INDIANA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE – RULES OF OPERATION

1.1   Name

The Indiana Bird Records Committee (IBRC) is a committee of the Indiana Audubon Society (IAS).

2.1 Purposes

The primary task of the IBRC is to maintain the official Checklist of Indiana Birds, a regularly updated and accurate listing of avian species known to have occurred in Indiana.  In pursuit of this the committee shall:

A)  Solicit bird records and documentation deemed by the Committee to be helpful in understanding the status and distribution of birds in Indiana;

B)  Evaluate documentation contained within bird records;

C)  Prepare and maintain a Review List.  The Review List is a list of those species for which the Committee desires reports.  The Review List may be incorporated into the official Checklist of Indiana Birds; and

D)  Conduct other activities as deemed necessary by the Committee and the IAS Board of Directors.

2.2 Permanent Files

A)    The IBRC shall maintain permanent files of records received. These files are presently archived at the Joseph C. Moore Museum at Earlham College in file cabinets owned by the IAS.  The location of the permanent files may be changed by a majority vote of the committee in consultation with the IAS President.

B)     The Chair will also maintain a duplicate set of files.  

 3.1 The Chair of the IBRC must be a member of the Indiana Audubon Society.

 3.2 The Chair’s term shall be a one-year renewable term ending December 31.

A)  A person elected Chair may be elected to no more than six consecutive terms.  A Chair having served the maximum number of consecutive terms may serve again after the expiration of one year. 

3.3 Nomination

A)    The IBRC shall annually solicit nominations for Chair utilizing the IAS Cardinal. The nominator must obtain the approval of the nominee for the nomination. The Chair must receive nominations by the week prior to the annual IBRC meeting.

B)     The Chair shall prepare a ballot. Each eligible person nominated shall be placed on the ballot in alphabetical order. The vote may be conducted by mail, electronically, or at a meeting.

C)     Committee members only shall vote for all nominees, assigning points for their preference in descending order (i.e. if four nominees exist, give four points to the most preferred, three to the next preferred, and so on). If a member is unable to vote, the polling shall be conducted only among remaining members. However, members may submit absentee ballots. All votes must be submitted prior to, or at, the annual meeting.

D)    In the event of a tie for the Chair-elect, the Chair shall conduct another vote of the committee members present to determine the preference between the nominees who tied.

3.4   Appointment

A)    The name of the IBRC Chair-elect will be submitted to the IAS Board of Directors for approval no later than the fall Board meeting.

B)     If the IAS Board of Directors does not approve the nominee for Chair-elect, the IBRC shall conduct a new vote following the guidelines as described in 3.3 of this document except that notice need not be published in any IAS publication.  The name of the new Chair-elect shall then be submitted to the IAS Board of Directors for approval.

C)     In cases where a member of the IAS Board of Directors is being considered for IBRC Chair, that member shall abstain from participation in the appointment process.

3.5 Duties

A)    The Chair of the IBRC shall call and chair an annual meeting, call and chair special meetings, manage committee correspondence, maintain committee files, and perform other duties necessary to facilitate the operation of the committee. The Chair will serve as a voting member of the IBRC with all rights and responsibilities thereof for matters of business and nominations of IBRC members.

B)     The Chair will submit a summary to the IAS Board of Directors, both of the activities of the committee and of the records evaluated by the IBRC, the latter of which shall appear at least annually in an issue of the Indiana Audubon Quarterly, an official publication of the IAS. Accepted records published in the Quarterly shall include the species name, record number, the name(s) of the observer(s), with indication of the person first finding the bird, where and when the bird was found, and the committee’s disposition of the record. Records not accepted shall include the same information without the name(s) of observer(s). Photographs shall be published when appropriate, and will include the name of the photographer. 

 3.6 Resignation, Removal, or Replacement

A)    REMOVAL: The Chair of the IBRC may be removed for cause by a majority vote of IBRC members in consultation with the IAS President.

B)     FILLING VACANCIES: In the event of removal or resignation before the expiration of the Chair’s term, a replacement will be chosen by IBRC members in consultation with the IAS President.

4.1 Eligibility

Members of the IBRC must be members of the Indiana Audubon Society.

4.2 Number and Term of Members

A)    The IBRC shall consist of seven members appointed to staggered three-year terms in three classes that are approximately equal. A member’s term will end on December 31^st of the year of expiration (or appointment). In the year 2003 only, the IBRC shall consist of eight members.

B)     A member serving a full three-year term is ineligible to serve on the committee for a period of one year after the expiration of his/her current term.

4.3 Election and Confirmation of IBRC Members

A)    The IBRC will solicit nominations each year for membership utilizing the IAS Cardinal. Any member of IAS may make nominations. The nominator must obtain approval of the nominee for the nomination. The Chair must receive nominations by the week prior to the IBRC annual meeting.

