Scott I.A., Mitchell P.I. & Evans P.R. (1995) The reliability of fat scores as predictors of the mass of fat carried by individual birds. ARDEA 83 (2): 359-363

Fat scoring is a widely used technique for quantifying the amount of stored lipid in populations of live birds. We assessed its effectiveness for use on individuals by comparing fat scores of migratory Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula with measures of total fat content predicted by total body electrical conductivity (TOBEC). The 4-point fat score used proved to be a reliable indicator of average lipid levels in groups of birds and was independent of total body size. There was however, considerable variation in the predicted fat mass between individuals assigned to the same fat score and large overlap existed in the ranges of predicted fat mass between different fat scores. Fat scores are therefore a poor indicator of lipid levels predicted by TOBEC in individual birds.