6.1 Annual Report
Accepted records and records not accepted are published in British Birds, in the Committee’s annual report on rare birds in Britain and the Isle of Man. The BBRC’s annual report is usually published in October following the year under review. Publication in one place greatly facilitates analyses of rarity occurrences in the region covered. Up to four observers, in alphabetical order, are usually acknowledged after each accepted record. For each species, the report includes general comments on trends and a running total of records in the whole of Britain and the Isle of Man; ‘at sea’ records are excluded from these totals.
6.2 Rarities Committee news and announcements
A second publication ‘Rarities Committee news and announcements’ appears regularly in British Birds and covers general matters relating to the Committee’s work, much of which stem from discussions at its annual meeting. The committee also issues regular press releases and announcements, via the Chairman and Secretary, about its work to various other birding magazines and Internet sites.
6.3 Published notes on Rarities
Full details of first records of species for Britain are published in British Birds. Observers are asked to prepare suitable notes for publication but in the rare cases where these are not forthcoming, a committee member or British Birds editorial board member may prepare one from the submitted details. Such notes provide a valuable identification reference for species whose field characters may be little known. Some particularly good descriptions of especially rare or hard-to-identify species may be published as a standard to which others may aspire.
6.4 From the Rarities Committee Files
The central deposit of rarity descriptions and opinions on difficult identification topics means that problem areas can be pinpointed. An important offshoot of the Committee’s work is the promotion of publication of notes and papers to clarify these areas. Some may take the form of an analysis of a species characteristics whilst others may be about a particular individual record.
All publications are under the title “From the Rarities Committee Files” and acknowledge the committee’s sponsorship.
Descriptions of rarities in the Committee’s files are available to any bona-fide researcher investigating new or improved identification criteria. Requests for their use should be sent to the Secretary with a brief outline of the purpose, objectives and expected outputs from the use of the descriptions. The Chairman and Secretary will considered all requests on their individual merits. The committee reserves the right to levy a charge for the use of descriptions in certain cases.
6.5 Archiving
The central deposit of paper rarity records is maintained at the BTO Headquarters at Thetford. The archive of electronic records is retained by the Secretary and Chairman.