B)     The Chair shall prepare a ballot. The nominees shall be placed on the ballot in alphabetical order. The vote may be conducted by mail, electronically, or at a meeting.

C)     Committee members shall vote for all nominees, assigning points for their preference in descending order (i.e. if four nominees exist, give four points to the most preferred, three to the next preferred, and so on). If a member is unable to vote, the polling shall be conducted only among remaining members. However, members may submit absentee ballots. All votes must be submitted prior to, or at, the annual meeting.

D)    In the event of a tie for the last position on the committee, the Chair shall conduct another vote of the committee members present to determine the preference between the nominees who tied for the last position.

E)     The Chair shall prepare a list of elected committee members based on the committee members’ vote, and submit that list to the IAS Board of Directors for approval no later than the fall Board meeting.

 4.4 Duties of Members

Members shall:

A)    Attend meetings,

B)     Vote on records circulated by mail or electronically within the time period determined by the Chair. In the event that records are to be circulated sequentially through the committee, the record should be passed on to the next member according to a schedule set by the Chair, and

C)     Apprise the Chair of anticipated meeting absences or unavailability for the review of circulating records.

4.5 Resignation, Removal, and Replacement of Members

A)    REMOVAL. An IBRC member who repeatedly fails to respond within established deadlines, or is otherwise delinquent in his/her duties, and has not notified the Chair in advance of any absence, may be removed from the committee by a majority vote of the IBRC.

B)     FILLING VACANCIES. In the event of removal or resignation, the IBRC shall elect a replacement from nominee(s) selected by the Chair. The replacement should be submitted to the IAS Board of Directors for approval.  The replacement shall serve for the remainder of the year. If the term of the vacated position extends beyond the end of the year, the position shall be filled for the remainder of the term at the annual meeting (or by mail, electronically, or at a special called meeting of the committee), using standard procedures for filling expired positions.  

5.1 Meetings    

A)  ANNUAL & SPECIAL MEETINGS: The committee shall meet at least once a year no later than September 1. A special meeting may be called at any time either by a request of the majority of members or by the Chair.

B)  NOTICE: Written notice, by mail or e-mail, of meetings shall be given to all members at least 21 days in advance.

C)  MEETINGS OPEN: Meetings shall be open to the public.  However, the committee may conduct portions of the meeting in executive session, which shall be closed to the public.

D)    QUORUM: Five members shall constitute a quorum.

5.2 Records To Be Considered

A)    Records of rare birds found within the state boundaries of Indiana shall be considered by the  IBRC.  Rare birds are those:

1) Heretofore unknown in Indiana, or

2) Listed on the Review List.

B)     Records deemed necessary by a vote of the majority of the committee.

C)     Records submitted by other organizations or compilers (e.g., the Christmas Bird Count or May Day compiler or a “Field Notes” editor).

5.3 Definitions of Decisions

There are two types of decisions that can be made concerning records. They are:

A)    NOT ACCEPTED: There are three classes of “not accepted” records. They are:

1) “NOT ACCEPTED, DOCUMENTATION INADEQUATE”: The voting IBRC member believes that:

a) the evidence does not adequately support the species identification, or

b) the evidence describes two or more species that cannot be separated on the basis of the evidence. In this case the record might be reconsidered as a generic report, e.g. Plegadis ibis species or frigatebird species.

2). “NOT ACCEPTED, ORIGIN QUESTIONABLE”: The evidence supports the identification of the species, and rules out all other species, but the bird may have been a captive that escaped or was released.

3). “NOT ACCEPTED, EXOTIC BIRD NOT ESTABLISHED”: The evidence adequately describes the species, and rules out all other species, but the population of the species has not been established. The IBRC shall develop and follow guidelines that define the use of the word “established” as it pertains to species in this category.

B)     ACCEPTED. There are two classes of “accepted” records. They are:

1). “ACCEPTED, VERIFIED”: The evidence adequately describes the species, and rules out all others, and the record is supported by a specimen, photograph, video, or sound recording.

                     2).  “ACCEPTED, SIGHT RECORD”: The evidence adequately supports the

                     identification of the species, and rules out all other species, but there is no physical

                     verification for the record.

5.4 Voting

A) GENERAL ROLE OF THE CHAIR. All evidence of rare birds submitted to the IBRC shall be referred to the Chair. The Chair shall assign each report a unique record number. Each written description, specimen, photograph, and recording making up the report shall be given a subset letter under the record number.

B) VOTING FORMATS.  There are two types of voting formats.

1) First Round Voting – Ballots will be sent through the U.S. Mail or electronically for the first round of voting.

2) Second Round Voting – Second-round voting shall occur at meetings.

C)     BALLOTS. The ballots used will contain the name of the bird, record number, voter’s name, and current date as supplied by the Chair. There will be a section for recommending to accept or not accept. The ballot will also contain a section for the committee member to state the reason for the decision, and for the committee member to sign and date the ballot.

