BirdPix - report on the photographic atlas of the birds of Nigeria, 2012 – 2019

Abstract

This paper describes progress with the atlas of birds of Nigeria, from 7 March 2012 to 15 December 2019. The database of the project contained 658 records of 246 species submitted to the BirdPix section of the Virtual Museum. The BirdPix section of the Virtual Museum was launched in 2012 and is a supplementary data capture project for the African Bird Atlas. Over this period, for Nigeria, twelve citizen scientists contributed records to BirdPix. The most frequently recorded species were Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis (769 records across its range, with 12 in Nigeria, from 12 grid cells), and Northern Red Bishop Euplectes franciscanus (30 records across the range, and recorded in 11 grid cells in Nigeria). At least two photographs of species range extensions had been submitted. This paper highlights the role of citizen science in biodiversity conservation and provides up-to-date information on the species distribution maps and lists of bird species recorded in the grid cells. Without a doubt, the BirdPix database will only be comprehensive if it contains the entire knowledge base of the species occurring within each grid cell. Data generated in the BirdPix project can be used for monitoring and modelling changes in species distributions over time. Increased awareness of the concept of citizen science and increased volunteer recruitment should be top priorities.