LezH
Well-known member
I've read all the bird ID posts with interest and was impressed with how much others seem to know (and saddened by how little I do). Nevertheless, I'm the family expert because I can usually get a bit nearer than 'big and black' or 'small and green'.
It was when my daughter asked me today what I thought a sparrow-sized brown job with yellowish underparts might be ('sparrow' sprang immediately to mind!) which she'd seen in her Kentish Town garden that caused me to wonder if there's a sort of multi-choice bird ID computer program available. If not, there oughta be.
A user-friendly application where you can 'build-a-bird' by clicking on icons (size, beak shape, tail length, head colour, leg colour, where/when seen etc.) and which, by a process of electronic elimination leads you to a small selection of relevant library images from which you can choose the bird you spotted sounds like a great idea to me.
If one such exists I'd appreciate details and user reviews; if not, some of you experts need to get busy! There's money to be made I feel.
A by-product of using a program like this, especially by the casual birder such as myself, is that it would help train the eye what to look for instead of always being in overview mode - which would result in even more enjoyment on country/shoreline walks at the very least.
What do you think?
It was when my daughter asked me today what I thought a sparrow-sized brown job with yellowish underparts might be ('sparrow' sprang immediately to mind!) which she'd seen in her Kentish Town garden that caused me to wonder if there's a sort of multi-choice bird ID computer program available. If not, there oughta be.
A user-friendly application where you can 'build-a-bird' by clicking on icons (size, beak shape, tail length, head colour, leg colour, where/when seen etc.) and which, by a process of electronic elimination leads you to a small selection of relevant library images from which you can choose the bird you spotted sounds like a great idea to me.
If one such exists I'd appreciate details and user reviews; if not, some of you experts need to get busy! There's money to be made I feel.
A by-product of using a program like this, especially by the casual birder such as myself, is that it would help train the eye what to look for instead of always being in overview mode - which would result in even more enjoyment on country/shoreline walks at the very least.
What do you think?