Type of site | Taxonomic database |
---|---|
Available in | 105 languages |
Created by | Denis Lepage |
URL | avibase |
Launched | 2003 |
Current status | Active |
Avibase is an online taxonomic database that organizes bird taxonomic and distribution data globally. The database relies on the notion of taxonomic concepts[1][2] rather than taxonomic names.[3] Avibase incorporates and organizes taxonomic data from the main avian taxonomic publishers (The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World,[4] Handbook of the Birds of the World, BirdLife International,[5] IOC Checklist[6] and the Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World[7]) and other regional sources (e.g. all editions of the American Ornithological Society Checklist of North American Birds since 1886). Taxonomic concepts in over 230 different taxonomic sources have been mapped and cross-referenced to Avibase concepts.
The website also offers checklists for more than 20,000 geographic regions of the world, species pages with taxonomic information and synonyms, and tools for observers to maintain their own sightings and obtain reports, such as a map showing countries or eBird hotspots with target species.