D) SPLITTING AND COMBINING RECORDS. When the committee believes that:

1) The evidence indicates that a separate record should be placed under a different record number, the record will be split, or

2) The evidence indicates that a record should be combined with another record or records under the same record number, the records will be combined.

E)     RECORD RECONSIDERATION. Any record may be reconsidered at the request of the Chair or any member of the committee for reasons stated in writing, either by mail or e-mail. While evidence supporting the reconsideration may be distributed by e-mail, the actual vote to accept or not accept the report shall take place at a meeting of the committee.

F) MEETING LIMITATIONS. There are three types of records that shall be voted on at a meeting:

       1) Second round records,

2) Records supported entirely or in part by evidence that cannot be easily distributed to members, or

       3) Records under reconsideration.

G) FIRST-ROUND VOTING

1) ROLE OF THE CHAIR. The Chair shall separate records into four categories according to the provisions in this section. The Chair may arrange packets of records for circulation in the most economical manner. The four categories are as follows:

a) Records supported by written evidence. The Chair may make multiple copies of these records for simultaneous review by several members, or forward them to committee members electronically. The Chair shall exercise discretion in circulating mailed records.

b) Records supported by written evidence and by photographs and/or other evidence that can be sent electronically. If the written documentation and photographs can be scanned, the records will be forwarded to IBRC members by mail or electronically.

c) Records supported by written evidence and by photographs and/or other evidence that require mailing. The Chair shall send the entire record to the first member of the committee. After reviewing the evidence and drawing conclusions about each record, the first member sends his/her completed ballots to the Chair, and forwards the records to the second member of the committee. This process continues until the last member of the committee sends the records back to the Chair.

d) Records supported in part or entirely by evidence that cannot be easily distributed. These records shall be voted on only at a meeting. The Chair shall note the nature of the evidence in the meeting agenda.

2) ACCEPTANCE OR NON-ACCEPTANCE ON THE FIRST ROUND. If a record receives “accepted” votes from at least 80 percent of members voting, it is accepted. If a record receives “accepted” votes from at least 20 percent of the voters, but less than 80 percent, it will be deferred to a second round. If a record fails to receive “accepted” from 20 percent of members voting, it is not accepted.  A minimum of five members must vote on first round records.

3) INDEPENDENT VOTING ON THE FIRST ROUND. To obtain the most accurate information on which to base a first-round vote, it may be helpful for one committee member to consult with another for details on the species involved. The first-round voting of each member, however, shall remain independent.

4) REASONS MUST BE STATED. Committee members must state their reasons in accepting or not accepting a record. These reasons will be reviewed by other committee members if there is a second round of voting, and these comments become part of the permanent record in the IBRC file.

5) VOTING BY MEMBERS. Members are eligible to vote for all records unless they themselves saw or heard the bird. In cases where at least three members were involved with the record, all members will be eligible to vote on that record.

H) SECOND-ROUND VOTING AND RECORDS UNDER CONSIDERATION.

1) INFORMATION. When a record receives at least 20 percent but less than 80 percent “accepted” votes on the first round, the Chair initiates a second round, which will be conducted at a meeting. The complete record, along with copies of the members’ first round comments, additional information, if any, and in the case of records being reconsidered, the request for reconsideration, are forwarded to IBRC members so that they may be read prior to the second round vote.

2) WRITTEN REASONS NEED NOT BE STATED. When voting at a meeting, written ballots need not be prepared. The Chair shall record the results of the voting on each record.

3) ACCEPTANCE OR NON-ACCEPTANCE ON THE SECOND ROUND. When voting on the second round, a record is accepted if it receives “accepted” votes from at least 70 percent of those voting, otherwise it is not accepted.  A minimum of five members must vote on second round records.

5.5 Notice to Persons Submitting Reports

Persons submitting observations shall be notified by the Chair of the committee’s disposition of the records or that the outcome will be published in a future issue of the IAS Quarterly.  Any notifications to the observer or what is printed in the Quarterly may include anonymous copies of members’ comments.  

6.1 Duplication of File Material

All materials submitted become the property of the Indiana Audubon Society, Inc.  Duplication of slides, photographs, film, and audio and video recordings is not permitted without permission of the photographer or recordist except that IAS may reproduce items for its own use or publications.

6.2 Loan of File Material

Loans of slides, photographs, film, and audio and video recordings from the permanent files are not permitted. Only the duplicated material retained by the Chair will be available for loan.

6.3 Availability of Written Materials

Written materials are available to interested persons as arranged with the Chair.

7.1 Financial Support

The committee may submit a budget for approval by the IAS Board of Directors.  The Board of Directors must approve any expenditure in excess of the budgeted amount.

Amended:

January 25, 2003