Undemocratic decisions

I read with interest Dominic Mitchell’s article about the acceptance of this year’s Northern Mockingbird ( Birdwatch 348: 19).

What I found particularly interesting was that for a bird to be accepted it needs a two-thirds majority from the British Ornithologists’ Union’s Records Committee (BOURC) members. Surely in a democratic society like our own, it should be the majority vote that decides which birds are accepted?

I wonder how many other reports have gone the same way as the Glamorgan mockingbird – accepted by the majority but declined by the panel – and now just linger in a lower category, despite most of the members believing the bird to be of a wild origin.

I await with interest the fate of this year’s mockingbird, not to mention a certain vulture and the Cornish Paddyfield Pipit! Richard Taylor, via email