Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dr David Watson, a leading ornithologist, attracted world-wide scientific interest and controversy for his views announced earlier this year in a leading international journal, BioScience. In his paper Dr Watson questioned the methods by which bird species are described and identified throughout the world. 

By relying exclusively on external appearance and voice and not taking into account the detailed information used to identify other groups of animals, Dr Watson said the number of different bird species world-wide may have been greatly underestimated.

“Around 9 800 bird species are currently recognised in the world today,” said Dr Watson, a principal researcher with the University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society.  

“By complementing appearance and voice with other sources of information, we could differentiate hundreds or even thousands more species. Far from being an academic argument, understanding animal diversity and knowing how many species we have is fundamental to the conservation and long-term management of biodiversity. 

“Clearly, current lists of the world’s bird species oversimplify the underlying patterns of differentiation. It is critical that ornithologists acknowledge this mismatch and ensure that we use best practice science to uncover the real diversity of birds worldwide,” he said.

Dr Watson’s paper, titled “Diagnosable versus distinct: evaluating species limits in birds”, was published in January 2005. 

Dr Watson is well recognised for his work in bird research, recently being elected to the council of Birds Australia, Australia’s peak scientific organisation related to birds.