References and Resources
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology -- This is the "Big Daddy" of the birding sites. And its complexity reflects that of its subject matter. It's well worth spending a few hours roaming around this project.
- Wikipedia -- From "hum" to "hummingbird", Wikipedia has got you covered...
- Online Etymology Dictionary -- Tremendous work, and fun reading.
- Audubon Society -- For me, this site is good, but could be better. Its "About Birds" takes the reader from plates depicting the digestive tracts of birds, to the birds themselves... My bottom line is that I just don't find the interface that intuitive.
- U.S. Geological Survey -- The USGS entry is good, but suffers from the same sort of convoluted interface as the Audubon site... There's a wealth of information in there, but you'll need to dig for it.
- USGS maps -- Simply amazing detail here, but slow.
- MSN Encarta -- Good old Microsoft Encarta... This is a nice "general use" resource.
- The National Audubon Society’s “The Sibley Guide to Birds” -- When it comes to bird books, this is (in my opinion) the Holy Grail. The binding, color drawings, scope, detail... It's all great. This book sells for around $35, and belongs in every person's library whether or not she or he is a birder. Hats off to David Allen Sibley.
- Peterson's "A Field Guide to the Birds" -- Before Sibley, there was Roger Tory Peterson... And, his work too is a masterstroke. I've got the 1947 edition of his book... It's old and it's tired, but still a "must own" regardless of the year.
- ”Birds of New England” from Smithsonian Handbooks -- Fred J. Alsop III and the Smithsonian have really done a superb job of documenting and illustrating the birds of the northeast.
- Chapman's "Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America" -- This is a more scholarly text complete with black and white illustrations.
- ”Birds Of North America” published by Golden -- A smaller book, this works well as a good field guide.
Also, the following two, "more coffee-table" books deserve mention...
- "Birdwatching" from publisher "Discovery Travel Adventures".
- Ortho Books' "How to Attract Birds".
