Birds of North America
Encyclopedia
Birds of North America is a comprehensive encyclopedia with substantial articles about each individual bird species.

It was first published as a series of 716 printed booklets, prepared by over 5000 individual researchers, and made available in no particular order from 1992 through 2003. Individual booklets were widely used by hobbyists, but presented obvious difficulties to libraries. The list of species was based on "Checklist of Birds of North America," 7th ed., American Ornithologists' Union. 1998.
It is now available as an on-line resource, including sound and video content, produced by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

, the leading US research center in its subject, and the American Ornithologists' Union
American Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithological organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birders...

, the major US national professional society, as :
Birds of North America online. Alan F.Poole is the Senior Managing Editor. Access is by subscription, available for institutional subscribers at a price depending on the nature and size of the institution, but fortunately also to individual subscribers at a much lower rate. In 2006 there were over 2000 individual birders and researchers subscribers, and over 100 academic and public libraries.

The material given includes "comprehensive scientific information for over 700 species of birds nesting in the USA and Canada. It includes image and video galleries showing behaviors, habitat, nests, eggs, and nestlings, as well as recordings of bird songs and calls selected from the collection in Cornell’s Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds." UCLA Biomedical Library

The information, in a consistent format, is sometimes fuller than any other available description and the material is being continually supplemented by additional media files. There is a freely available list of species.

(There are also a number of other unrelated field guides of the same title.)

Reviews

  • Birds Of North America (Usage Tool) by the US Geological Survey Library
  • Fifth Annual Reader's Choice Awards, 2005
  • Birds Online Is No Turkey from Library Journal
    Library Journal
    Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...

  • Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries‎, published by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association
    American Library Association
    The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....

    , January 2006, "Outstanding academic title"

External links

  • e-Bird website for amateur bird enthusiasts operated by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
  • Birds of North America Birdlist, website by country with standardized codes for abundance and seasonal permanence.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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