Bird Census Techniques

This is a concise guide to the various census techniques and to the opportunities and pitfalls which each entails. The common methods are described in detail and illustrated with diagrams showing examples of actual and theoretical census studies.

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Wild birds are counted for a wide range of reasons and by a bewildering array of methods. However, detailed descriptions of the techniques used and the rationale adopted are scattered in the available literature and the newcomer to bird census work, or the experienced bird counter in search of a wider view, may well have difficulty in coming to grips with the subject as a whole. While not an end in itself, numerical and distributional census work is a fundamental part of many scientific and conservation studies and one in which the application of given standards is vital if results are not to be distorted or applied in a misleading way. The book provides a concise guide to the various census techniques and to the opportunities and pitfalls which each entails. The common methods are described in details and illustrated through an abundance of diagrams showing examples of actual and theoretical census studies. Anyone with a bird census job to plan should be able to select the method best suited to the study in hand, and to apply it to best effect within the limits inherent in it and the constraints of the particular study.