Glossary

Key terms used in Bïndo and in birding generally.

Bïndo terms

Sighting
The core record in Bïndo. A single observation of a species at a place and time. Sightings stand alone; you do not need a list to create one.

List
A named group of sightings from a trip or session. Think of it as a field notebook entry. Lists are optional and exist to organise sightings.

Atlas list
A structured survey submission for a bird atlas project. Atlas lists have a dedicated tab and a formal submission workflow.

Group list
A shared list where multiple birders contribute sightings collectively, usually for a challenge or group outing.

Sensitive sighting
A sighting flagged as sensitive hides the exact GPS coordinate from public views. Used for rare or vulnerable species where disclosing the exact location could cause disturbance.

Interesting
Birds Bïndo has flagged as noteworthy. They appear in your feed and can be filtered for on the Explore map.

Unusual
A sighting that is unusual for the location or the time of year. Bïndo highlights these in your feed and as an Explore filter.

Unverified
A sighting Bïndo could not confirm against its own records and the SABAP2 database, such as a species not known to occur in that area. Unverified sightings are marked with a question-mark icon, still appear in Explore and your profile totals, and can be filtered on the map.

Birding terms

Lifer
A species you have observed for the first time, a new addition to your personal life list. Marking a sighting as a lifer in Bïndo increases the chance it appears in other birders' feeds.

Life list
The cumulative total of all species you have ever recorded. Bïndo maintains your life list automatically from your sightings.

Life list count
The number of distinct species on your life list. Deleting a sighting can reduce this count if it was your only record of that species.

Atlas
A systematic survey project to document bird distribution across a defined grid. Atlassing uses standardised recording cards (atlas lists in Bïndo) submitted to a central database.

Pentad
The grid unit used in the Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP2): a 5×5 minute block of latitude and longitude, roughly 9 km × 9 km. Each atlas list in Bïndo corresponds to a pentad submission.

Full protocol
An atlas card that meets the SABAP2 minimum standard of 2 hours of active birding with effort to cover all available habitats. Full-protocol cards contribute to reporting rate calculations.

Ad hoc
An atlas submission that does not meet full-protocol requirements, usually due to shorter duration or limited habitat coverage. Still useful for distribution mapping.

Reporting rate
The percentage of full-protocol cards for a pentad on which a species was recorded. The primary measure of how commonly a bird is encountered in a given grid square.

Southern Africa
In Bïndo's context: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Eswatini — the region covered by the species database.

Target species
Birds you are actively trying to find in an area, often based on previous records from that location. Shown as Your Radar on area screens.

Year list
A record of every species seen in a single calendar year, separate from a life list. Resets on 1 January.

Vagrant
A species recorded well outside its normal range, usually as a rare or accidental occurrence.

Endemic
A species whose natural range is restricted to a defined region. Southern Africa has numerous endemics and near-endemics.

Tick
Informal term for adding a species to a list, particularly a life list. Getting a tick means recording a species for the first time in a given context.

Patch
A local area a birder visits regularly, usually close to home. Knowing a patch well produces reliable long-term records.

Checklist
A single birding session's record — species seen, counts, and effort data. Equivalent to a list in Bïndo; the term checklist is standard on platforms like eBird and in atlassing contexts.