Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, Cookie Policy, Intellectual Property Statement, DMCA, and Accessibility Statement for Birds.com, owned by Linka Holdings, LLC.
These Terms of Use contain a mandatory arbitration clause and class action waiver. Please read carefully.
Who We Are
Birds.com is owned by Linka Holdings, LLC, a United States limited liability company, and is managed commercially by Linka Labs, LLC. References to “we,” “us,” or “Birds.com” in this Privacy Policy refer to Linka Holdings, LLC as the domain owner and Linka Labs, LLC as the site operator. Linka Labs, LLC is the data controller for personal data collected through this site.
Birds.com is an independent commercial and editorial platform covering birds — their species, behavior, habitats, care, and the field of birding. It is an information resource only, and is not affiliated with any wildlife authority, regulatory body, or conservation organization.
What Information We Collect
We collect information in two ways:
How We Use Your Information
Information collected through this site is used to respond to inquiries, improve site content and user experience, and monitor site performance. We do not sell personal data. Personal data collected through our inquiry forms is not used for advertising targeting or marketing profiling by us.
This site displays third-party advertising served by Google AdSense. Advertising cookies set by Google and its partners are used to serve and measure ads, and — where you have consented — to personalize the ads you see. The handling of advertising cookies is described in the Cookie Policy below and in the section “Third-Party Advertising” that follows.
Third-Party Advertising
Birds.com displays advertisements served by Google AdSense, a third-party advertising service operated by Google LLC. Google and its advertising partners use cookies and similar technologies to serve advertisements, to limit the number of times you see a given advertisement, and to measure the effectiveness of advertising. Where you have consented through our cookie consent banner, these cookies may also be used to serve advertisements based on your prior visits to this and other websites.
We do not control which advertisements Google serves, and the appearance of any advertisement on this site does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, or verification by Birds.com of any advertiser, product, or service.
You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings at adssettings.google.com, and you may opt out of personalized advertising from participating vendors at aboutads.info/choices and youronlinechoices.eu. Declining advertising cookies on our consent banner will prevent personalized advertising cookies from being set through this site.
Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)
For visitors from the European Economic Area, our legal basis for collecting and processing personal data is as follows: inquiry data is processed on the basis of legitimate interest (responding to a direct request); analytics data and advertising data are processed on the basis of your consent, given through our cookie consent banner. You may withdraw consent at any time by clearing cookies and selecting “Necessary Only” on the consent banner.
Data Retention
Inquiry data is retained for up to 24 months following the last communication in a given thread. Analytics data retention is set to 26 months within Google Analytics. You may request deletion of personal data by contacting us through our contact page.
Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to access, correct, restrict, or request deletion of personal data we hold about you. EEA residents have additional rights under GDPR including the right to data portability. To exercise any of these rights, please contact us through our contact page noting “Data Privacy Request” in your message. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.
International Transfers
Birds.com is operated from the United States. If you are visiting from outside the United States, including from the European Union or the United Kingdom, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. By using this site you acknowledge this transfer.
Contact
Privacy inquiries should be submitted through our contact page. Please note “Privacy Inquiry” in your message.
Plain Language Summary
This table summarizes key provisions. Please read the full Terms below.
| Provision | What It Means |
|---|---|
| What this site is | An independent commercial information and editorial platform about birds and birding. It is an information resource only. |
| Advertising | Third-party ads are served by Google AdSense. Ads are not endorsements, and we do not control which ads are shown. |
| Dispute resolution | All disputes go to binding arbitration administered by JAMS in Seattle, Washington. Court action is limited except for emergency relief. |
| Class actions | You waive the right to participate in class action proceedings. All claims must be individual. |
| AI training prohibition | You may not use any content from this site to train, fine-tune, or develop AI or machine learning models. |
| Governing law | Washington State law. JAMS arbitration in Seattle is the exclusive dispute forum. |
Acceptance
By accessing or using Birds.com (the “Site”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, please do not use this Site. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles.
Nature of the Site
Birds.com is an independent commercial information and editorial platform covering birds and birding, including species, behavior, habitats, care, and the field. The Site is owned by Linka Holdings, LLC and managed by Linka Labs, LLC. Nothing on this Site constitutes a binding offer, agreement, or investment solicitation.
International Visitors
This Site is operated from the United States by Linka Labs, LLC. Visitors outside the United States access the Site voluntarily and do so subject to their own applicable local laws and regulations. By using this Site, international visitors acknowledge that Washington State law governs their use of the Site and that any disputes will be resolved in Seattle, Washington, as set out in the Mandatory Arbitration provision below. Linka Holdings, LLC and Linka Labs, LLC make no representation that the content on this Site is appropriate or available in any particular jurisdiction outside the United States.
Accuracy of Information
Birds.com makes reasonable efforts to ensure that editorial and commercial information on this Site is accurate and current. However, we make no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, or currency of any content. Species data, reference material, and statistics are provided for general informational purposes and should be independently verified before any reliance.
