This message was approved by the Ontbirds Coordinator: I am preparing an Update Status Report on the King Rail for the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) for an upcoming status re-assessment of this species. Currently, King Rail is considered to be an Endangered species in Canada. As part of the re-assessment process, information about King Rail current and/or past population distribution and abundance, habitat use and availability, life history traits, ecological relationships and potential threats to the speciesÂ’ survival is being sought from the birding community.
The following information would be of particular interest: - Habitat (as specific as possible, e.g. marsh dominated by cattails) - Was the bird seen or heard? - Behaviour (e.g. flying, searching for food, etc.) Please include all background information, such as: - Observer name - Date and time of sighting - Detailed location of sighting, including nearest town Although more recent sightings are particularly important, even historical information is valuable. If you have any knowledge of King Rails in Canada, please contact me directly at [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>. All information will be treated with the utmost confidence and will only be shared with the King Rail Recovery Team and COSEWIC. However, it is recommended that any such information also be submitted to the Natural Heritage Information Centre (<http://nhic.mnr.gov.on.ca/nhic_.cfm>), which compiles records of rare species in Ontario. If you know of someone who has direct knowledge of King Rails in Canada and who may not subscribe to Ontbirds, please ask him/her to contact me directly or, if they do not have Internet access, then check if you can forward his/her contact information to me. Thank you for your assistance, Satu Pernanen Oshawa, Ontario >From the COSEWIC website - Community Knowledge (<http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct6/sct6_7_e.cfm>): The knowledge brought forward by communities may complement known information on a species life history characteristics, ecological relationships, changes in distribution and abundance as well as threats affecting the species. In some cases, Community Knowledge will be more practical to acquire than scientific information, particularly for species which are poorly studied and/or difficult to survey. COSEWIC is now identifying means for accessing, gathering, validating and incorporating this knowledge in the assessment process. For the purpose of its species assessment process, COSEWIC defines Community Knowledge related to the biological status of wildlife species as follows: "Information derived from observation, personal experience and culture informing about a species (or a group of species) current and/or past population distribution and abundance), habitat use and availability, life history traits, ecological relationships and potential threats to the species survival" COSEWIC seeks information on the current or historic status of species, not opinions or comments on the consequences of possible conservation measures. COSEWIC seeks information that a person or a group has directly obtained or has inherited and that is not otherwise available (for example in the scientific literature or in government reports). Verifiable documentation (such as fur returns, catch statistics, or neatly compiled records of sightings) would be extremely useful. Historical information (including that transmitted through generations) on changes in abundance, distribution, habitat and land use or behavior is most useful for species assessment. In making its status recommendations, COSEWIC will consider all available information related to the biological status of wildlife species. All sources of information will be considered, with a weight assigned to each according to COSEWIC's assessment of their relative strengths and weaknesses. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
