Each species is assigned a rarity code from 1 (Common) to 6 (Rare). The defintions of each code are as follows: 1: (133) common to abundant; should be seen any day when visiting the appropriate habitat in the proper season.
2: (91) fairly common, or common to abundant but requires effort to find (e.g., Eastern Screech Owl)
3: (55) uncommon, usually seasonal, but should occur every year (e.g., Lincoln’s Sparrow)
4: (31) uncommon, but quite difficult to find because of habits or habitat (e.g. Connecticut Warbler), or rare but probably occurs annually or every other year (e.g., Black Guillemot, Gull-billed Tern).
5: (54) very rare, probably does not occur yearly, but occurs every 5-10 years (or probably does) (e.g., LeConte’s Sparrow).
6: (49) accidental, fewer than 10 records. No reason to expect regular occurrences (e.g., Ivory Gull).
The Suffolk County List stands at 413 species, which includes 3 taxa not yet split into distinct species by the AOU (Eurasian Teal, Audubon’s Warbler & Ipswich Sparrow)
As of 4/19/06
1: 94 of
2: 59
3: 25
4: 07
5: 02
6: 00