When adding a new Observation, you may occasionally find that a species cannot be uniquely identified from the given name. There are several possible reasons for this:

• two distinct species may share a non-discriminating common name (eg. cabbage white, thrush)
• micro-species may be may be referred to by a single common name (eg. hawkweed, bramble)

More rarely scientific names can include identical synonyms, as a result of confusion about taxonomy.

When FieldNotes is unable to resolve a name to a unique species, it displays an information-based form listing the alternative species for the user to select.

FieldNotes 'Resolve Species' form

The following resources may also be useful for resolving a species correctly:

1. The Species database provides a range of status information for selected species.
2. The Taxon database demonstrates taxonomic relationships and related information.
3. Internet search engines (eg. Google, Bing) are a useful way of confirming the identity of species, as well as related information such as range, habits and rarity.