What the eye doesn't see: The prevalence of fraud in ornithology

Andrew H.J. Harrop; J. Martin Collinson; Tim Melling

What the eye doesn't see: The prevalence of fraud in ornithology

Andrew H.J. Harrop^*, J. Martin Collinson, Tim Melling

^*Corresponding author for this work

Medical Sciences

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

There is a tendency to see examples of fraud in ornithology as rare aberrations. This paper outlines some known and suspected historical examples of fraud, and argues that fraud of one kind or another has occurred more or less consistently, if uncommonly, in ornithology. Although most of the examples discussed are from Britain, it is likely that similar examples could be found in the archives of many nations. It is also likely that small-scale fraud continues today and is something that the ornithological community should be aware of. In particular, this has implications for the level of proof required by those assessing records of rarities.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	236-257
Number of pages	22
Journal	British Birds
Volume	105
Issue number	5
Publication status	Published - 1 May 2012

Bibliographical note

Members of BOURC have commented on numerous review files over the years; to some extent this paper derives from work done during those reviews. Current BOURC members and Keith Naylor, BOURC’s consultant on historical records, kindly commented on a draft of this paper. Graham Catley and Ken Shaw offered insights into contemporary fraud. We especially thank Alan Knox for his extensive comments. Sophie Wilcox at the Alexander Library, Oxford, provided help with references

Cite this

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AB - There is a tendency to see examples of fraud in ornithology as rare aberrations. This paper outlines some known and suspected historical examples of fraud, and argues that fraud of one kind or another has occurred more or less consistently, if uncommonly, in ornithology. Although most of the examples discussed are from Britain, it is likely that similar examples could be found in the archives of many nations. It is also likely that small-scale fraud continues today and is something that the ornithological community should be aware of. In particular, this has implications for the level of proof required by those assessing records of rarities.

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What the eye doesn't see: The prevalence of fraud in ornithology

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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