2012_BirdRanges_BirdLifeInternational_NatureServe

This dataset contains digital distribution information for all the world’s birds. It is a joint product of BirdLife International and NatureServe, combining the datasets for threatened, Near Threatened and old world species developed by BirdLife International, and data for species in the Western Hemisphere developed by NatureServe.

The data comprise ArcView shapefiles for polygons of the distribution of each species. For the species in the Western Hemisphere there are also (or in some cases, only) points for species where there are isolated records. Not all vagrant occurrences are depicted. 

The files are arranged in folders by family. Polygon files are named: Genus_species_IDnumber_institution code.xxx. Institution code is “BL” for BirdLife and “NS” for NatureServe and indicates which institution has primary responsibility for compiling and keeping up to date the distribution map; “xxx” represents the extensions (e.g., shp, dbf) that ArcView attaches to shapefiles. Point files are named: Genus_species_IDnumber¬__institution code_pt.xxx. DBF files accompanying each polygon contain taxonomic information, distribution status, sources and other details about the maps (see Data Attributes below).

For more information please see the metadata file provided by this dataset.