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What is a "Sensitive Species"?

How are Sensitive Species displayed in eBird?

How should eBirders report sensitive species?

What about other birds that aren't on the Sensitive Species List?

Sensitive Species List

Bali Mynas are Critically Endangered due to illegal poaching, with fewer than 1,000 adults of the species left in the wild. 

Bill Bacon/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML106837731)

What is a "Sensitive Species"?

Some bird species face risks from humans of capture, targeted killing, or significant targeted disturbance. Open-access data can be a risk for these birds that are targeted for exploitation. eBird data output is restricted to protect these "Sensitive Species" while still allowing important data about them to be entered into eBird. 

The exploitation of wild birds for captive trade is the most significant risk for many bird species. Despite laws that protect wild birds and regulate international trade in threatened animals (see Birdlife International summary of bird trade and CITES), illegal trade remains a major threat to many species.

With these dangers to wild birds in mind, Sensitive Species listings allow eBirders to submit specific location data for at-risk species in a way that supports science and conservation, without risk of causing harm to the birds.

How are Sensitive Species defined?

eBird consults with our local partners worldwide in order to develop our list of Sensitive Species. Sensitive Species in eBird conform to these guidelines:

• Sensitive Species are formally recommended by a partner or published source, and rationale for the listing is stored at eBird.

• Sensitive Species in eBird are those for which demonstrable harm could occur from public display of site-level records, including (but not limited to): 1) targeted capture for the cage bird trade; 2) targeted hunting; 3) targeted disturbance of nests, roosts, or individual birds from birdwatchers or photographers. Species that are rare but are not under pressure from targeted human exploitation or disturbance generally are not considered Sensitive.

• In many, but not all, cases, a Sensitive Species has formal listing as an Endangered or Threatened species either on a local priority list or by the IUCN (http://www.iucnredlist.org/).

• Sensitive Species are implemented primarily at the global scale, but regional and seasonal treatments are applied in some cases.

How are Sensitive Species displayed in eBird?

Sensitive Species have a customized display in eBird, where they are:      

• Hidden from checklist views, except to observers on the checklist

• Hidden from all site-level output (e.g., Hotspot Explorer, bar charts for hotspots)

• Shown only at grid-cell level (400 km2 accuracy) on eBird species maps 

• Shown at region-level output (e.g., Region Explorer, Illustrated Checklists) with checklist details (date, location, observer, checklist link) omitted

• Included in listing totals (e.g., Top 100), but never shown as "most recent addition"

• Shown in Media Search with checklist details (date, location, observer, checklist link) omitted and only for regions larger than a hotspot

• Specifically marked as Sensitive wherever the species name is displayed in output and location-level data has been removed, such as on the Region Explorer or Illustrated Checklist pages

Since these data can still be used by qualified scientists (including Endangered Species recovery teams), these records are still seen by our eBird reviewers, who must check identifications for accuracy. 

This endangered Blakiston’s Fish Owl was a known individual photographed from a blind in a safe setting, but many owl sightings can attract undue disturbance through unethical behavior. 

Ian Davies/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML26859651).

How should eBirders report sensitive species?

Report the observation in eBird where the record will be protected from exploitation and still help inform research and conservation for the species.

However, we ask eBirders observing any of the species on our Sensitive Species List to use discretion in sharing sightings via other public platforms (e.g., Facebook, WhatsApp, webpages, listservs, etc.). Revealing site-level records exposes the birds to risk from professional bird trappers, hunters, and/or pressure by birdwatchers and photographers and could cause significant harm to the conservation of these species. We recommend that you enjoy your good fortune privately and keep the specific location secret from others outside of eBird to help protect the species. 

Painted Buntings are a regionally sensitive species in Florida between October and April. 

David Hollie/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML26622721).

