Gradually working my way through the updated species log. Incidentally, this might be easier to consult if it was presented as a scrollable rather than paged list. Already there are 41 pages (50 updates/page), which makes it extremely tedious to step though to (say) page 20 – and this will only get worse with further updates...
It's great to see that some of the very rudimentary species accounts from the early volumes have been extensively revised, including much more detail, and with embedded references to recent literature. In time, hopefully all species accounts can be brought up to the high standard of the later volumes. One minor observation here – where embedded references to additional literature have been included, the references haven't always been added to the account's bibliography list.
However, as I mentioned before, some species updates are limited to the insertion of multimedia links, making it quite hard work to track down the significant species updates. It would be
really, really useful if there were update codes associated with each species, allowing potentially interesting updates to be quickly located, eg:
- T = taxonomic revision: generic reassignment, split/lump, or change to recognised sspp (probably n/a at this stage, pending availability of definitive checklist)
- X = account expanded with extra detail
- M = multimedia links inserted
The update code (and date of last update) should be displayed alongside the species name: in the taxonomic tree, in the updated species log, in species search results, and in the species accounts themselves. (If 'TXM yyyy/mm' is considered too unwieldy, perhaps there could be a single (expandable) 'updated' symbol instead.)
Although obviously a work-in-progress, I'm quite impressed so far. The subscription rates are a real bargain, especially for those who don't already have access to the printed volumes.
But it's obviously going to be a monumental task over several years to bring everything to a reasonably consistent, stable and up to date state. Adoption of the HBW/BirdLife checklist and modern systematics will require an overhaul of the taxonomic tree, with impacts on the family accounts and numerous generic reassignments and splits/lumps at species level. It will also require significant effort to develop the accounts from the early volumes to a level consistent with recent standards, and in parallel there's the painstaking task of inserting carefully-chosen multimedia hyperlinks and embedded references throughout...
PS. I'm amazed that there's been so little interest/feedback so far. Are Dom and I the only BirdForum members to have subscribed?! It's ridiculously good value (probably less than the cost of a tank of gas per year for many of us), and only takes a minute...
