What kind of bird is that, mom? (she goes to grab the Audubon book and the bird flies away)
I saw a bird the other day… it was medium-size (I think), dark grey (what I think of as grey on a bird, mom sees as tan-ish), and speckles on the wings (which were actually splorps on the window from the dog’s having tried to dig under the fence)…
Truth be told, my mom is fantastic when it comes to identifying birds. I, OTOH, as you might have guessed, stink, which is why my attention was immediately grabbed by the following headline this morning:
New bird identification app perfect for avian watchers and lovers
Jeff Riley continues (on Daily Times Gazette):
Researchers from Cornell University developed a program that helps birdwatchers determine the species of birds they encounter from submitted photographs.
The Merlin Bird Identification app created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, in partnership with Visipedia research project, aims to help avian enthusiasts identify birds they see quickly.
According to its website, “Merlin is designed to be a birding coach for beginning and intermediate bird watchers.” It asks the users where and when the bird was seen, what it looks like, and what the bird is doing.
I was more than convinced by the end of the article and the app is downloading even as we speak. Click on the headline link above and check it out!
