Life List 2003


To those who have not done it, the compilation of a "Life List," a comprehensive list of every species of organism seen on an excursion, may seem like pointless trophy hunting. It is not. Such lists are the first step field researchers take in order to understand the biodiversity of a region.

Furthermore, an old proverb states that if you have not drawn something, you have not seen it; indeed, drawing a thing forces the draftsman to pay minute attention to its details. We could not possibly achieve this effect by "drawing" the Arizona biota. By setting ourselves the task of developing a life list, however, we approximated what that would have been like because our attention to details of the minute variations between species and our motivation to search for them were aroused by the task.

We would have, doubtless, seen a great diversity of creatures in any event. The development of the life list, however, enhanced our awareness and appreciation of what we saw in a way that would not have been possible had our attention been less focused.

Our comprehensive list follows. Where possible, we attempted to photograph our sightings. You can link to them from the list. All photos are of wild animals uncultivated plants observed during the tour. Enjoy.

Contents:

Mammals

Squamates

Birds

Mammals:

Squamates:

Birds: