PlayFreeBird
Active member
This idea came to me as I thought about the Search function in iBird. The problems are not so much the clunky interface, as the whole thrust of the mechanism. If there are other apps that do this right, I am not aware, but would certainly like to hear.
Fundamentally, the Search should not have you querying the database. Rather the app should question you. For example, suppose you see a sparrow-like bird and aren't sure which one and what the field marks should be. Base on your location, the app should ask, perhaps. "Is the breast streaked or clear"? then "Is there red or rufous on the cap?" and so forth until it narrows the candidates down to a workable set and displays them with the critical distinguishing field marks. What is the point of telling a search app that the sea bird you saw was black and white? They are all black and white.
Or that that sandpiper/plover you saw was gray and brown? Of course it would take a lot of work...
Fundamentally, the Search should not have you querying the database. Rather the app should question you. For example, suppose you see a sparrow-like bird and aren't sure which one and what the field marks should be. Base on your location, the app should ask, perhaps. "Is the breast streaked or clear"? then "Is there red or rufous on the cap?" and so forth until it narrows the candidates down to a workable set and displays them with the critical distinguishing field marks. What is the point of telling a search app that the sea bird you saw was black and white? They are all black and white.
Or that that sandpiper/plover you saw was gray and brown? Of course it would take a lot of work...
