Editorial Policy
How we research, write, label, review, and correct everything you read on Birbs — and the one rule we never break: nothing is made up.
Birbs covers a lot of ground — an encyclopedia of 11,227 species, an Identify-a-Bird tool, honest buying guides, bird sounds, pet-care advice, and a community of bird people from around the world. A platform that big only earns trust if you can see how it's built.
So here it is, in plain English: where our facts come from, how we tell apart a page assembled from data versus one written and reviewed by a person, who checks the things that matter most, and exactly how to tell us when we've got something wrong. This isn't a page we wrote to look responsible. It's the actual process.
Our cardinal rule: we never fabricate. No invented biology, no made-up numbers, no fake reviews, no fictional testimonials. Every fact is traceable to a real source or clearly labelled as an estimate.
Where our data comes from
The backbone of the Birbs encyclopedia is built from established, openly licensed scientific datasets — the kind of established, openly licensed datasets used widely in ornithology and conservation. We cite them, we credit them, and we link out so you can check our work.
- Taxonomy & names — the IOC World Bird List. Scientific names, families, orders, and the species count itself come from the IOC checklist (CC-BY). When the IOC revises the taxonomy, our pages follow.
- Body mass & ecology — AVONET (Tobias et al., 2022). Wing length, body mass, and ecological traits draw on the AVONET dataset (CC-BY), a comprehensive, openly licensed morphology dataset covering most of the world's birds.
- Conservation status — the IUCN Red List. Whether a species is Least Concern, Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered comes straight from the IUCN Red List assessment.
- Where birds actually are — eBird / Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Range, occurrence, and "birds near you" data are powered by the global eBird network run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
- Photos — Wikimedia Commons. Images are sourced from openly licensed Wikimedia Commons media, with the photographer and licence credited on the image.
If a fact on a species page came from data, it came from one of these. We don't pad pages with plausible-sounding details we can't source.
The no-fabrication principle
This is the line we will not cross, and it's worth being specific about what it means in practice.
If we don't have a sourced figure, we either leave it out or frame it honestly as an estimate — never a hard number dressed up as fact. Buying-guide recommendations are based on real specs and stated reasoning, not invented test results we never ran. We don't publish fake user reviews or testimonials. And we don't quietly "improve" the data — if AVONET doesn't have a body mass for a species, the page says so rather than guessing.
- Numbers are sourced or labelled as estimates — never invented.
- Recommendations explain their reasoning; we don't fake lab tests or hands-on results we didn't do.
- No fabricated reviews, ratings, or testimonials. Ever.
- Gaps in the data are shown as gaps, not filled with guesses.
If you ever catch us stating something we can't back up, that's a bug — and we want to hear about it (see Corrections, below).
How data-derived pages are built — and sourced
Most of our 11,227 species pages start life assembled from the datasets above: an IOC name, an AVONET body mass, an IUCN status, eBird occurrence, a Wikimedia photo. This lets us cover every bird on Earth accurately, which no team could hand-write at that scale.
We don't pretend a person hand-authored every line. Where a page is built primarily from structured data, we show the sources it was assembled from — and we never dress a data summary up as a hand-written feature. You can always see what a page is built from.
- Data-built pages credit the source datasets they're assembled from, right on the page.
- Human-written articles — care guides, buying guides, ID help, conservation features — are researched and written by hand.
- Either way, the sourcing is visible, not hidden behind a generic byline.
Where human and expert review applies
Not everything needs an expert, but some things absolutely do. Anything that affects a living bird's wellbeing — pet-care guides, health and husbandry advice, diet, housing — or any topic where getting it wrong has real consequences, gets human editorial review, and where relevant, review by an avian veterinarian or an ornithology expert.
When a page has been expert-reviewed, we don't make you take it on faith. We show the reviewer's name and the date it was last reviewed, right on the page, so you can see who stands behind it and how current it is.
- Health and pet-care guidance is written to be reviewed by a qualified avian vet; where that review has happened, we show the reviewer's name and the last-reviewed date on the page itself.
- Reviewed pages display the reviewer and a "last reviewed" date.
- Buying guides disclose how recommendations are chosen — and our affiliate relationships never change those recommendations.
- Health content carries a clear disclaimer: our guides are educational and never a substitute for your own avian vet.
