Here are the 24 birds we have added to the database so far in June 2005

I want to tell you about some cool changes we have made to Percevia to make your searching more enjoyable. First lets take a look at the three ways you can search, using the bird database as our example. This first lesson shows how easy it is to find a bird when you know more or less how its spelled. The link will take you to our blog where the lesson starts.

You can see the new birds at:

18 New Birds

These include Vireo and Flycatcher species.

About 5 years ago, the legendary birder Kenn Kaufman published a revolutionary bird guide that used photographs to help readers identify birds. Now in its fifth printing and republished with an updated species list and brand new cover, this intriguing little field guide has long overcome its critics and carved out its own niche in the crowded field guide market. And it doesn't hurt that the expertly retouched photographs and lively species descriptions make this guide a joy to use.

This fun and colorful pocket-sized field guide to warblers is an excellent reference tool for both beginners and experts. The book is clearly organized and provides a lot of really cool ways to learn all about warblers. There are a ton of fantastic photographs, maps showing the ranges and migration routes of each species, and special sections with bonus tips on how to identify warblers. The Stokes Field Guide to Warblers even includes a detailed tutorial on how to recognize the most common warbler in North America, the Yellow-rumped Warbler, in all its many plumages. This species is a great starting point for anyone learning to appreciate warblers.

There's no way around it – shorebirds are one of the hardest groups of birds to identify. In fact, many birders don't even try to separate the many small, similar species that mingle on the shores of North America each spring and fall during their spectacular migrations to and from their Arctic breeding grounds. But, with a little effort, shorebird identification is a rewarding exercise, especially because there is always a reasonable chance of finding rare and exciting species from Europe and Asia among the flocks.

We have a web site called "What Bird?" and so my first thought when I saw this book was “oh great they stole my idea”. But now that I am older I put my negative vibes on hold and took a look at it. Then I realized that this is just the book I need. And maybe the one you will need too if you want to ID birds as fast as experts like David and Simone. Let's face it -- when it comes to recognizing birds I suck.

What better way to begin birdwatching than under the guidance of the best known birder in North America? This newest book by David Sibley, author of the famed The Sibley Guide to Birds, is a unique and warmly written introduction to bird watching that gives tips for every inquisitive birder from novice to expert. Even better, every important point in Sibley's Birding Basics is exquisitely illustrated with the author's famous sketches.

A "field guide" is a small handbook to help you identify birds. While they sell in huge numbers each year. and there are lots of authors, three stand out from the crowd--David Allen Sibley, Tory Peterson and Kenn Kaufman. Peterson has sadly passed away but his legend lives on, he started the whole field guide stampede. But I propose you don't need any of those author's books if you own this one.

God has a sense of humor when it comes to birds. Because what He has done is create a huge distraction for people whose sole reason for living is to be able to one day say "I've found them all." And you can join these folks with this book, which obviously, when you read the Acknowledgements, is a labor of love. Bill Thompson started it in 1996 with a team -- his best friend and expert birder Eirik A. T. Blom and Bill's future wife Julie Zickefoose. Julie did the beautiful watercolor illustrations while Eirik did all the writing and Bill handled editing and publishing. The book took 9 years to get published, and sadly, in 2002, Eirik passed away. But Bill carried on, using four writers culled from Bird Watcher's Digest. It was worth the effort.

Who would have thought a kindergarten teacher would present the most obvious flaw in the program? She pointed out that the Match window that shows the birds you have found was hidden away at the side of the search page, so she did not notice that it was being updated! We took her observations and several other's from this list and revamped the interface again. The changes we made might seem subtle but I believe that they make a huge difference in the usability of the program, and make it more suitable to young people who are not so savvy of internet applications, yet who see things we as adults miss. Who was it that said youth is wasted on the young?

I would like to tell you a little history of how Percevia and the bird search engine got created. If you don't care about the past, ramblings of a technologist, or the origins of dreams, just click here to get started on the web search tutorial. However you might want to read this as it shows how frustration can be turned to inspiration, and inspiration can enable a new technology for making things work better.