Records Committee
Checklist Code System

Voting Ballot 
 Deadline --26 Jul 2026
 

 Voter's   Name:  

  

 

 

 
We have four proposed options for Checklist Codes. Bryant has proposed Options A, B & C. Option D is to keep the current Codes unchanged.  We also have a proposal to include the number of accepted records for Review Species on the state checklist.
 

General
Information

GENERAL INFORMATION.

- The current Utah Checklist can be found here.
- ABA Codes are available here.
- The website has a list of past Utah Checklists here,
- Links to the Checklists of other states here.
- Also the "Records under Review" page has a link to a "Discussion Tracker" at the top of the table that shows the comments that have been made on the topic of the Checklist Codes.
 
 
Vote #1

Abundance Codes - There are four options to choose from.
 
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Option A - Here we make an additional grade between Casual and Occasional for less than annual but not accidental vagrants, also the addition of X= extirpated, I=Irruptive and N=known to nest codes. Most checklists note which species nest in that region. The Accidental definition is consistent with the ABA definition. Changes are indicated in blue below:
 

      Abundance Codes
    C =
COMMON - Found consistently in large numbers in appropriate habitat and season
    U = UNCOMMON - Inconsistently found in small numbers in appropriate habitat and season
    R = RARE - Found infrequently but annually in very small numbers in appropriate habitat  and season
    O = OCCASIONAL - Not observed annually, but a few individuals may occur some years in appropriate habitat and season, 2-3 accepted reports in a 5 year period
    Ca = CASUAL - Not reported every year, 2-3 accepted reports in a 10 year period
    A = ACCIDENTAL - Not expected and out of normal range, no more than 1 accepted report in a 10 year period, less than 3 in the past 30 years, or less than 5 all-time accepted records
    I = IRRUPTIVE - Present some years in numbers corresponding to rare or greater, but absent or scarce other years
    X = EXTIRPATED - No longer present in Utah
    N = NESTING - Known to nest in Utah
       
 
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 Option B - In this option we combine Casual and Occasional into 1 category for all less than annual but non-accidental species, this is basically what we have been doing and has the advantage of simplicity. We keep X and I, but drop N. The Accidental definition is consistent with the ABA definition. Changes are indicated in blue below:
 
      Abundance Codes
    C = COMMON - Found consistently in large numbers in appropriate habitat and season
    U = UNCOMMON - Inconsistently found in small numbers in appropriate habitat and season
    R = RARE - Found infrequently but annually in very small numbers in appropriate habitat and season
    O = OCCASIONAL - Not observed annually, but a few individuals may occur some years in appropriate habitat and season, 2-9 accepted reports in a 10 year period
    A = ACCIDENTAL - Not expected and out of normal range, no more than 1 accepted report in a 10 year period, less than 3 in the past 30 years, or less than 5 all-time accepted records
    I =
 		 IRRUPTIVE - Present some years in numbers corresponding to rare or greater, but absent or scarce other years
    X =
 		 EXTIRPATED - No longer present in Utah
  
 
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 Option C - Basically we don't add any new codes, but do redefine Accidental and Occasional with a more precise definition. The Accidental definition is consistent with the ABA definition. Changes are indicated in blue below:
 
      Abundance Codes
    C = COMMON - Found consistently in large numbers in appropriate habitat and season
    U = UNCOMMON - Inconsistently found in small numbers in appropriate habitat and season
    R = RARE - Found infrequently but annually in very small numbers in appropriate habitat and season
    O = OCCASIONAL - Not observed annually, but a few individuals may occur some years in appropriate habitat and season, 2-9 accepted reports in a 10 year period
    A = ACCIDENTAL - Not expected and out of normal range, no more than 1 accepted report in a 10 year period, less than 3 in the past 30 years, or less than 5 all-time accepted records
 
 
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  		Option D -- Is to leave the Abundance Codes  unchanged.
      Abundance Codes
    C = COMMON - Found consistently in large numbers in appropriate habitat and season
    U = UNCOMMON - Inconsistently found in small numbers in appropriate habitat and season
    R = RARE - Found infrequently but annually in very small numbers in appropriate habitat and season
    O = OCCASIONAL - Not observed annually, but a few individuals may occur some years in appropriate habitat and season
    A = ACCIDENTAL - Not expected and out of normal range
       

 
 

Please give your top three preferences of the options above. Please include no blank or repeated choices, so we can compare each option fairly against the others.
First Choice:   
Second Choice:   
Third Choice:  
 
Vote #2

Review Species Number Inclusion - It has been proposed that the Official Checklist include the number of records that have been reviewed and accepted by the Committee for each species on the Review List. How this would appear on the Checklist can be seen here. Please vote Yes or No. A simple majority will be used to decide.
Yes or no:       Should the number of accepted records be included, in parentheses,
                               with a link to a list, for Review Species on the state checklist?
 

Date:

  (Must be filled in before the vote can be submitted).

Your vote will be sent to the UBRC Secretary for compilation and the results will be reported when all the ballots are in.