Editing Birdwatching (section)

==Birding, birdwatching, and twitching==
<!-- Note [[Twitcher]] redirects to this heading -->
[[File:Keskisenlampi birdwatching tower.jpg|thumb|250px|A birdwatching tower in [[Hankasalmi]], Finland]]
The first recorded use of the term ''birdwatcher'' was in 1712 by William Oldsworth. The term ''birding'' was also used for the practice of ''fowling'' or hunting with firearms as in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]'' (1602): "She laments sir... her husband goes this morning a-birding."<ref>Moss 2004:33</ref> The terms ''birding'' and ''birdwatching'' are today used by some interchangeably, although some participants prefer ''birding'', partly because it includes the [[Hearing (sense)|auditory]] aspects of enjoying birds.

In North America, many birders differentiate themselves from birdwatchers, and the term ''birder'' is unfamiliar to most lay people. At the most basic level, the distinction is perceived as one of dedication or intensity, though this is a subjective differentiation. Generally, self-described birders perceive themselves to be more versed in minutiae such as identification (aural and visual), molt, distribution, migration timing, and habitat usage. Whereas these dedicated ''birders'' may often travel specifically in search of birds, ''birdwatchers'' have been described by some enthusiasts as having a more limited scope, perhaps not venturing far from their own yards or local parks to view birds.<ref name="dunne" /> Indeed, in 1969 a ''Birding Glossary'' appeared in ''[[Birding (magazine)|Birding]]'' magazine which gave the following definitions:
{{Blockquote|
'''Birder'''. The acceptable term used to describe the person who seriously pursues the hobby of birding. May be professional or amateur.

'''Birding'''. A hobby in which individuals enjoy the challenge of bird study, listing, or other general activities involving bird life.

'''Bird-watcher'''. A rather ambiguous term used to describe the person who watches birds for any reason at all, and should not be used to refer to the serious birder.
|''Birding''|Volume 1, No.2}}

''Twitching'' is a British term used to mean "the pursuit of a previously located rare bird." In North America, it is more often called ''chasing''. The term ''twitcher'', sometimes misapplied as a synonym for ''birder'', is reserved for those who travel long distances to see a rare bird that would then be ''ticked'', or counted on a list.<ref name="oddie"/><ref name="Dooley, Sean 2007">{{cite book|last=Dooley|first=Sean|year=2007|title=Anoraks to Zitting Cisticola|publisher=Allen & Unwin|isbn=978-1-74175-272-4|oclc=174092376}}</ref> The term originated in the 1950s, when it was used to describe the nervous behaviour of Howard Medhurst, a British birdwatcher.<ref name=":3">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/19/why-the-term-twitch-is-ruffling-feathers|work=[[The Guardian]]|title=Why the term 'twitch' ruffles feathers|first=Steven|last=Poole|date=19 January 2019}}</ref> Earlier terms for those who chased rarities were ''pot-hunter'', ''tally-hunter'', or ''tick-hunter''. The main goal of twitching is often to accumulate species on one's lists. Some birders engage in competition to accumulate the longest species list. The act of the pursuit itself is referred to as a ''twitch'' or a ''chase''. A rare bird that stays long enough for people to see it is ''twitchable'' or ''chaseable''.<ref name="oddie"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Law |first1=John |last2=Lynch |first2=Michael |date=1988 |title=Lists, Field Guides, and the Descriptive Organization of Seeing: Birdwatching as an Exemplary Observational Activity |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20009028 |journal=Human Studies |volume=11 |issue=2/3 |pages=271–303 |doi=10.1007/BF00177306 |jstor=20009028 |s2cid=144536028 |issn=0163-8548}}</ref><ref name="Dooley, Sean 2007"/><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Tryjanowski |first1=Piotr |last2=Jankowiak |first2=Łukasz |last3=Mikula |first3=Peter |last4=Czechowski |first4=Paweł |last5=Menzel |first5=Annette |last6=Polakowski |first6=Michał |date=2024-10-23 |title=What factors affect the 'flocking' of birdwatchers during bird rarity observations? |journal=People and Nature |volume=6 |issue=6 |pages=2390–2398 |language=en |doi=10.1002/pan3.10732 |issn=2575-8314|doi-access=free |bibcode=2024PeoNa...6.2390T }}</ref>

Twitching is highly developed in the United Kingdom, the [[Netherlands]], [[Denmark]], [[Ireland]], [[Finland]] and [[Sweden]]. The size of these countries makes it possible to travel throughout them quickly and with relative ease. The most popular twitches in the UK have drawn large crowds; for example, approximately 2,500 people travelled to [[Kent]], to view a [[golden-winged warbler]] (''Vermivora chrysoptera''), which is native to North America.<ref>{{cite book|title=Rare Birds Day by Day|year=2010|publisher=[[T. & A. D. Poyser]]|isbn=978-1-4081-3795-6|first1=Steve |last1=Dudley |first2=Tim |last2=Benton |first3=Peter |last3=Fraser |first4=John |last4=Ryan}}</ref> Twitchers have developed [[Twitchers' vocabulary|their own vocabulary]]. For example, a twitcher who fails to see a rare bird has ''dipped out''; if other twitchers do see the bird, they may feel ''gripped off''. ''Suppression'' is the act of concealing news of a rare bird from other twitchers.<ref name="oddie"/>

Many birders maintain a ''[[life list]]'', that is, a list of all of the species they have seen in their life, usually with details about the sighting such as date and location. The [[American Birding Association]] has specific rules about how a bird species may be documented and recorded in such a list if it is submitted to the ABA; however, the criteria for the personal recording of these lists are very subjective. Some birders "count" species they have identified audibly, while others only record species that they have identified visually. Some also maintain a ''country list'', ''state list'', ''county list'', ''yard list'', ''year list'', or any combination of these.