The 1982 annual meeting was held at Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, on 27th March. Keith Vinicombe, who was successful in an election (Brit. Birds 75: 292), started his membership on 1st April 1982. He takes the place vacated, as the longest-serving member (after six years), by Brian Little, whose expertise, and sound advice and opinions, will be greatly missed.
Election of new member
Nominations are invited for a member to fill the next vacancy, which will arise on or before 31st March 1983: they should be sent to me by 31st December 1982. The Committee's nomination is Peter G. Lansdown, whose careful record-documentation and constructive criticism of some of the Committee's work has already been most valuable; after a lapse of two years, the return of Welsh representation on the Committee would be an added asset of his membership.
Removal of species from Rarities Committee list
It was agreed that a species would automatically be considered for possible removal from the list of those assessed by the Committee if more than 150 individuals had occurred during the past ten years and it had occurred at least ten times in at least eight of those years. Other species of slightly less frequent or consistent occurrence, especially those which are easy to identify, may also be considered for removal. After discussion and a vote on each of the eligible species, it was agreed that the following ten would no longer be considered by the Committee after 31st December 1982