Guidelines for Submitting a Proposal

The North American Check-list Committee operates on a proposal basis. Any member of the ornithological community may submit a proposal for consideration by the North American Check-list Committee. Proposals should detail taxonomic, nomenclatural, or distributional recommendations for revision from the latest edition of the Check-list of North American Birds (and subsequent supplements). Submission of a proposal does not guarantee acceptance. Proposals are reviewed by the Committee and must receive a majority 2/3 vote to pass. Proposals that are not accepted by the committee may be resubmitted if substantive new evidence warrants another review.

Proposals should adhere to the following guidelines to standardize the information presented:

1. Title of proposal
2. Date of proposal
3. Name, title/affiliation, and email address of submitter
4. Page(s) in 7th edition of Check-list that will be affected by the proposal
5. Description of the problem, including any background information and classification history
6. Description of new information, including citations, that warrants review and possible revision
7. Recommendation and statement of effect on Check-list
8. Literature cited (list of references that support the proposal