The infamous Life List is a birder’s resume, a list of accomplishments that speaks to the person’s dedication to birding, years of involvement, and travel extent. Beginning a Life List is as easy as picking up a pen or opening a document on your computer. But filling a Life List is an entirely different challenge.
Beginning your List
Because there are so many ways to organize your list, and each person must be comfortable with his or her organization scheme, birders seeking to begin a Life List must make several decisions. First, will the list be a hard-copy kept in a journal or digital, as in a computer document? Either choice has its advantages. Journal-based lists won’t disappear if your computer crashes, but digital lists can be reorganized at will. Second, what type of list are you interested in keeping? Some people limit their lists to birds within their home country. Others list any bird seen at any time anywhere around the world. You may wish to keep separate Life Lists for birds seen in your home country versus birds seen abroad. Lastly, how will your list be organized? Some people opt for simply writing the common name of the bird, and perhaps the date seen or a few other notes. Others prefer a more detailed or structured approach, listing birds according to family or using their scientific names.
Filling your Lis
While there is flexibility in determining the format of your list, there are a few generally accepted rules for filling the list with species. First, and perhaps most obviously, the bird must be alive. Second, the bird must be observed in the wild. Birds in zoos or rehabilitation centers do not qualify for Life Lists. Some birders also insist that the bird not be restrained or caught – it must be witnessed moving independently in its habitat. Third, the bird must be positively identified by the person to whom the list belongs. This rule can become contentious when a bird that has been identified by several birders in a group departs before all members of the group can positively identify the species. Birds can also be identified through their call, even if they cannot actually be seen. Therefore, it helps to learn the calls of the more reclusive bird species.
Life List Tips
A good field guide is a necessary item if a birder wishes to keep a Life List. The species cannot be listed unless the person has the utmost confidence in the identity of the bird, and this normally cannot be done without a field guide. In addition, some birders will find it helpful to purchase a ready-made Life List notebook, like the one available from Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology. These books come pre-printed with the names of bird species in the United States, organized by family. Birders can write the date and location of each species in the list, and keep track of each bird seen on a condensed list in the back of the book.