Intellectual Property
All original content on Birds.com — including editorial text, commercial analysis, design, code, and layout — is the property of Linka Holdings, LLC and/or Linka Labs, LLC and is protected by applicable copyright and intellectual property law. No content may be reproduced, distributed, or modified without the express prior written consent of Linka Holdings, LLC. See the Intellectual Property Statement below.
Prohibition on AI Training and Automated Content Use
All content on this Site — including editorial articles, commercial analysis, verified data, and all other original written material — represents significant original intellectual work and is the exclusive property of Linka Holdings, LLC and/or Linka Labs, LLC.
Content on this Site may not be used, in whole or in part, to train, fine-tune, pre-train, evaluate, benchmark, or otherwise develop any artificial intelligence system, machine learning model, large language model, generative AI system, or similar technology without the express prior written consent of Linka Holdings, LLC. This prohibition applies regardless of whether such use is commercial or non-commercial in nature. Automated scraping or harvesting of content for any AI-related purpose is expressly prohibited.
Acceptable Use
By accessing this Site you agree not to:
No Warranties
This Site is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. Linka Holdings, LLC and Linka Labs, LLC disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Linka Holdings, LLC and Linka Labs, LLC shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of or inability to use this Site, including any loss arising from reliance on editorial content. Our total liability for any claim arising from use of this Site shall not exceed one hundred US dollars ($100).
Third-Party Links
This Site may contain links to third-party websites and displays third-party advertising served by Google AdSense. Birds.com does not endorse and is not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or terms of any linked or advertised third-party site. Accessing third-party links or advertisements is at your own risk.
Governing Law
These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles. To the extent any dispute is not subject to arbitration under the provision below, the exclusive jurisdiction for such matters shall be the state and federal courts located in King County, Washington.
Mandatory Arbitration
Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy, the Cookie Policy, or the use of this Site shall be resolved exclusively by binding arbitration administered by JAMS in Seattle, Washington, in accordance with the JAMS Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures then in effect.
The arbitration shall be conducted before a single neutral arbitrator. The arbitrator’s decision shall be final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. Either party may seek emergency injunctive relief from a court of competent jurisdiction in King County, Washington, to prevent irreparable harm pending arbitration. This arbitration agreement is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.).
Class Action Waiver
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, all claims must be brought in your individual capacity and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action, collective action, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims and may not preside over any form of class proceeding.
Force Majeure
Linka Holdings, LLC and Linka Labs, LLC shall not be liable for any failure or delay in the operation, availability, or performance of this Site where such failure or delay results from circumstances beyond our reasonable control. This includes, without limitation, acts of God, natural disasters, pandemic, government actions, war, civil unrest, cyberattacks, internet infrastructure failures, power outages, or the actions of third-party service providers. In such circumstances, our obligations are suspended for the duration of the relevant event.
Modifications
We reserve the right to modify these Terms of Use at any time. Changes take effect upon posting to this page. Your continued use of the Site after any modification constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.
What Are Cookies
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work correctly, remember your preferences, provide site owners with anonymized traffic data, and — in the case of advertising cookies — to serve and measure advertisements.
Cookies We Use
Birds.com uses the following categories of cookies. Strictly necessary cookies are set regardless of your consent. Analytics and advertising cookies are set only where you have accepted them through our consent banner.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Lifetime | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| wfvt_* | Wordfence | WordPress security plugin — used for bot detection and human verification | 30 minutes | |
| wordfence_verifiedHuman | Wordfence | Confirms the visitor has passed human verification. Prevents repeated security checks. | 24 hours | |
| wordpress_* | WordPress | Session and authentication cookies. Set for logged-in users and admin access only. | Session | |
| __cf_bm* | Cloudflare | Cloudflare bot-management cookie — distinguishes humans from automated traffic to protect the site. | 30 minutes | |
| birds_consent | Birds.com | Records your cookie consent preference to avoid repeated banner display. | 12 months | |
| _ga | Google Analytics | Distinguishes unique users and tracks sessions for anonymized traffic measurement. | 2 years | |
| _gid | Google Analytics | Distinguishes users. Used to throttle request rate. | 24 hours | |
| _gat | Google Analytics | Used to throttle request rate to Google Analytics servers. | 1 minute | |
| __gads | Google Analytics | Used to serve advertisements and measure ad interactions on this Site. | 13 months | |
| __gpi | Google Analytics | Used by Google to store and track ad-serving information and limit ad repetition. | 13 months | |
| _gcl_au | Google AdSense | Used by Google AdSense for experimenting with advertising efficiency across sites. | 13 months | |
| IDE | Google (DoubleClick) | Used to register and report a user’s actions after viewing or clicking an ad, for measurement and personalization. | 13 months |
Analytics Cookies and Consent
Google Analytics cookies (_ga, _gid, _gat) and Google AdSense advertising cookies (__gads, __gpi, _gcl_au, IDE) require your consent under GDPR and equivalent privacy laws. These cookies are set only if you accept them on our cookie consent banner. If you select “Necessary Only,” no analytics or advertising cookies will be set, Google Analytics will not track your visit, and personalized advertising cookies will not be placed through this Site.
