Bird identification has come a long way since the days of John James Audubon. No longer do we need to shoot the birds out of the sky to get a good look at them. Still the questions of the way to tell what species a bird is are very similar. Birds still have the same parts!

For decades people counted on direct hands on identification. Then there were some line sketches and detailed descriptions. The descriptions that contemporary ornithologist Peter Dunne has compiled are very much like those sent out by the historic ornithologists and artists. He has also written an original bird identification guide with no pictures.

With Alexander Wilson, John Bartram and John James Audubon a pictorial approach to bird identification was established. With Roger Tory Peterson the pictorial identification process really blossomed. Since then we have seen Kaufmann and Stokes and Sibley and even Zim produce some fine pictorial bird identification publications.

But to keep pace with today’s technology regarding bird identification, specialized software programs are being used with Smartphones and hand held computers. This has the effect of bringing online identification into the field with the naturalists and into the classrooms all over the world. A few of the well-known ones are described for your consideration.

IBird, What Bird and a new IPhone bird identification program are some of the latest. Are they the greatest? Are they all the same? Were there any pioneer techie bird identification programs that individuals still use and like? That is what we shall see. Birders are discussing applications such as Audubon Birds, National Geographic Hand-Held Birds, BirdsEye, Peterson Guides and Chirp! Bird Songs USA Plus.

The conventional Peterson Field Guidebooks for Bird identification have branched out into the field of technology for identification by way of iPhone or iPad applications. Birder’s World magazine gave excellent ratings in October 2009. Many customer requests have been integrated into Peterson’s upgraded ID apps. The Backyard Birds version was discussed on NPR in January 2010 and in Audubon magazine in July 2009 in its first edition. It is easy to get this from iTunes with a quick download for a nominal charge and not only get crystal sharp images of real birds to help with identification, but also their calls and songs are included. That is going well beyond what the paperback version can do. It has about 180 bird species which are commonplace in suburbs and urban areas.

Then there is the iBird. This particular bird identification program includes all of the birds of North America in one application using the Peterson Field Guidebooks format . The iBird operates a lot like a search engine for you by taking you through more than 1000 bird species having a minimal amount of information you gathered throughout the field to assist you to identify the bird you saw.

Yet the question still stands although, do you want to take your $300 techie gizmo out into the wetlands to go bird watching? Perhaps. It is going to be lighter in weight than the bird identification field guide you usually carry. But suppose your battery goes down during the trip? You’ll rely on your memory and your field notes although you have in the past. Plus you must remember to use a powerful and certain waterproof container or bag to guard your telephone or other gadget. Enjoy the new directions for 21st century birding

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