Proposal to alter the Club’s constitution

We propose to alter some of the rules of the Club’s Constitution. This is driven by a need to modernise and to reflect guidance from the Charity Commission. Click on this link for the text of all the proposed alterations. Click on this link for a paper highlighting the most significant alterations. The Charity Commission have given their written consent to those alterations that are of concern to it. An extraordinary general meeting of the Club will be called in due course to approve the alterations. Any member who has comments on any of the proposed alterations should email the Chairman at chair@neotropicalbirdclub.org as soon as possible.

Now available: Cotinga 35 online

The online version of Cotinga 35 is available now; individual articles can be accessed from the table of contents.

For the previous three issues of Continga online, see the table of contents for

• Cotinga 32
• Cotinga 33
• Cotinga 34

Articles for Neotropical Birding

We are looking to commission articles for future issues of Neotropical Birding for our regular columns. If you:

• have an idea for a feature on Neotropical birds;
• want to share your experiences of birding at the cutting edge;
• fancy telling birders about great birding sites;
• would like to push back the frontiers of bird identification;
• have advice on how readers can improve their Neotropical birding;
• want to showcase high quality colour photos of rarer birds

Please discuss your idea with the editor at neotropical.birding@neotropicalbirdclub.org.

NB13 is likely to have a Central American flavour, so we are particularly keen to receive articles on birds and birding in that region. Over the medium term we would like publish more articles on neotropical bird identification, and are especially interested to receive manuscripts on this theme. Progne martins, Empidonax flycatchers, pewees, Myiarchus flycatchers, prions, Sporophila, nightjars, Cypseloides swifts, Chaetura swifts, Picumnus species limits, anyone?

We seek experts to tackle all of these tough groups by producing excellent quality, cutting-edge ID features along the lines of the 1980s Kaufman-Whitney Empidonax articles in Birding or the Jonsson-Grant stints and peeps article from British Birds, but with a Neotropical focus.

So there's a challenge for all Neotropical birders and ornithologists!

Further information, together with sample articles, can be found on our web page: http://www.neotropicalbirdclub.org/pages/neobirding.asp.

Neotropical Birding 11 now published

Neotropical Birding 11 is now published (table of contents here) and features some great articles including "Where to watch raptor migration in the Caribbean" and "What’s the point of field guides: taxonomy or utility?" Photospots include Tufted Coquette courtship and White-rimmed Brush Finch. Alex Lees continues with his regular splits, lumps and shuffles for those keen (or not) on amending their Neotropical Bird lists.

If you’re not already a member, join today to get your copy!

Welcome to our newest corporate sponsor, Birding Ecotours

The club is pleased to welcome its newest corporate sponsor, Birding Ecotours, which specialises in small group and custom birding tours throughout the world. Our complete list of corporate sponsors is steadily growing.

Gift Aid — Give more without giving more!

Are you a UK taxpayer? If so, have you filled out a Gift Aid form for the club yet? By doing so, you can increase the amount of your donation by 20% or more, at no additional cost to you. The government's Gift Aid scheme allows registered charities like the Neotropical Bird Club to reclaim the basic tax rate (currently 20%) on the gross equivalent of your contribution. For every £10 you pay in subscriptions or donations, the club can claim £2.50. Though these amounts may seem small, they certainly add up; our recent Gift Aid claim netted £891.18 in additional funds! Help us to boost the club’s funds by sending your Gift Aid form today.

Neotropical Birding Lodges Network Announced

The Neotropical Bird Club is pleased to announce its ‘Neotropical Birding Lodges Network’ — a group of birding lodges in Central/South America and the Caribbean that try to offer exciting opportunities for birdwatching and share an interest in promoting bird conservation.

Now Available: Back issues of Neotropical Birding

Due to overwhelming demand from both members and non-members, the NBC council has elected to make individual back issues of Neotropical Birding (for those years prior to the current year and last year) available for sale for £9 each. The price includes shipping and handling, and there is no limit on the number of issues you can order. If you’ve missed an issue or two — or if you’d like to share a past issue with a friend — now’s your chance! To place an order, click here.

Helping on Neotropical Birding

Now that Neotropical Birding is well established, we are looking to add new members to our editorial team. If you have ideas for articles that should be commissioned, a flair for design, an eye for an image and/or expertise in copy-editing, please e-mail us at neotropical.birding-at-neotropicalbirdclub.org. (Replace -at- with @; we’re displaying the address this way to help us avoid unwanted spam.)

Photo request: shrike-tyrants Agriornis

Juan Ignacio Areta and colleagues are preparing an identification article on shrike-tyrants Agriornis for Neotropical Birding. To aid their research and for potential publication, please e-mail your photographs of this genus to neotropical.birding-at-neotropicalbirdclub.org. (Replace -at- with @; we’re displaying the address this way to help us avoid unwanted spam.) Please label your images with the species, location, date and your name.

NBC on Facebook

NBC now has its own Facebook Group, entitled Neotropical Bird Club. If you are a Facebook member, please join the group, post photos, and take part in discussions! The URL is http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=31491408108