In a major revision of species for which SBRC requires descriptions, it has been decided to delegate all former ‘lower-case’ species. This allows for the addition of species recently removed from the BBRC list.

  • FERRUGINOUS DUCK
  • CORY’S SHEARWATER
  • GREAT SHEARWATER
  • WILSON'S STORM PETREL
  • BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON
  • GREAT EGRET
  • PURPLE HERON
  • BLACK KITE
  • MONTAGU’S HARRIER
  • ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD
  • RED-FOOTED FALCON
  • STONE-CURLEW
  • KENTISH PLOVER
  • AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER
  • WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER
  • RING-BILLED GULL
  • YELLOW-LEGGED GULL
  • WHITE-WINGED TERN
  • ALPINE SWIFT
  • LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER
  • GREATER SHORT-TOED LARK††
  • WOOD LARK
  • RED-RUMPED SWALLOW
  • TAWNY PIPIT
  • RED-THROATED PIPIT††
  • WATER PIPIT
  • COMMON NIGHTINGALE††
  • CETTI’S WARBLER
  • AQUATIC WARBLER
  • MARSH WARBLER††
  • MELODIOUS WARBLER
  • DARTFORD WARBLER
  • SUBALPINE WARBLER††
  • GREENISH WARBLER††
  • RADDE’S WARBLER
  • DUSKY WARBLER††
  • WOODCHAT SHRIKE
  • EUROPEAN SERIN
  • ARCTIC REDPOLL††
  • CIRL BUNTING
  • ORTOLAN BUNTING*
  • RUSTIC BUNTING††
  • LITTLE BUNTING††

* Records of these species can be assessed by Local Recorders in Shetland & Orkney.

† Records marked thus may be assessed by Local Recorders in Shetland and Orkney without full written descriptions.

Descriptions of all the above species should be submitted to SBRC unless indicated otherwise. The Scottish Bird Report will only include records if they have been accepted by either SBRC or a local records committee. Assessment of a record can only be carried out by a committee if a full written description is provided by the observer. Forms for this purpose are available online or from the local recorder. These should be submitted by the observer to the Local Recorder in the first instance.

Species delegated from SBRC to local committee assessment are listed below. As always, where no local committee exists, or no clear decision can be reached at local level, SBRC will be happy to consider these records.

  • American Wigeon
  • Green-winged Teal
  • Ring-necked Duck
  • Surf Scoter (female only)
  • Balearic Shearwater
  • Little Egret
  • White Stork
  • European Honey-buzzard
  • Eurasian Hobby
  • Common Crane
  • Little Plover
  • Pectoral Sandpiper
  • Buff-breasted Sandpiper
  • Sabine’s Gull
  • European Bee-eater
  • Richard’s Pipit
  • Icterine Warbler
  • Barred Warbler
  • Pallas’s Leaf Warbler
  • Firecrest
  • Red-breasted Flycatcher
  • Rosy Starling
  • Common Rosefinch

Records of the ‘Caspian’ race of Herring Gull cachinnans, are now being examined by BBRC, but it is understood this practice may soon end. It is our intention for this to become an upper case (block capitals) taxon on our list if it is no longer examined by BBRC.

All ‘new’ pre-1950 records of species appearing on the BBRC List, require to be accepted by SBRC.

In addition to the above, all records of subspecies recorded in Scotland on twenty or fewer occasions, should be examined by either BBRC or SBRC.

Subspecies recorded in Scotland on 20 or fewer occasions
Snow Goose (Greater) Anser caerulescens atlanticus
Brent Goose (Black Brant) Branta bernicla nigricans*
Black Scoter (American) Melanitta nigra americana*
Red-necked Grebe (American) Podiceps grisegena holboellii
Great Cormorant (Continental) Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis
Whimbrel (Hudsonian) Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus*
Herring Gull (American) Larus argentatus smithsonianus*
Little Auk (Franz Josef Land) Alle alle polaris
Barn Owl (Dark-breasted) Tyto alba guttata
Yellow Wagtail (Sykes’s) Motacilla flava beema
Yellow Wagtail (Black-headed) Motacilla flava feldegg*
Yellow Wagtail (Eastern Blue-headed) Motacilla flava simillima
Common Nightingale (Eastern) Luscinia megarhynchos hafizi*
Common Redstart (Ehrenberg’s) Phoenicurus phoenicurus samamisicus*
Arctic Redpoll (Hornemann’s) Carduelis hornemanni honemanni*
Yellowhammer (Continental) Emberiza citrinella citrinella

* Records of these subspecies are examined by BBRC. Records of all others should be submitted to SBRC.

All potential new taxa for the Scottish List require to be accepted by either BBRC (and BOURC if new for Britain) or SBRC. The Secretary of SBRC can advise Local Recorders/ observers of the correct procedure for each particular taxon involved.