The birds of the Azores are still rather poor known, and most birdwatchers visiting the islands today as well as those residents interested in birds, may well contribute to the knowledge concerning breeding species, regularly migrating birds, and rarities.
   If you are a keen birdwatcher familiar with all or most of the birds - please report your sightings to Birding Azores as well as to the Portuguese Rarities Committee (PRC). Remember that apart from the real rarities the knowledge of almost all other vagrants are very poor - so make sure to include them in your trip report or message to Birding Azores and/or the PRC.
   If you are a resident on the islands, interested in birds and seeing an unfamiliar species - don't hesitate to contact us. Maybe we can help you to identify the bird! When describing it, try to compare it with a familiar species; size, colour, bill, legs, movement etc.

In this website the team of Birding Azores presents a number of bird lists (see the "Bird database" section). First there is a complete checklist to the birds of Azores, with the status for each species given. There are also lists with information about all rare and scarce species. In these lists references are given to many sources. This means that a reference to a notification by SMS, later might be completed by a trip report, and in the final stage by a reference to the observation when published in Anuário Ornitológico. The goal is to present every known reported rare bird, even including those rejected by the Portuguese Rarities Committee.

Birding Azores also keep a daily news service, with all rare species (with less than 100 sightings) and a number of other extra ordinary news being presented in Recent sightings and in special articles.

Further more this web site will try to present as many photo documentations of rare birds as possible, and a variety of photos of the more common species, as well as trip reports, seabird counts, and a bibliography. For all these parts contributions are most welcome!

Reports of bird sightings, photos, and other information or inquiries are best sent by e-mail to Birding Azores, or in case of urgent sightings by SMS to +46 709 32 11 86.

The Portuguese Rarities Committee (Comité Português de Raridades) collects and publishes sightings of rare bird species from all over Portugal, including Madeira and the Azores. Rare bird records are published in Anuário Ornitológico (see Bibliography). The latest issue of Anuário Ornitológico, volume 6 (dated 2008), was published in June 2009. It mainly covers the years 2006 and 2007 but as it deals exclusively with records formally submitted to the PRC it incorporates only approximately 10% of all the rare birds reported in Birding Azores. The Bird database pages indicate which records have been accepted by the PRC.
   The PRC maintains a list of bird species of the Azores that it considers as rarities and, therefore assesses on the basis of submissions of written descriptions, sketches and/or photographs. Accepted records are published in the yearly report and it is only these published records that form the official Portuguese list. It should be noted that, at the present time, the PRC reviews some species in the Azores that are regarded by Birding Azores as of regular occurrence so it is appropriate to refer to the PRC's list when considering making a submission..

Records of rarities should be submitted to raridades@spea.pt by the finder(s) (see list of species for species currently assessed by the PRC). Unless the observer(s) specifically request otherwise, Birding Azores may forward to the CPR any adequately documented records of rarities it receives but which have not also been sent to the CPR. The record/rarity form (in English) can be downloaded from SPEA/Raridades.
   At SPEA Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves (Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds) you will find further information of Anuário Ornitológico, and the Portuguese Rarities Committee. Rarity reports and photos should be sent to: raridades@spea.pt or for those that don't have e-mail or that wish to send prints, the following Postal Address can be used:

Comité Português de Raridades
SPEA
Avenida da Liberdade, 105, 2ºEsq.
1250-140 LISBOA
PORTUGAL