Request a Correction
Spotted something off? Tell us. Getting birds right is the whole point — and your sharp eyes make Birbs better for everyone.
First: thank you. If you took the time to flag something we got wrong, you care about accuracy as much as we do — and that makes you exactly the kind of person this site is for.
Birbs is built on real, open data: taxonomy from the IOC World Bird List, body mass and ecology from AVONET, conservation status from the IUCN Red List, occurrence data from eBird and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and CC-licensed photos from Wikimedia Commons. We don't invent biology, numbers, or facts. But datasets disagree, species get reclassified, ranges shift, and humans make typos. When that happens, we'd rather hear it from you than leave it standing.
Corrections aren't a complaint box. They're how an honest encyclopedia stays honest.
How a correction works
No black box. Here's exactly what happens after you hit submit:
- We read it. A real person reviews every correction — not a bot, not a queue that goes nowhere.
- We check it against the sources. We compare your note to the underlying data (IOC, AVONET, IUCN, eBird) and any source you've pointed us to.
- We fix what's wrong. If it checks out, we update the page. If a dataset itself is the source of the error, we'll note that too rather than pretend it's settled.
- We follow up when it helps. If something's ambiguous or we need a bit more, we may email you back. If we decide not to change it, we'll tell you why — accuracy cuts both ways.
- We can credit you. Tell us how you'd like to be named (or stay anonymous), and we'll thank you on the corrected page.
What to include
The more precise you are, the faster we can verify and fix. You don't need all of this — but each piece helps:
- The page or species. A link or the exact title (e.g. the encyclopedia entry, a guide, a quiz question).
- What's wrong. The specific claim, number, name, photo, or detail — and what it should say instead.
- A source, if you have one. A field guide, a paper, an eBird/IUCN/IOC reference, or a credible link. Not required, but it speeds everything up.
- How to credit you. Your name as you'd like it shown, or a note that you'd prefer to stay anonymous.
What counts as a correction
Anything where Birbs is saying something untrue, outdated, or misleading. A wrong scientific name, a mass that doesn't match the source, a misidentified or miscredited photo, an out-of-date conservation status, a broken range, a typo in a fact that matters, a quiz answer that's flat wrong.
If it's a missing photo you'd like to add rather than a fix, our /submit-photo/ page is the better door. If it's a question, a partnership, or something that isn't quite a correction, /contact/ will reach us. And if you're not sure which it is — just send it here. We'll route it.
Send your correction
Fill in the form below. It takes a minute, it goes straight to an editor, and it genuinely makes the site better. We read every one.
Common questions
Will you actually change the page?
If your correction checks out against the sources, yes — we update the page. If we can't verify it or we disagree, we'll tell you why rather than quietly ignoring it. Either way, a real person reads it and you get a straight answer.
Do I need to provide a source?
No, but it helps a lot. A reference — a field guide, a paper, an eBird/IUCN/IOC entry, or a credible link — lets us verify and fix faster. If you don't have one, send the correction anyway and we'll do the digging.
Will I get credit?
If you'd like. Tell us how you'd want to be named and we'll thank you on the corrected page. Prefer to stay anonymous? That's completely fine — just say so.
What if the error is in the underlying data, not your writing?
It happens — datasets like IOC, AVONET, and IUCN get revised, and sometimes they disagree with each other. When the source itself is the issue, we'll note that on the page rather than pretend the matter is settled, and we update as the data does.
How long does it take?
It depends on how clear-cut the fix is. A straightforward typo or mismatched number is quick; anything that needs cross-checking sources or a taxonomic judgment call takes a little longer. We don't have a posted turnaround time, but nothing sits unread.
I want to add a photo, not fix an error. Where do I go?
Head to /submit-photo/ — that form is built for contributing images (with credit). For anything that isn't quite a correction or a photo, /contact/ reaches us directly.