This review list is intended to be a guide for all potential contributors to the Kansas Bird Records Committee (KBRC), as it indicates the species of birds which are in need of documentation in Kansas. Additionally, any species NOT on the current checklist should always be documented. Instructions for documentation, and links for getting the checklist, report forms, or submission of an electronic report can be found at the bottom of this page. An excellent HTML document, "How to write convincing details," including instructions on taking field notes and making sketches, is available from Mike Patterson. If you have had a report "rejected" and are feeling "dejected" about it, you NEED to read this article.

The species listed below need to be documented for various reasons.

• Some are rare in the state, and the number of confirmed sightings is listed in the column headed by "records." The number of records is boldfaced for species for which we have relatively few (fewer than 10) records. In general, the number of records refers to the number of records accepted by the KBRC.
• Some of these rare species are still listed as "hypothetical," since the KBRC has received only sight records, without convincing physical evidence (specimens, photographs, or recordings), for these species. Hypothetical species are listed in [square brackets] and boldface type in the list below; your efforts in providing physical evidence for these species would be especially appreciated.
• Other species were found in the state in historical times (e.g. Black-capped Vireo), and any reappearance of these species would be worthy of documentation.
• A significant number of species are found regularly but very locally in the state, and the KBRC would appreciate documentation of any sightings outside of those areas of the state (e.g. Black Vulture anywhere but in southeast Kansas). For those species, documentation is requested if the bird is sighted outside of the area noted in the column headed by "Documentation not required from these counties:" Note that these notations are a link to a map.
• Finally, some birds are quite common in one season, but exceedingly rare in another (e.g. Blackpoll Warbler in the fall migration season). In these cases the KBRC would like to receive documentation for the these birds seen in the season in parentheses.  Thus, Blackpoll Warbler (fall) means that sightings of this bird in the fall should be carefully documented. For a good source to help in determining what are exceptionally early or late dates, birders are encouraged to check the book, Birds of Kansas published by University Press of Kansas. Even common species, that are observed well outside the anticipated dates listed, should be documented.

Species that have a notation in the column "Documentation not required from these counties" have a clickable link to show a map of counties where those species do not need to be reported. Species with without a notation in this column should be reported if seen anywhere in the state.

To help you understand why we are asking for records on these species there is a column labeled "Justification for reporting". There is a letter code in that column and an explanation of what each code means at the end of the table. Some species are simply rare in the state, others are rare in certain parts of the state or at certain times of the year. Some species have ranges that are expanding or contracting and we are trying to document these changes.

The last column refers to the most recent accepted KBRC record that is on file OR most recent confirmed record from Birds of Kansas (Thompson, et. al., 2011). Some species are expected annually in certain parts of Kansas. The most recent record for these species are usually from outside the expected areas - refer to column #2, (Documentation not required from these counties). Some species are relatively new additions to the Review List and while there may be many sight or historical records, there are no KBRC records to date.

For a listing of only species with fewer than ten records (including hypothetical species) click here.
 

*Justification for reporting

C - to better understand this species occurrence in the state, or part of the state, for conservation purposes

M - to monitor spring of fall migration patterns for this species or wintering ranges

R - this species is rarely seen in the state

RE - to monitor changing range of this species within the state, either range expansion or range contraction

X - extralimital outside of certain areas of the state

A downloadable and printable Rare Bird Report form (12 kb), and a downloadable and printable KOS Checklist (updated 11/2023, 22 KB) are available for your use; you will need Adobe's free Acrobat reader software to view and print these files. The KBRC report form is also available in Microsoft Word, Rich Text (RTF), Web page (HTML), and ascii text format. If you just right-click on those links you will be able to save the file to your computer's hard drive for future use.

You can also submit your report electronically, if your web browser is capable of reading forms. If not, or if you just like to submit records the old-fashioned way (paper and pencil), then download and print out one of the forms mentioned above.