Mobile Monday: Birds of North America Online

Although it's not specifically optimized for mobile use, one of the most comprehensive birding guides, The Birds of North America, is available for Antioch U library users -- anywhere you have internet access. Covering birds from the USA (including Hawaii) and Canada, this collection provides comprehensive life histories and multimedia files for over 715 species.

The Birds of North America is frequently updated by members of the American Ornithologists' Union.

If you want to try some other online birding resources, Audubon reviewed some apps and online field guides this summer.

Like most of the plant identification apps, the apps that are designed to help you identify birds by photos, location, and your recordings of their songs are still developing. Active identification still needs a lot of improvement! Apps like Birdsnap and Chirp! BirdSong USA are getting better all the time, though, especially with more user interaction and notes and ideas for developers.

Online field guides might add to your birding adventures, so check some out before your next excursion.