HBW alive (2 Viewers)

[Jane Turner]

I signed up yesterday - and my 1st impression are extremely positive.

 

[Richard Klim]

Maps

I think this is coming, check out the example on page 3 of the leaflet (scroll down), plus comments from Anna Motis on page 6.

Great! I hadn't noticed that. The example in the leaflet addresses both of my concerns: adding political boundaries, and using larger scale maps where appropriate.

 

[McMadd]

It would be good if the mapping also delimits sub-species! The text range descriptions in the original HBW's are necessarily brief but here seems a chance to colour-code the maps to make things clearer...says he as he wades through IOC V3.4 to update what he seen at that level!!

McM

 

[Melanie]

Interesting that the genus Epinecrophylla is not used for the Myrmotherula species which where assigned into that genus in 2006.

 

[Richard Klim]

Interesting that the genus Epinecrophylla is not used for the Myrmotherula species which where assigned into that genus in 2006.

I don't think that any generic reassignments or splits/lumps at species level have been implemented at this stage. Presumably such changes will be coordinated with the adoption of the forthcoming HBW/BirdLife checklist, as detailed in the leaflet:

Traditional HBW taxonomy will be used initially as a base reference, but the project will be permanently linked to the forthcoming HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Later in 2013, hundreds of changes will be automatically incorporated upon the publication of the first volume of the checklist.

Incidentally, with further use, I must say that I'm hugely impressed by many of the species updates. Guy Kirwan's updates in particular have completely transformed some of the earlier accounts. The Update History version comparison for (eg) White-headed Duck dramatically illustrates how much detail has been added, including numerous additional references. It's clear that owners of the printed volumes will greatly benefit from subscribing...

And now Guy is somehow also finding time to post numerous topical news items, concisely presenting the findings of recent studies.

 

[thyoloalethe]

I really do not like that registration fee thing. Either they should charge it or not.

This is actually a smart thing to do from their perspective - by announcing that there is a registration fee and then waiving it at this early stage, it should get more people signing up sooner (and avoid paying the fee) so that they can start to recover costs for what is surely a very expensive project. It's also an incentive for people to renew every year, since the fee is fairly steep.

 

[Melanie]

Is there a timeline when the 18 new species (including Sporophila beltoni, Orthotomus chaktomuk, and Scytalopus gettyae) will be included?

 

[Richard Klim]

The Update History version comparison for (eg) White-headed Duck dramatically illustrates how much detail has been added, including numerous additional references.

Another extremely impressive example is the species account update (yesterday) for Black-browed Albatross...

• 1992 (HBW 1): account text = 571 words, bibliography = 40 references
  
  
• 2013 (HBW Alive): account text = 4,454 words (+680%), bibliography = 217 references (+440%)

A graphic illustration of the possibilities for much greater detail when freed from the physical size (and cost) limitations of a printed work.

PS. But it would be helpful if the bibliography could be presented in a logical sequence. eg, alphabetical, or by date, or by order of citation within the species account...

 

[Jane Turner]

Agreed....I can only see this getting better and better.

One extra which would be nice to have is the ability to filter out Geographical Vagrants form the DIY plate building. (or put them in an appendix)

 

[fugl]

Just signed up for a supporting membership largely on the strength of what's been said here and have been exploring the family accounts which I've been quite enjoying.

Registration fee. I'm confused about this. Am I eligible for a refund and if so is it something I have to apply for or does it happen automatically? And if universally refundable (is it?) what's the point?

 

[lewis20126]

It all sounds great and I'm sure I'll be signing up but still concerned about the lack of portability / data costs (absence!) when abroad (or in North Norfolk, Portland Obs and many other Network free locations). I'm assuming there are no hints of an E-book at any stage...?

cheers, alan

 

[Richard Klim]

eBook?

I'm assuming there are no hints of an E-book at any stage...?

Haven't seen it mentioned. But given that the project will evidently be an extensive and dynamic work-in-progress for the next several years, it would probably be a major headache for Lynx to try to capture an internally-consistent version at an arbitrary point in time for publication as a fully-formatted/paginated eBook.

 

[fugl]

Haven't seen it mentioned. But given that the project will evidently be an extensive and dynamic work-in-progress for the next several years, it would probably be a major headache for Lynx to try to capture an internally-consistent version at an arbitrary point in time for publication as a fully-formatted/paginated eBook.

Indeed, on-line is the only game in town for works of this kind.

 

[lewis20126]

Indeed, on-line is the only game in town for works of this kind.

Great for the desk bouind (as I am 90% of the time!) but I've been too many many places where it would have been great to look at even just the plates in an e-book but there is no network access. I guess I'll just have to photograph them all (except the gadly petrels obviously). I do this on an ad hoc basis anyway but don't like to damage the spines. Perhaps screen-shots of the online work is the way forward...:smoke:

cheers, alan

 

[Jane Turner]

In a test, I just managed to make a local copy of a plate of the petrels of Guam!


In Firefox, right click and choose save page as - this produced a local web page and a folder with all the figures. If I had one to hand, I'd be able to read it on a windows enabled phone.

 

[Jane Turner]

Here is how it looks just poking about in the folder - I'm not willing to disconnect from the cricket just now to see how the local web page behaves!

 

[Richard Klim]

Alan, the 'Plates' facility permits the easy creation of customised plates, selecting species by order, family, genus or species, optionally filtered for one or more countries/geographical regions.

The plates can depict just adult males, or all available illustrated forms. There are various sizing/presentation options, and species can be repositioned (drag & drop) to create the desired layout.

As Jane says, the page/plate can be saved as an htm file for offline display – I often do this with various online resources to allow remote use. However, in a quick test, it didn't seem to display correctly with Firefox when offline in this case...

Alternatively, it's possible to cut & paste the plate contents into Word (which seems to result in a vertical list layout), or to take an exact copy of the plate using a Snipping Tool.

PS. The saved htm file displays perfectly with Safari when offline (ie, fine for iPad).

 

[lewis20126]

Richard, Jane

Thanks - it looks like there is a way of making this work with a bit of trip prep time. I'll probably insert as a jpeg / bitmap (?) into Powerpoint; may be smaller file sizes than a word paste? I'll just have to sign up and have a go...

cheers, alan

 

[birdboybowley]

But if you're gonna custom-make your own plates then the illustrations from HBW will only be useful if you plan on seeing only adults! And then perched, not flying....unless a petrel or swift!!

 

[Jane Turner]

no you can go for the all images option