Ornithology B/C

[Celeste]

I agree, I love the Sibley. Another pretty good option seems to be the Peterson, which I skimmed in a bookstore a few days ago. LIke the Sibley, it has good illustrations, but the thing I can't stand about it is the layout. The Sibley has each species in a neat column, while the Peterson has several species on one page, with the opposite page containing information. I just can't use it because of that, for some reason.

Another problem with both the SIbley and Peterson is that they do not contain that much information about each bird. Personally I'm okay with that, but someone who has trouble remembering more specific information might want to look in the a guide such as the National Geographic, which (I think) is better for information.

Also, I think that a guide with drawings is much easier to use than a guide with photographs, though this may seem slightly counter-intuitive.

The ornithology wiki has a new section on field guides, if anyone is interested.

I really liked the Peterson for Herpetology last year, but I'm not a big fan of their bird guide. I agree that the Sibley doesn't have a ton of information about each bird, but being able to write in the guide helps. I'm planning to add basic facts for most, if not all, of the birds on the list.
I think using a guide with drawings is totally better than using one with photographs. There are a lot of issues with photos in field guides, mostly because of individual differences within the species. Different birds of the same species might have slightly different plumage or be a little bigger or smaller, just like people have different hair colors and are different heights. An illustration can give you an overall more accurate image of the bird, as well as giving you views of all sides of the bird. Illustrations can also show regional, age, and seasonal differences. With photos, you also have risks of things like poor lighting or a bad angle that would make identifying difficult.

[pjolala]

this may sound like a stupid question but...

does anyone know where to view the bird list on the forum?

:embarassed:

[pjolala]

never mind




found it

[soobsession]

It's not on the forum. It's on soinc...

EDIT: didnt see the previous post

[amerikestrel]

this may sound like a stupid question but...

does anyone know where to view the bird list on the forum?

:embarassed:

Yeah, it's not on this forum, it's on soinc.org. Here's the link, just for reference. http://soinc.org/sites/default/files/up ... ev9-22.pdf

And please don't double post. If you want to say something else, just edit your previous post. There's a button that says "edit" in the upper right corner of your post.

Edit: Do you think that the "Sibley guide to bird life and behavior" would qualify as a field guide for the competition? I already sent in a clarification about it, hope they reply. I probably wouldn't use it in competition, but it might be handy for the people who go the nats and are allowed 2 field guides.

[googlyfrog]

Amerikestrel, just one more post and you'll have 100 posts! Come on! You can do it!

Also, I agree that editing the previous post is better than double posting, but the only issue I've faced (and I think you mentioned this too) is that people might just disregard that post because they think it is one they have already read. Why don't we all just make one post and edit that post in order to answer questions and things of the sort? It's easy to see the issues with this.

[amerikestrel]

Amerikestrel, just one more post and you'll have 100 posts! Come on! You can do it!

Also, I agree that editing the previous post is better than double posting, but the only issue I've faced (and I think you mentioned this too) is that people might just disregard that post because they think it is one they have already read. Why don't we all just make one post and edit that post in order to answer questions and things of the sort? It's easy to see the issues with this.

Lol, my 100th post!

If we only made one post and edited it all the time, then our post count wouldn't go up! But really, I think that it should show up as a new post on the main page whenever we edit it.

In addition to my previous question, does anyone know what the rotation is for nature id events? I know they go for 2 years each, and I'm pretty sure there's four events, but does anyone know what those events are? A+R, Ornith, and then what? Trees?

[duckiegirl2]

In Texas, there is a trial event called Texas Wildflowers. I'm pretty good, but it is pretty easy.

[Deeisenberg]

In addition to my previous question, does anyone know what the rotation is for nature id events? I know they go for 2 years each, and I'm pretty sure there's four events, but does anyone know what those events are? A+R, Ornith, and then what? Trees?

Herpetology > Ornithology > Forestry > Entomology > Herpetology...
2 years each

Amerikestrel, just one more post and you'll have 100 posts! Come on! You can do it!

Also, I agree that editing the previous post is better than double posting, but the only issue I've faced (and I think you mentioned this too) is that people might just disregard that post because they think it is one they have already read. Why don't we all just make one post and edit that post in order to answer questions and things of the sort? It's easy to see the issues with this.

Lol, my 100th post!

If we only made one post and edited it all the time, then our post count wouldn't go up! But really, I think that it should show up as a new post on the main page whenever we edit it.

You shouldn't be posting to raise your post count, if something doesn't need to be said, don't say it. Such a mindset leads to spam. I mean it's not as if a high post count means that you are a better user who contributes more. I mean many of the people (though by no means all) are or were spammers to some extent *cough*49ers*cough*. What matters a lot more than you post quantity is how relevant the posts you do make are.

All I'm trying to say is that if something isn't at all important, then don't make another post on it. Also, try not to double post, using EDIT will usually get someones attention well enough.

Note: This actually isn't meant to target anyone in particular, it's just something that isn't said enough.

[amerikestrel]

You shouldn't be posting to raise your post count, if something doesn't need to be said, don't say it. Such a mindset leads to spam. I mean it's not as if a high post count means that you are a better user who contributes more. I mean many of the people (though by no means all) are or were spammers to some extent *cough*49ers*cough*. What matters a lot more than you post quantity is how relevant the posts you do make are.

All I'm trying to say is that if something isn't at all important, then don't make another post on it. Also, try not to double post, using EDIT will usually get someones attention well enough.

Note: This actually isn't meant to target anyone in particular, it's just something that isn't said enough.

I agree with you, I was just kidding when I made the remark about post count (notice the smiley face).

Also, thanks for answering my question. That clears it up.

On a different note:

Has anyone been studying bird anatomy? I wrote a section in the wiki about the respiratory system, and all the sources I used talked about "air sacks", structures that are unique to birds, but none of them said much about their function (other than "air goes through them"). Does anyone know the answer to this? One site said something along the lines of "air sacks store air to keep a fixed volume in the lungs", but I'm not sure how to interpret that.