Bird ID^™ by TapPoint^®

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Examples Using Bird ID for Windows

Getting started and using Bird ID for Windows to identify and record bird species is quick and easy, as shown in the following examples.

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Getting Started with your Automatic Custom Checklist
Using Search to Identify a Species
Using Lookup to Find a Species by Name
Recording a Sighting
Viewing Your Sighting List
Defining another Place
Viewing the Expected Species List for a Place
Printing a Checklist
Another Search Example
A Quick Lookup of a Known Species
Viewing All Sightings at a Place
Viewing All Sightings at All Places -- My "Life List"
Exporting Sightings to Other Programs

Getting Started with your Automatic Custom Checklist

When Bird ID starts for the first time, you simply select your preferred field guide book for species page number references and then tap on your home location on the map.

Now you have your custom bird species checklist automatically generated for your location. Here the location is the Sacramento, California area, and Bird ID knows that 268 different species are expected there (out of 805 total in the covered area of North America).

Selecting a bird in the list shows species details including common, Latin, and obsolete names, relative abundance, length, guide book page number, appearance and taxonomy groups, expected occurrence (e.g. "Year-round") at my location, a color coded range map with seasonal indications, and a list of species variations with a color bar showing the approximate colors for the selected variation.

Using Search to Identify a Species

I saw a bird that looked mostly blue and gray today, and I'm not sure what it was. I select the Search tab and fill in what I observed in the Search controls. Bird ID instantly filters my search results as I enter information.

Bird ID reports that there are nine species in my area that match closely to my criteria. The icons next to the species names indicate the relative abundance of the species, and page numbers in my chosen field guide are given where I can look for pictures.

The best matches for my search are at the top of the list, and Western Scrub Jay is a common (green dot) bird that is a good match for my search colors. Mountain Bluebird and Pinyon Jay are even better matches for my search colors but are uncommon (yellow dot) and rare (gray diamond), respectively.

A little further down I see an entry for "Lazuli Bunting", which doesn't list gray as a color, but the overall color scheme is similar to my search.

Using Lookup to Find a Species by Name

Instead of using the Search feature to find a species, perhaps I think the blue and gray bird I saw was some kind of Jay, so I can use the Lookup feature to find it. I select the Lookup tab and enter "jay".

Bird ID reports that there are ten species matching "jay": two are common in my area, one is rare, and seven are unexpected in my area.

Using Lookup does not require knowing the first part of the species name. Perhaps I am trying to remember a species name that is a "blue" something or other...

Lookup reports 19 species with "blue" in their name, although only six are expected in my area (three common and three uncommon).

I wonder why Blue Jay is listed as unexpected (red "X"), as I thought my blue and gray bird might be a Blue Jay. I Select Blue Jay and can see from the range map that this is only an eastern bird, which is also why it was not listed at all by the Search feature, even though its colors were a close match for my search.

Recording a Sighting

After consulting the pictures and habitat descriptions in my guide book, I determine that the blue and gray bird I saw was a Lazuli Bunting. I can record a sighting of this bird by selecting the bird from any of the results lists (Checklists, Search, or Lookup) and then clicking the Add Sighting button above the species details.

In the Add Sighting dialog, I can add a text note to the sighting if I wish.

Viewing Your Sighting List

I can view the list of species that I have recorded sightings for on the Checklists tab by selecting "All Sightings" from the Show dropdown.

The species I have recorded sightings for are shown along with statistics showing the number seen today, this month, and this year, and the last date seen. I can also filter the list further by selecting different choices from the Show dropdown.

Defining another Place

You can define multiple places using Bird ID, and each will have its own checklist and sightings list. To define a new place, I can pick the Edit Places item from the Edit menu (or from the bottom of a place list dropdown). This brings up the Edit Places dialog, which lists all of the places I have defined (currently just "Home").

I am taking a business trip to Denver and will see if I can do some bird watching on the side, so I want to define a new place for Denver.

