1. Agenda item 12: Update of EU birds list
Rob Pople, for Ecosystems LTD
THE N2K GROUP
European Economic Interest Group

2. Background (1/2)
Need for list of “all species of naturally occurring birds in the wild state” [Art. 1, Birds Directive] in the EU
1999 version
EU15
Taxonomy / nomenclature following Voous (1973, 1977)
Alternative version following Sibley & Monroe (1990)
Single list with both regularly occurring and vagrant spp. (with status/occurrence codes)
Annex with 15 introduced spp. with an “established breeding population” (defined as “more than 100 breeding pairs for more than ten years”).

3. Background (2/2) 2015 update EU28
Taxonomy / nomenclature following BirdLife/HBW/IUCN (2014), including changes in del Hoyo & Collar (2014)
Comparisons with Voous, Sibley & Monroe, IOC (v.3.5), Clements (v.6.8) and Howard & Moore (v.3)
Four sheets: Category A (regular), Cat. A (vagrant), Cat. B (pre-1950) and Cat. C (introduced)
Indication of migratory status at EU level
Listings on, e.g., BD annexes, CMS, AEWA, AEMLAP, etc.
- Further details of 2015 update provided in Doc Ornis 14-04/09- Annex I:
- Criteria for inclusion in ‘Cat C (introduced)’ sheet seemingly broadened to all species (n = 32) included in Category C on national list(s) of one or more Member State (without assessment of size of breeding population?).

4. Current update (1/2)
Update of sequence, taxonomy and nomenclature of passerines, following del Hoyo & Collar (2016)
Few updates to Cat. A (vagrant) and Cat. C sheets
Update of IUCN global Red List categories (Dec 2016) and addition of column for EU27 Red List (2015)
New “Reason for change (2015 vs 2018)” column
Few corrections / updates to, e.g., BD / CMS listings
Update of species treatments / names per IOC v.7.2, Clements (v.2016) and Howard & Moore (v.4).
Most of work on current (i.e. 2017/8) update carried out in July Primary focus on update of taxonomy and nomenclature, but some other updates and amendments made (as time allowed).
Taxonomic and/or nomenclatural updates for 113 spp.: 16 ‘new’ spp. added (7 to Cat. A (regular), 9 to Cat. A (vagrant)); one lumped species removed (from Cat. A (vagrant)); ‘just’ nomenclatural changes (scientific and/or English names) for 96 spp.
No time for comprehensive check/update of Cat. A (vagrant) sheet, but five additions and one removal made.

5. Current update (2/2)
Draft sent for consultation in February; feedback from seven Member States. Changes to April 2018 version:
Correction of few entries in “Occurrence in EU” and “CMS” / “CITES” columns
Addition of new “Council Reg. No 338/97” column(s)
Seven recently recorded/accepted vagrants added
One sp. removed from Cat. B (now Cat. A (vagrant))
Cat. C (introduced) – one sp. added; 7 spp. removed (already in Cat. A or no longer/not Cat. C); update of stated criteria for inclusion (in ‘Read-me’ note).
Member States that provided feedback on February 2018 draft: DE, ES, FR, HU, PL, SE & UK.
Listings in Annexes of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein.
Cat. C: species now all/only those listed in Cat. C of 1+ Member State, but not in a ‘higher’ category (e.g. Cat. A). Hence, all have “established a self-supporting breeding population” within the EU (even if this may not yet exceed 100 breeding pairs), and each species only listed once on overall EU list.

6. Thank you for your feedback and attention! Any comments or questions?