Marcel Gil – Rarities’ Sociology: ego, science or fun?

Marcel Gil works as an ornithologist specializing in seabirds and is a member and editor of the SEO/Birdlife Rarities’ Comittee and scretary of the Catalonia Avifaunistic Committee.

Rare birds have always attracted the attention of a significant part of the ornithological community, but the profile of people who seek rarities and their motivations are diverse and changing. Beyond the scientific knowledge it brings, and sometimes its implications in conservation, the search and observation of rarities has social implications: they serve as a meeting point for the community, but can also generate fun competitiveness for some people and toxic for others. This talk aims to be a collective reflection on “the world of rarities”, a look at its evolution during the last two decades and a debate on what the future should look like.