I click on the New button in the Edit Places dialog, which brings up the Locate Place dialog, where I simply click on the location on the map, enter the name "Denver" for it, and click OK. The Edit Places dialog now shows my two defined places.

Viewing the Expected Species List for a Place

I decide to browse the list of species I could expect to see in Denver. To get the expected species list for Denver, I simply select the Checklists tab, select "Denver" for the place, and select "Expected Species" from the Show dropdown.

I see that 258 species are expected in Denver. Browsing the list, I happen to see "Baltimore Oriole". Do they really have Baltimore Orioles in Denver? I tap on the entry in the list and see from the species details that the range occurrence is listed "Migration at Denver" and the range map shows the migration range just barely crossing through Denver. So this would be a possible but lucky sighting.

Printing a Checklist

Although I plan to take my laptop computer with me on my trip to Denver, on most birding or other trips I will not have it. In these cases, I could use Bird ID™ for Palm OS to identify and record sightings, or I could simply print a custom checklist to take with me along with a field guide book to know what birds to expect on my trip and record sightings with. Using the Print Checklist command from the File menu, I can print a custom checklist for the species expected in Denver.

Another Search Example

At my hotel in Denver, while I have my laptop computer handy, I notice a small yellow and black bird. I launch Bird ID and use Search to identify it, making sure that the place is set to Denver, and here I select 3-5" (or similar to Hummingbird size) for the Length to further narrow the search. I decide the bird is an American Goldfinch and record a sighting for it by clicking on the Add Sighting button.

After recording the sighting, I return to the checklist for Denver and I see that American Goldfinch has a checkmark by it, indicating that a sighting is recorded for it.

A Quick Lookup of a Known Species

Also at my hotel in Denver, I see a bird that I immediately recognize to be a Spotted Towhee. To record a sighting for it, I need to find the species in Bird ID first.

Using the Lookup tab, I can quickly find "Spotted Towhee" by entering the first few letters from one or two words in the species name. I enter "sp t", and the list filters as I type, so I find it quickly with minimal typing or spelling. I can then select Spotted Towhee and record a sighting for it by clicking the Add Sighting button.

Viewing All Sightings at a Place

Alas, I was stuck inside for the rest of my trip to Denver and had no more time for bird watching...

I can easily view all the sightings I made at Denver on the Checklists tab by selecting "Denver" from the Place dropdown and "All Sightings" from the Show dropdown. Here I see the two species that I recorded sightings for in Denver.

Viewing All Sightings at All Places -- My "Life List"

Each place I define in Bird ID will have its own checklist and keep its own sightings list, but I can also search for, lookup, and view checklists and sightings lists for all places at once by using the special "(Any)" place.

On the Checklists tab, selecting "(Any)" from the Place dropdown and "All Sightings" from the Show dropdown shows all of the sightings I have made at any place. This is my birding "Life List", and here shows both my Home and Denver sightings.

By selecting a species and then clicking the Edit Sightings button, I can see a list of all the sightings recorded for that species. Here I see that Spotted Towhee has the Denver sighting as well as a sighting made at Home. I can use the Edit button to view more details on a sighting or change it if necessary, and the New and Delete buttons to add and delete sightings.

Exporting Sightings to Other Programs

Using the Export Sightings command from the File menu, I can export my sightings to a standard Comma Separated Value (CSV) format, which is readable by spreadsheets and many other programs, for further analysis or use by other programs.

Species Range Data provided by NatureServe in collaboration with Robert Ridgely, James Zook, The Nature Conservancy - Migratory Bird Program, Conservation International - CABS, World Wildlife Fund - US, and Environment Canada – WILDSPACE. Range Data Compilation © 2005 NatureServe

Bird ID is a trademark of TapPoint, LLC.
TapPoint is a registered trademark of TapPoint, LLC.
Palm OS is a registered trademark of Palm, Inc.

Bird ID™ by TapPoint®