A bird rarities committee or bird records committee is a committee which exists to validate records of rare birds in a particular country or region. Many countries have national rarities committees; in some areas, such as Europe, coverage is near-complete at a national level. European national committees are all members of the

Association of European Rarities Committees The Association of European Rarities Committees is a co-ordinating and liaison body for the bird rarities committees of Europe and other nearby countries. It was created in 1993 at a meeting of European rarities committees on the German island of ...

. Some countries have committees covering more localised areas - e.g. in the United States, most states have their own state records committee, and in Britain, each county has its own county records committee. A records committee differs from a list committee in that the latter just compile a list of the species found in an area, and do not typically assess every individual record of the rare species.

See also