Hello folks,
This year's challenge will again be a taxonomic group, and will stray away from the mammals theme of the last couple of years:
"Psittaciformes"
This year’s theme will be Psittaciformes, otherwise known as parrots. This is a slightly more challenging group this year, especially with the sheer amount of hybrids knocking around, so will take some checking over...again I have opted for a group that has plenty of variety and decent totals to be had both in the UK and on the mainland of Europe, so that the lack of a UK challenge is once again made up for. Whilst the current bird flu spread in some countries may make for a quiet start, with a bit of luck we should be able to get some decent totals out of the year
To prevent discussions about taxonomies and certain lists accepting certain splits while others don’t, I will be using IUCN and Zootierliste as references; in addition to this only species-level will count. If there is some disagreement about the taxonomic status of zoo-stock (if the species are potential hybrids/potentially listed incorrectly as a different species) then I will count it on a "sensu lato" basis. It is crucial that people are honest about what they have and haven't seen, and that people do check what the listings are on ZTL purely because, whilst it isn't always accurate, there are definitely hybrids to be had out there so we will have to be careful....!
A couple of additional rules unique to this year's challenge will be as follows:
1. Domestics: the same rule will apply as the last few years, you either count the domestic form or the wild form, not both.
2. Loro Parque? More like LorNO Parque (here all night folks) : the issue with this taxonomic group is the fact that there are some zoos that are very much parrot focused, and in the case of Loro Parque as an example, would provide a major advantage over others. I found this to be the case last year with people visiting the Berlins and so giving themselves an (admittedly fair at the time) lead. Therefore, Loro Parque will not count as an eligible collection this year. All other collections that have/had some sort of specialisation in parrots will be eligible still - this decision being made as I am aware of a good few in both the UK (Hayle, Lincolnshire) and the mainland (Veldhoven, Walsrode) that should add large numbers to your lists
And as per usual, the same set of challenge rules apply, with credits to Shorts for originally coming up with them:
1. You have to actually see the animal, even if just for a second. You don't score if you visit a collection but don't see the animal (harsh, but fair);
2. Proof via photographs is not required, your word is your bond;
3. You have to see the animal via normal public access (i.e. not including zookeeper for the day or photography days behind the scenes) during normal public opening hours (i.e. no scoring because you know the keeper and can get access before/after hours). Basically the species has to be seen as Joe Public would.
4. Only collections located in what is geographically Europe will count in this challenge (including Iceland, the UK, Ireland, the Mediterranean islands, but excluding Georgia, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey to avoid conflicts about what is and isn't 'Europe.').
5. Report/update your progress on this thread as you go along;
6. The winner will be deemed to be the person(s) who's seen the most at 31st December 2022;
7. My decision on any questions is final, but I am open to discussion and debate on any specific points.
8. Any bullying/unsportsmanlike conduct directed towards myself or other players is grounds for immediate disqualification from the challenge, and barring from future Europe challenges.
This challenge is solely for fun, with the prize this year being a virtual pizza party.
Good luck all, hope you enjoy
The challenge HAS COMMENCED!
This year's challenge will again be a taxonomic group, and will stray away from the mammals theme of the last couple of years:
"Psittaciformes"
This year’s theme will be Psittaciformes, otherwise known as parrots. This is a slightly more challenging group this year, especially with the sheer amount of hybrids knocking around, so will take some checking over...again I have opted for a group that has plenty of variety and decent totals to be had both in the UK and on the mainland of Europe, so that the lack of a UK challenge is once again made up for. Whilst the current bird flu spread in some countries may make for a quiet start, with a bit of luck we should be able to get some decent totals out of the year
To prevent discussions about taxonomies and certain lists accepting certain splits while others don’t, I will be using IUCN and Zootierliste as references; in addition to this only species-level will count. If there is some disagreement about the taxonomic status of zoo-stock (if the species are potential hybrids/potentially listed incorrectly as a different species) then I will count it on a "sensu lato" basis. It is crucial that people are honest about what they have and haven't seen, and that people do check what the listings are on ZTL purely because, whilst it isn't always accurate, there are definitely hybrids to be had out there so we will have to be careful....!
A couple of additional rules unique to this year's challenge will be as follows:
1. Domestics: the same rule will apply as the last few years, you either count the domestic form or the wild form, not both.
2. Loro Parque? More like LorNO Parque (here all night folks) : the issue with this taxonomic group is the fact that there are some zoos that are very much parrot focused, and in the case of Loro Parque as an example, would provide a major advantage over others. I found this to be the case last year with people visiting the Berlins and so giving themselves an (admittedly fair at the time) lead. Therefore, Loro Parque will not count as an eligible collection this year. All other collections that have/had some sort of specialisation in parrots will be eligible still - this decision being made as I am aware of a good few in both the UK (Hayle, Lincolnshire) and the mainland (Veldhoven, Walsrode) that should add large numbers to your lists
And as per usual, the same set of challenge rules apply, with credits to Shorts for originally coming up with them:
1. You have to actually see the animal, even if just for a second. You don't score if you visit a collection but don't see the animal (harsh, but fair);
2. Proof via photographs is not required, your word is your bond;
3. You have to see the animal via normal public access (i.e. not including zookeeper for the day or photography days behind the scenes) during normal public opening hours (i.e. no scoring because you know the keeper and can get access before/after hours). Basically the species has to be seen as Joe Public would.
4. Only collections located in what is geographically Europe will count in this challenge (including Iceland, the UK, Ireland, the Mediterranean islands, but excluding Georgia, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey to avoid conflicts about what is and isn't 'Europe.').
5. Report/update your progress on this thread as you go along;
6. The winner will be deemed to be the person(s) who's seen the most at 31st December 2022;
7. My decision on any questions is final, but I am open to discussion and debate on any specific points.
8. Any bullying/unsportsmanlike conduct directed towards myself or other players is grounds for immediate disqualification from the challenge, and barring from future Europe challenges.
This challenge is solely for fun, with the prize this year being a virtual pizza party.
Good luck all, hope you enjoy
The challenge HAS COMMENCED!
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