What about other birds that aren't on the Sensitive Species List?

eBird's Sensitive Species protections only apply to clear cases where public information about a species may place that species at risk. There are other cases where it may be best to not report specific observations publicly on eBird, even if the species isn't sensitive as a whole, either due to restricted site access concerns or because the bird may be harmed in some way. eBirders must take it upon themselves to understand the situation locally and to use their best judgment, as the status of a species may change from place to place. 

Here are a few ways to help protect sensitive birds when reporting to eBird:

• Wait until the season is over and the sensitive bird(s) have left before reporting the birds to eBird. You can go back and ‘edit’ your checklists later to include sensitive records after the birds have departed.
• Do not provide explicit coordinates or directions to sensitive records. For instance, you may say that birds were seen at a state park, instead of listing the exact location therein.
• Delay reporting observations for 8 days or more to keep these reports off of eBird Alerts.
• Hide observations in eBird after you have submitted a checklist by selecting that option from the “Checklist Tools” dropdown menu. This keeps the species off the output (e.g., maps, bar charts etc.) but does not hide the fact that you went birding altogether (i.e., the date and location may show up on the Recent Checklists feed, but no one will be able to see the species you saw). Once the species is safe again, we always recommend 'unhiding' your checklist because all sightings on hidden eBird checklists cannot be used for scientific analysis or by fellow birders.

For example, Long-eared Owls are particularly vulnerable to human disturbance in their day roosts across the Northeastern US, but in much of the Western US and eastern Europe this is not an issue. Matt Brady/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab (ML45715441)

Be a conscientious birder

It’s up to each and every individual birder to ensure that they behave themselves in the field. The American Birding Association published a Birding Code of Ethics that should be followed by all birders (see below). eBird fully supports these recommendations and we are pleased that the great majority of birders follow this code. We encourage all birders to review these guidelines, and realize that they are established to help protect the birds we all love to watch! Moreover, take it upon yourself to understand the conservation concerns in your area, and be aware that your actions could impact birds negatively. Be smart, be aware, and always keep the bird’s best interests in mind.

Sensitive Species List

Species treated as Sensitive Globally

Jump to Regionally Sensitive Species

Certain species are treated as Sensitive at a global level in eBird, including species from the following groups:

Certain falcon species (Falconidae) are rare and highly valued in falconry. These species are treated as Sensitive to protect them from the falconry trade.

Parrots and parakeets. Capture of wild birds for trade has drastically reduced many populations and driven several species to extinction in the wild (Olah et al. 2016). 

Asian birds at risk from commercial trade, particularly species and subspecies groups that are considered Critically Endangered or Endangered by the IUCN, have small or restricted populations, or are known to be severely declining from commercial trade in parts of Southeast Asia. 

Owls sensitive to targeted disturbance. Disturbance at their day roosts or use of playback can repeatedly disturb individuals, pairs, or small populations. Large crowds surrounding and following certain owls in winter (sometimes engaging in unethical baiting practices) disrupts natural hunting and exposes owls to great risk from vehicle collisions or habituation to humans. We currently treat certain species as globally Sensitive because of known issues with publicizing specific locations. However, we encourage ethical behavior around all owls.

Species sensitive to targeted disturbance—certain species with small populations or habitats that cannot tolerate significant targeted disturbance.

Landbirds in certain regions of South America have active bird trade and this has led to severe population declines. This includes species that are considered Critically Endangered or Endangered by the IUCN, have small or restricted populations, or are known to be severely declining from bird trade. Common Diuca-Finch x Yellow Cardinal (hybrid) is included becaused sightings could be used to locate breeding areas of Yellow Cardinal.

Species sensitive to targeted hunting. Some species are under particular pressure from hunting, either for food or for use of the bird's body parts (e.g., Helmeted Hornbill), and hunters may specifically target individuals or concentrations of birds.

Extinct in the Wild species, which persist in captivity, are protected as Sensitive Species to ensure that reintroduction efforts have the best chance at success. 

Codes in brackets refer to IUCN Red List (v2019) codes of Critically Endangered [CR], Endangered [EN], or Extinct in the Wild [EW].