Corrections — and why we welcome them
Open data is excellent, but no dataset is perfect, taxonomy changes, and humans make mistakes. We treat corrections as a feature of an honest platform, not an embarrassment.
If you spot something wrong — a misidentified photo, an out-of-date conservation status, a care tip that doesn't hold up — tell us using the Request a Correction form. An editor reviews every submission. When we change something material, the page reflects the fix and its updated date, so corrections are visible rather than swept away.
You can submit a correction any time at /submit-correction/, or reach us directly via /contact/.
- Every correction is read and reviewed by an editor.
- Material fixes update the page and its last-updated date.
- Corrections are welcomed and visible — that's how a trustworthy reference should work.
Found something off? Use the form on this page — it goes straight to us.
Images, licensing, and credit
The photos across Birbs come from openly licensed sources — primarily Wikimedia Commons — and from members of our community who submit their own shots. In both cases, credit is non-negotiable: Wikimedia images carry their photographer and licence, and community photos are credited to the person who took them.
If you believe an image is miscredited or used outside its licence, let us know through the correction or contact form and we'll fix it promptly. Want to see your own bird photography on the site? You can share it at /submit-photo/.
- Licensed photos credit the photographer and state the licence.
- Community-submitted photos are credited to their author.
- Licensing or attribution concerns get a fast, human response.
Affiliate independence
Birbs makes money in part through affiliate links — for example, Amazon Associates — and through sponsored partnerships with brands we genuinely believe in. We're upfront about that, because how we earn shouldn't be a mystery.
The important part: money never buys an editorial verdict. Affiliate links are clearly marked, and they do not change which products we recommend. We don't sell editorial placement — a brand cannot pay to be named "best" in a guide. Sponsored content, when it appears, is labelled as sponsored so you always know what you're reading.
The full details live on our Affiliate Disclosure page.
- Affiliate links are disclosed and clearly marked.
- Recommendations are based on merit; affiliate or sponsor relationships never alter them.
- No pay-for-placement in editorial. Sponsored content is always labelled.
If a recommendation looks like it was bought, it wasn't — and you can hold us to that.
How to flag an issue
Accuracy is a collaboration. We're a global flock of bird people, and the sharpest eyes on any species page often belong to the readers who know that bird best.
If something's wrong, unclear, or just feels off, the fastest route is the Request a Correction form on this page. For anything else — partnership questions, image rights, general feedback — reach us at /contact/. We read what comes in, and we act on it.
Common questions
Does a real person write every page?
No, and we won't pretend otherwise. Most of our 11,227 species pages are assembled from openly licensed scientific datasets — the IOC World Bird List, AVONET, the IUCN Red List, eBird, and Wikimedia — and where a page is built primarily from that data, we show the sources it draws on. Care guides, buying guides, ID help, and conservation features are researched and written by hand. We don't dress a data summary up as something a person wrote.
Who reviews your pet-care and health advice?
Health and pet-care guidance is written to be reviewed by a qualified avian veterinarian or a relevant expert. When a page has been expert-reviewed, we show the reviewer's name and the last-reviewed date right on the page. Our health content is educational and never a substitute for your own avian vet.
Where do your facts and numbers come from?
From established open datasets: the IOC World Bird List for taxonomy and names, AVONET (Tobias et al., 2022) for body mass and ecology, the IUCN Red List for conservation status, eBird / the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for occurrence, and Wikimedia Commons for photos. We cite and link them. If a figure isn't sourced, we either leave it out or label it as an estimate — we never invent numbers.
How do I report a mistake?
Use the Request a Correction form on this page (also at /submit-correction/), or contact us at /contact/. An editor reviews every submission, and when we fix something material the page and its last-updated date reflect the change. We genuinely welcome corrections.
Do affiliate links or sponsors influence your recommendations?
No. Affiliate links (like Amazon Associates) are clearly marked and never change which products we recommend. We don't sell editorial placement, and sponsored content is always labelled as sponsored. Full details are on our Affiliate Disclosure page.
How are photos credited?
Licensed photos — mostly from Wikimedia Commons — carry their photographer and licence. Community-submitted photos are credited to the person who took them. If you think an image is miscredited or used outside its licence, tell us and we'll fix it quickly.