Our consent banner offers three choices: “Necessary Only” (strictly necessary cookies only), “Accept Analytics” (necessary and analytics cookies), and “Accept All” (necessary, analytics, and advertising cookies). Where advertising cookies are declined, Google may still serve non-personalized advertisements, which do not rely on advertising cookies for ad targeting.
Managing Cookies
You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Deleting or blocking strictly necessary cookies may affect the security or functionality of this Site. You may withdraw your consent to analytics or advertising cookies at any time by clearing your cookies and revisiting the site — the consent banner will reappear and you may select “Necessary Only.”
To opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all websites, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. To control personalized advertising, visit Google Ads Settings at adssettings.google.com, and the advertising opt-out tools at aboutads.info/choices and youronlinechoices.eu.
Third-Party Cookie Providers
Google LLC — Google Analytics and Google AdSense are operated by Google LLC. Analytics data is connected to Birds.com’s existing Analytics property via Site Kit by Google; advertising is served through Google AdSense. Analytics data retention is set to 26 months. Google participates in the EU–US Data Privacy Framework. Google’s privacy practices are described at policies.google.com/privacy, and Google’s advertising practices at policies.google.com/technologies/ads.
Wordfence / Defiant, Inc. — Wordfence security cookies are strictly necessary for site security. Wordfence’s privacy practices are described at wordfence.com/privacy-policy.
Cloudflare, Inc. — Cloudflare provides security, bot-management, and content-delivery services. Cloudflare cookies are strictly necessary for site security and performance. Cloudflare’s privacy practices are described at cloudflare.com/privacypolicy.
Changes to This Policy
We will update this Cookie Policy if we add, change, or remove analytics, advertising, or other non-essential cookies on this Site. Material changes will be reflected in a revised effective date and an updated consent banner where required.
Domain Ownership
The domain name Birds.com is a proprietary digital asset owned by Linka Holdings, LLC. The domain has been registered continuously since the mid-1990s and is maintained in good standing with an ICANN-accredited registrar. Linka Holdings, LLC holds all rights in the Birds.com domain name and platform.
Not Affiliated with the Bangladeshi Government
All original editorial content published on Birds.com — including species and editorial coverage, commercial analysis, reference material, and all descriptive and promotional copy — is the copyright property of Linka Holdings, LLC and/or Linka Labs, LLC. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, or use of this content in any form is prohibited without the prior written consent of Linka Holdings, LLC.
Content Copyright
Names of species, places, events, organizations, and persons referenced on this Site are used for editorial and informational purposes only. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names that appear on this Site are the property of their respective owners. Reference to any third party, mark, or event does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or sponsorship of Birds.com.
Linka Holdings Portfolio
Birds.com is one of a portfolio of generic, category-defining domain properties owned by Linka Holdings, LLC and managed commercially by Linka Labs, LLC. Each is a proprietary digital asset registered with an ICANN-accredited registrar, maintained in good standing, and operated in good faith as a genuine editorial and commercial platform in accordance with ICANN policies and applicable United States law.
No Third-Party Trademark Claims
The domain name Birds.com is a generic, descriptive term. Third parties asserting trademark rights in this domain name should be aware that Linka Holdings, LLC has maintained lawful registration and continuous development of this property since the mid-1990s in accordance with applicable ICANN policies and US law. Any claims of bad faith registration are without foundation given the decades-long history of genuine use and editorial development of the property.
Intellectual Property Enquiries
For intellectual property inquiries, including permission requests for content use or DMCA notices, please contact us through our contact page noting “Intellectual Property” in your message.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Birds.com respects the intellectual property rights of others. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (17 U.S.C. § 512), we have designated an agent to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement.
To submit a DMCA takedown notice, please provide the following information through our contact page, noting “DMCA Notice” in your message:
Counter-Notification
If you believe that content you posted was removed by mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notification through our contact page, noting “DMCA Counter-Notice” in your message. Your counter-notification must include: your physical or electronic signature; identification of the removed material and its location prior to removal; a statement under penalty of perjury that the material was removed by mistake or misidentification; your name, address, and telephone number; and your consent to the jurisdiction of the federal court in your district, or if outside the United States, to the jurisdiction of the courts of Washington State.
Repeat Infringers
It is the policy of Birds.com to terminate, in appropriate circumstances, the accounts of users who are repeat infringers of copyright. Birds.com also reserves the right to terminate access for any user who infringes the intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.
Our Commitment
Birds.com is committed to ensuring that this Site is accessible to all visitors, including those with disabilities. We make reasonable efforts to ensure that this Site conforms to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, as published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
What We Are Doing
Our accessibility efforts include:
Known Limitations
While we strive for full WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance, some legacy content and third-party embedded features may not yet meet this standard. We are working to address these areas progressively. Third-party tools and services — including embedded forms, Google Analytics, and Google AdSense advertising — are governed by their respective providers’ accessibility policies.
Feedback and Assistance
If you experience any difficulty accessing any content or feature on this Site, or if you require content in an alternative format, please contact us through our contact page and note “Accessibility Feedback” in your message. We will make reasonable efforts to provide the information or functionality you need through an alternative means and to address the reported issue for future visitors.