DATA LIABILITY DISCLAIMER AND TERMS OF USE

Although BBS data have undergone substantial quality assurance review prior to posting, it is possible that some errors or inaccuracies have remained undetected. BBS data should therefore be considered provisional given that ongoing review is likely to result in future revision. Users are cautioned to carefully consider this caveat before using BBS data for decisions directly relating to public and personal safety issues or those involving significant monetary or operational consequence.

While these data have been successfully processed on computer systems at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, no guarantee is expressed regarding the accuracy or utility of these data on any other system nor should their distribution be construed as implication of such a warranty. This disclaimer applies to both individual and aggregate uses of the data. It is strongly recommended that BBS data be obtained directly from BBS staff at either the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center or Canadian Wildlife Service and not via other sources where there has been opportunity to modify the data. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Canadian Wildlife Service shall not be held liable for improper or inappropriate use of data obtained from the North American Breeding Bird Survey data retrieval site. Information concerning the accuracy and appropriate use of these data may be obtained from the U.S. or Canadian National BBS Coordinator.

Not all data available on this site meet the various methodological criteria of the BBS. Run type codes are used to distinguish between routes that meet BBS criteria and those that do not. Run type "1" is acceptable data; run type "0" is unacceptable data for BBS purposes.   The run type codes for each route are available in the "weather data" file. See the Run Method link in the Help section for a more complete discussion of run type codes and their application.

** TERMS OF USE **

The BBS is a publicly supported program and users of the program's data are obligated to acknowledge their use of BBS data when describing their work to both the public media and scientific audiences alike. These data represent the combined efforts of thousands of U.S. and Canadian BBS participants who survey routes annually, as well as the work of dedicated USGS and CWS scientists and managers. In cases where a publication is based solely on the analysis of BBS data, we suggest that you involve the BBS office with the writing and/or review of the manuscript. It is of vital interest to the continued success of the program that all data users submit a reprint or photocopy of work augmented by BBS data at the time of its publication.

Finally, if you are not already an active observer in the survey, we encourage you to join the team and contribute by running a route yourself. The only requirements are a thorough knowledge of the bird vocalizations in your area, good hearing and a reliable vehicle. Thank you for supporting our program and we look forward to learning of your work.

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