Hi Diana,

The instructions I included above (5 steps) will fix this. Then only use Clements 08.

That is your fix. No need to fix previous versions of Clements that you have edited with the new things. You can get rid of those earlier tax lists.

Yes - the ABA fails as well because you don't have a recent version. The version you have (v3.0 - pre-2003) does not contain the sooty/dusky grouse entries.

Let me know if this is not clear,

Jeff

Hi Diana,

Just to be clear, and make sure we are saying the same thing, please re-read my 5 steps to the solution in my previous post.

I want you to change all sightings from the two things you created, to the two things they should be pointing to; namely:

• Blue Grouse fuliginosous, and
• Blue Grouse obscurous

That is the fix. And my 5 steps above reflect that. If this was your understanding also, then we are good. Just wanted to make sure that we are being precise about what we are saying.

Jeff

Oh Hi...

It's me again with another RTE 3075.  This time (same error message as above) occured when I typed Sick's Swift' into the View/Edit search box. I see that the species Chaetura meridionalis is not in the Clement's 08 Tax list.  Is there some way that I can add this species (or this thing) so this doesn't happen? 

Thanks, Diana

Hello Diana,

You are my best tester!

Ok - we already know that choosing a name in the NAME field on the View/Edit Setup window and then not choosing the taxonomic list from the taxonomy selection on the right that includes that thing in it's list, will generate this error. For example, choosing any butterfly name in the NAME field and then only selecting the ABA Bird tax list, will generate this error. [This is fixed in v3.7 and will correctly generate an empty list in the View grid, because nothing matches.]  And the correct solution is to choose the taxonomic list which includes the NAME in its list. Which is really what you are after.

With this said, your solution is almost never to go and modify taxonomic lists or to add/remove things in BD.

Here is your solution.

1. Open the Rosetta Stone window (one of the Advanced toolbar buttons)
2. Type "Sick's Swift" into the Common Name field and click Lookup, in order to see what thing you are referencing and which tax lists reference it. 
   When you do this, you will see that the AOU SACC tax list is the only tax list in BD which references this Common Name. However, you will see that the "Sick's Swift" in the AOU SACC list references the internal BD thing called "Ashy-tailed Swift meridionalis"! You will see this in the bottom of the three grids on this window.
3. Now - let's see what other taxonomic lists reference this thing - "Ashy-tailed Swift meridionalis". You could click the Reset button and type this thing name into the "Thing Description" field. But a quicker way in this window is to simply double-click the name in the top grid of this window (this is the things grid). This automatically does a cross-reference on all references to this thing.
   And voila! You see that Clements does reference this thing. Clements calls it Ashy-tailed Swift meridionalis (Chaetura andrei meridionalis); a sub-species on Clements list - and a full species on the AOU SACC list.

So - if searching in the View/Edit Setup window for "Sick's Swift" be sure that you have the AOU SACC tax list selected on the right. Else, if using Clements tax list, be sure to enter the name "Ashy-tailed Swift meridionalis". Clear as mud?

If you think this is complicated - try being one of the few that has to match birds across multiple tax lists. This is the complexity of having a multi-tax-list-enabled software program. But it is also a fantastic benefit.

Let me know if you have further questions.

Jeff

Oh yes - I don't know what you are having a problem with Green-barred Woodpecker. This common name is used by both AOU SACC and Clements. Just make sure you have one of those tax lists selected in the View/Edit Setup window.

Jeff

Hi,

I'm your best tester or...

Yes, it is clear...I think.   If I get this RTE, I should go to the Rosetta Stone and figure out what I need to type in order to enter the correct name for the thing in the Tax list I'm using.

So I shouldn't consider messing with trying to change things in the tax lists.

I don't know what's the deal with Green-barred Woodpecker???  It works OK now.

Thanks for your patience!

Diana

Hi Diana,

That would depend on the Location Filter you are specifying in the Add Sightings Setup window. This thing is only associated with 9 locations (see screen shot below). If you are not specifying one of those locations, or a location that contains one of those, then of course it will not be available as an option in either keyboard or checklist methods.

And you don't want to just make a note in the comments. You want to record a sighting for this thing. So, you can record a sighting for this thing in North Carolina if you want, but the location filter that you specify in the setup window will only allow you to enter things associated with that location.

It may be that this thing does occur outside of those 9 locations below - there are well over a million data points associating birds with locations in BD - the most extensive data I know of. So - as ranges expand, it is a challenging job for BD to keep up with them.

Just expand your location filter, say to "South America" and you will be able to enter the sighting for this thing.

Make sense?

Let me know.

Jeff

Hi,

Hummmm.  I saw this bird in Bolivia.  It does not appear to be in the Bolivia list; it is only in Panama according to my Checklist Editor .   See Screenshot.  Can I not add it to the Bolivia list in either pane of the Checklist Editor?

Along the same lines, I was checking through the taxonomy of Emerald Toucanet, trying to figure out what is going on with that species, splits-wise, distribution-wise, and trying to see how the species conform to those in Ridgely's Ecuador book.  Actually, Emerald Toucanet did not appear in the checklist for Ecuador, nor any of its likely decendents following splits, although it is in Ridgely, so I added it using the Checklist Editor.

Beyond that, one of the ambiguous species for Emerald Toucanet is Black-throated Toucanet, Aulacorhynchus atrogularis.  But when I looked it up in the Checklist Editor, it shows up in no lists.  A bird without a country...

Same with Andean Toucanet, A. albivitta, it is no list.

I realize that trying to sort out all these Things, and the various taxonomies and changes is very difficult and confusing.  Sorry.

Diana

Hello Diana,

It appears that you do not have the correct checklist data loaded into your database. As my screen shot above in a previous post shows, that thing should be associated with 9 locations. To fix this, follow the steps on the page Downloads => Tax List Instructions for downloading/unzipping and importing the Checklist data file for the Clements 2008 tax list. This import takes about 1-3 hours depending on your computer and appears to stall about half way through for a half hour. Just let it run until you get the message that it is done.

This will fix all of the issues above.

Let me know if you run into any problems with the instructions. You will need the Unzip password from your Invoice purchase of Clements 08 to unzip the download file.

Jeff

Hello Diana,

And good question.

What this feature is meant to do is, to assume that the import file is a complete list of all things for any location referenced in the import file - for the specified tax list. For example, if the import file references Florida - the import will remove all associations between things defined by the specified tax list and the location Florida, before importing everything in the import file. This ensures that your checklist data correctly reflects the state of the import file upon completion of the import. It will not effect any locations not specified in the import file (e.g. your home). It will not affect things from other tax lists (e.g. butterflies) and their associations with locations.

Just to be safe, do a backup first before doing the import. If you find things you did not like that changed (highly unlikely) then you can restore the backup and be back to where you were.

Also, if you like, check the Analyze data before import checkbox. This will give you a list of all the changes that you can accept or reject individually. Word of warning: turning this on for the Clements/World checklist data can increase the time of the import by several hours. It is an enormous amount of data to analyze and won't work well on systems with less than 2GB of RAM.

Let me know if you have more questions. (fyi - I am signing off for the night and will be back on tomorrow morning.)

Jeff