About IORC
IORC evaluates the evidence for records of birds that are rare in Illinois, like this Kirtland's Warbler.
The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC), founded in 1985, evaluates the evidence for records of birds that are rare or unusual in Illinois. As a standing committee of the Illinois Ornithological Society, IORC strives to improve the quality of submitted ornithological field data in Illinois both through example and dissemination of pertinent information and techniques.
The current makeup of IORC:
- Doug Stotz (secretary)
- Dan Kassebaum
- Mike Ward
- Travis Mahan
- Paul Sweet
- Geoff Williamson
- Robert Hughes
The committee is responsible for publishing and maintaining the official checklist of Illinois birds. It also publishes in the journal, the Meadowlark, reports on rare birds, indicating whether the sighting has been accepted. The committee houses all bird records and evaluations of evidence thereof (including the evidence itself) at the Department of Natural Resources archives at:
- Avian Ecology Program
- 600 North Grand Avenue West, Suite 4
- Springfield, Illinois 62702
Students and professional ornithologists are welcome to inquire or review any bird records housed there.
Documenting Rare Birds
Observers are encouraged to submit documentation of rare and unusual birds to IORC. The committee maintains a review list of birds that require documentation in the state. To receive more information about IORC or a copy of the bylaws, contact IORC Secretary Doug Stotz at:
- Douglas Stotz, Conservation Ecologist/Ornithologist
- Environmental and Conservation Programs
- Field Museum of Natural History
- 1400 South Lake Shore Drive
- Chicago, IL 60605
- Phone: (312) 665-7438
or by e-mail: Doug Stotz.
Documentation Forms
The documentation form can be printed out from this PDF*, or by sending a request via e-mail to Mary Hennen. If you have trouble opening the PDF documentation form from the above link, right-click directly on the link and choose Save Target As from the menu that appears. Save the file to your desktop and double-click it. Adobe Reader will launch and the documentation form will open up in it.
Documentation can also be sent via e-mail: Doug Stotz. To make documentation by e-mail easier, the documentation questions can be copied from the Rare Bird Documentation Questions page and pasted into the body of the e-mail message. An HTML version of the documentation form is also available: Illinois Rare Bird Documentation Form.
*Requires Adobe Reader. If you don't have Adobe Reader on your computer, click the graphic below and follow the instructions to download it. Adobe Reader is safe and completely free.
Review List
IORC accepts for review bird records which, in general, do not occur annually in Illinois, or which are extremely rare in all but a few counties in the state. The committee also is interested in reviewing other records of significance including first state nesting records, unusual dates or locations of occurrence, etc.; these are listed in the supplemental review list. The review list is based on the current checklist of Illinois state birds and additional rare species accepted since publication. Any species not included on the Illinois IORC checklist should be documented. The committee welcomes evidence* in the form of a written documentation, sketch, photograph, video or specimen for any of the following species:
- Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
- Fulvous Whistling-Duck
- Brant
- Eurasian Wigeon
- Cinnamon Teal 1
- Mottled Duck
- Garganey
- Tufted Duck
- King Eider
- Common Eider
- Harlequin Duck 2
- Barrow's Goldeneye
- Yellow-billed Loon
- Clark's Grebe
- Northern Gannet
- Neotropic Cormorant
