The excess of zeros is a not a rare feature in count data. Statisticians advocate the Poisson-type hurdle model (among other techniques) as an interesting approach to handle this data peculiarity. However, the frequency of gross errors and the complexity intrinsic to some considered phenomena...

Declines of many North American birds are of conservation concern. Monitoring their population changes has largely depended on formally structured Breeding Bird Surveys, and Migration Monitoring Stations, although some use has been made of lists by birders. For almost 40 years, birders have kept...