This review list is intended to be a guide for all potential contributors to the Kansas Bird Records Committee, 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.

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 (less than 10) records.
• 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. Common Raven and 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. Steller's Jay anywhere but in southwest Kansas). For those species, documentation is requested if the bird is sighted outside of the area noted in the column headed by "Except in these counties:"
• 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.

A downloadable and printable Rare Bird Report form (12 kb), and a downloadable and printable KOS Checklist (updated 09/2012, 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 are using a Windows version of Netscape or Internet Explorer, just right-click on those links and 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.

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.