[Passeriformes]]
| familia = [[Corvidae]]
| genus = ''[[Corvus (biology)|Corvus]]''
| species = '''''C. orru'''''
| binomial = ''Corvus orru''
| binomial_authority = [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], [[1850]]
| range_map = Corvus_orru_map.jpg
| range_map_width = 250px
| range_map_caption = Distribution of the Torresian Crow.
}}
 
In general, bird articles should have taxoboxes. This is something we have inherited from the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life|Tree of Life WikiProject]]. There are many examples there to look at.
 
See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life/taxobox usage]] for the full details on constructing a taxobox.
 
Taxoboxes on the bird pages vary quite a bit from one another and could perhaps be standardised more than they are right now. This may or may not be a good thing. [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Birds|Discussion]] of this is welcome.
 
There are several example bird taxoboxes, suitable for cut and paste insertion into entries:
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds (order taxobox example)]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds (order taxobox example with picture)]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds (family taxobox example)]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds (family taxobox example with picture)]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds (genus taxobox example)]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds (genus taxobox example with picture)]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds (species taxobox example)]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds (species taxobox example with picture)]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds (species taxobox with subspecies example)]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds (species taxobox with subspecies example with picture)]]
 
===Distribution maps===
A good way to show a bird's area of occurrence is to add a distribution map; see the above example on how. Species with tiny areas of occurrence should get larger maps which are displayed thumbnailed.
 
As for colors, the following are generally accepted as literature standard, for example by the ''[[Handbook of Birds of the World]]'':
As for colors, the following are generally accepted as literature standard: yellow for summer only, blue for winter only, green for all-year range; for species that do not migrate, a single color can be used as in the example<!-- which incidentially does not agree very well with Madge/Burns, "Crows & Jays"-->. At-sea range of birds like [[albatross]]es is usually marked in darker blue. Small islands can be marked with a larger dot. Migration flyways are often indicated with arrows. Areas of irruptive occurrence, such as in [[crossbill]] species, can be indicated by colored stippling. It is good to use basic, [[web-safe]] colors. If using nonstandard coloration (e.g. [[Arctic Tern]] or [[Silvery Pigeon]]), it is good to annotate them. Former ranges of extinct birds can be indicated in grey ([[Handbook of Birds of the World|HBW]] standard) or red (many other), the former is probably preferable due to unambiguity.
*{{Legend2|Yellow| Breeding visitor|border=1px solid #aaa}}
*{{Legend2|Blue| Non-breeding visitor|border=1px solid #aaa}}
*{{Legend2|Green| Resident|border=1px solid #aaa}}
*{{Legend2|Red| Introduced range|border=1px solid #aaa}}
For species that do not migrate, a single color can be used as in the example<!-- which incidentally does not agree very well with Madge/Burns, "Crows & Jays"-->. At-sea range of birds like [[albatross]]es is usually marked in darker or lighter blue. Small islands can be marked with a larger dot and/or shown magnified in inserts. Migration flyways are often indicated with arrows. Areas of irruptive occurrence- more regular and plentiful than casual vagrancy, such as in [[crossbill]] species–can be indicated by colored stippling.
 
It is good to use basic, [[web-safe]] colors. If using nonstandard coloration (e.g. [[Arctic tern]] or [[silvery pigeon]]), it is important to annotate them. Former ranges of extinct birds can be indicated in dark grey ([[Handbook of Birds of the World|HBW]] standard) or red (many other), the former is probably preferable due to unambiguity.
==Tasklist==
*Everyone please check out the newly created [[bird anatomy]] article. It may need an expert's touch.
*Also, a short summary of bird anatomy needs to be created in [[Bird#Bird_anatomy]], as the entire section was cut to create [[bird anatomy]].
*[[Evolution of birds]]
 
The "HBW standard" colors have one major advantage: they can also, due to differences in brightness, be distinguished by almost all people with some sort of [[color blindness]].
== Images and Photos on commons ==
I can see that many of you have uploaded a number of photos. I am currently working mostly on wikispecies and trying to fill out the bird section. If you add new bird photos would you be willing to put them on commons so that we can link to them from wikispecies?
Thanks so much [[User:Open2universe|Open2universe]] 00:07, 16 October 2005 (UTC)
 
==Linking to definitions in [[Glossary of bird terms]]==
==Articles needing attention==
The headlined glossary article (Wikipedia's only featured glossary) contains definitions for many terms that may be useful to link to in bird articles. (Nevertheless, please be mindful of [[Wikipedia:Overlinking]].) Links to definitions in the glossary may be added in other articles and pages using Template:Birdgloss – <kbd>{{tl|Birdgloss}}</kbd> – in the form <kbd><nowiki>{{Birdgloss|term}}</nowiki></kbd>. This will work for exact terms or phrases defined in the glossary, or those [[Help:Link#What is an "anchor"?|anchored]] to a definition. If a term you wish to link is not already defined or anchored in the glossary, you can ''[[WP:PIPE|pipe]]'' a link to a definition, in the form: <kbd><nowiki>{{Birdgloss|actual term|display term}}</nowiki></kbd>. See the [[Template:Birdgloss|template's documentation]] for more information.
* [[Wikipedia:Pages needing attention/Biology|Biology pages needing attention]] (cleanup, expansion, wikification, expert needed, etc.)
* [[Bird intelligence]]
 
==Linking bird calls and songs==
==Microformat==
{{Birdsong|url = http://www.xeno-canto.org/explore?query=Dacelo|species = the Kookaburra|song1 = Cucaburra.ogg|caption song1 = Call of the Kookaburra}}
Please be aware of the proposed [http://microformats.org/wiki/species Species microformat], particularly in relation to taxoboxes. Comments welcome on the wiki at that link. [[User:Pigsonthewing|Andy Mabbett]] 11:54, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
[[Bird vocalisation]]s can be linked in articles using the template <kbd>{{tl|Birdsong}}</kbd>. It provides an attractive link wrapper to recordings of songs and calls listed for that species at [[Xeno-canto|xeno-canto.org]] – which we use as very few Wikimedia Commons audio files exist. However, where they do, up to four of them can be added to the template, which allows them to be played directly in the article. An example use of the template appears at right, linking to the extraordinary call of the [[Kookaburra]]. See the template's documentation for its syntax and how to modify its parameters, including how to change the default image to any one you specify.
 
== Other infoboxes ==
==List of years in birding and ornithology==
*{{Tl|Infobox book}}
I've just added [[List of years in birding and ornithology]] to the "pages requested" section. Please see the few existing pages for layout. Thank you.
*{{Tl|Infobox journal}}
*{{Tl|Infobox park}} – for nature reserves
 
== Taxonbar ==
Also, I suggest that year links in birding articles link to one of the above, and not the general year, as happens in other genres - so [[2005 in birding and ornithology|2005]] not [[2005]]
*{{Tl|Taxonbar}} – see [[Template:Taxonbar/doc|Documentation]].
 
== Barnstar ==
*{{tl|Barn Owl Barnstar}} - To use this template, add <code><nowiki>{{subst:Barn Owl Barnstar|1=Put your message here. ~~~~}}</nowiki></code> to the talk page of the user to whom you wish to award it.
 
==WPBIRDS invitation==
*{{tl|WPBIRDS Invite}} - To invite a user to this project, add <code><nowiki>{{subst:WPBIRDS Invite|~~~~}}</nowiki></code> to the talk page of the user that you wish to invite. You can also use <code><nowiki>{{subst:WPBIRDS Invite|article=article name|~~~~}}</nowiki></code>, replacing <code>article name</code> with the name of the article.
 
==References==
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[[Category:WikiProject Birds| ]]
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