- Brown Pelican
- Anhinga
- Magnificent Frigatebird
- Reddish Egret
- White Ibis
- Glossy Ibis3
- White-faced Ibis 3
- Roseate Spoonbill
- Wood Stork
- Black Vulture 4
- Swallow-tailed Kite
- White-tailed Kite
- Swainson's Hawk 5
- Ferruginous Hawk
- Gyrfalcon
- Prairie Falcon
- Black Rail
- Whooping Crane
- Snowy Plover
- Wilson's Plover
- Mountain Plover
- Long-billed Curlew
- Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
- Purple Sandpiper 2
- Curlew Sandpiper
- Ruff
- Little Gull
- Black-headed Gull
- Black-tailed Gull
- Mew Gull
- Slaty-backed Gull
- Western Gull
- Glaucous-winged Gull
- Ross's Gull
- Ivory Gull
- Sooty Tern
- Large-billed Tern
- Arctic Tern
- Gull-billed Tern
- Royal Tern
- Sandwich Tern
- Black Skimmer
- Pomarine Jaeger
- Parasitic Jaeger
- Long-tailed Jaeger
- Dovekie
- Ancient Murrelet
- Band-tailed Pigeon
- White-winged Dove
- Inca Dove
- Common Ground-Dove
- Groove-billed Ani
- Barn Owl 6
- Northern Hawk Owl
- Burrowing Owl
- Boreal Owl
- Broad-billed Hummingbird
- Allen's Hummingbird
- Williamson's Sapsucker
- Red-cockaded Woodpecker
- Black-backed Woodpecker
- Say's Phoebe
- Vermilion Flycatcher
- Ash-throated Flycatcher
- Gray Kingbird
- Tropical Kingbird
- Fork-tailed Flycatcher
- Western Scrub-Jay
- Clark's Nutcracker
- Black-billed Magpie
- Violet-green Swallow
- Cave Swallow
- Boreal Chickadee
- Brown-headed Nuthatch
- Rock Wren
- Bewick's Wren
- Northern Wheatear
- Townsend's Solitaire
- Mountain Bluebird
- Sage Thrasher
- Curve-billed Thrasher
- Sprague's Pipit
- Bohemian Waxwing
- Chestnut-collared Longspur
- Black-throated Gray Warbler
- Townsend's Warbler
- Hermit Warbler
- Kirtland's Warbler
- Swainson's Warbler
- MacGillivray's Warbler
- Hepatic Tanager
- Western Tanager
- Green-tailed Towhee
- Cassin's Sparrow
- Bachman's Sparrow
- Brewer's Sparrow
- Black-throated Sparrow
- Lark Bunting
- Golden-crowned Sparrow
- Black-headed Grosbeak
- Lazuli Bunting
- Painted Bunting 6
- Great-tailed Grackle
- Bullock's Oriole
- Scott's Oriole
- Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
- Pine Grosbeak
- Hoary Redpoll
- 1 Females only
- 2 Except Lake Michigan
- 3 Any fall or immature (non-alternate) plumage
- 4 Except southern Illinois
- 5 Except Kane and southern McHenry Counties
- 6 Except established breeding locations
*All review list evidence and documentation forms should be sent directly to the IORC Secretary:
- Douglas Stotz, Conservation Ecologist/Ornithologist
- Environmental and Conservation Programs
- Field Museum of Natural History
- 1400 South Lake Shore Drive
- Chicago, IL 60605
Seasonal Report Information
Breeding Season Field Notes (June 1 through July 31) Due by August 7
- Compiler:
- Steven D. Bailey
- 967 Braeburn Road
- Mundelein, IL 60060
- e-mail: Steven D. Bailey
- Field Notes Preference Type: Electronic, but will accept
written/hard copy.
Winter Field Notes (December 1 through February 28) Due by March 7
- Compiler:
- Kelly McKay
- 420 First Avenue P.O. Box 452
- Hampton, IL 61256-0452
- e-mail: Kelly McKay
- Field Notes Preference Type: Electronic with written/hard copy.
Fall Field Notes (August 1 through November 30) Due by December 7
- Compiler:
- Douglas Stotz, Conservation Ecologist/Ornithologist
- Environmental and Conservation Programs
- Field Museum of Natural History
- 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive
- Chicago, IL 60605
- e-mail: Doug Stotz
- Field Notes Preference Type: Electronic, but will accept
written/hard copy.
Spring Field Notes (March 1 through May 31) Due by June 7
- Compiler:
- Geoffrey Williamson
- 4046 N. Clark Street
- Chicago, IL 60613
- e-mail: Geoffrey Williamson
- Field Notes Preference Type: Electronic, but will accept
written/hard copy.