As announced in the last newsletter, we have now finished uploading all of the Forewords from the Handbook of the Birds of the World series to HBW Alive. The Forewords are essays written by specialists, each dealing with a particular subject of importance in the world of ornithology; e.g. migration, ornithological nomenclature, fossil birds, conservation...
Currently more than 355 of the “new species” (resulting from splits) have multimedia links incorporated in their species accounts. See what we mean, for example, in the accounts of Australian Painted-snipe (Rostratula australis), Somali Courser (Cursorius somalensis), Arctic Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus) or Australian Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon macrotarsa).
We have added links to the accounts of the 16 Strix species. Explore them!
As explained in the Editorial, all 17 of the Forewords from the Handbook of the Birds of the World series have been uploaded to HBW Alive. So now, with just a few clicks you can read the Forewords that deal with your preferred topics in ornithology. You will also enjoy graphics and illustrations from the pieces, like this one of the sadly extinct Bonin Grosbeak (Chaunoproctus ferreorostris).
Guy Kirwan updated his 2000th species on HBW Alive
During the month of February, HBW Alive Editor Guy Kirwan updated his 2000th species on HBW Alive! One important phase of the updating process is focused on the species from the earliest volumes of HBW. Currently, Guy is working on species from HBW Volume 3 and other species with remarkable new information, like the Golden Nightjar (Caprimulgus eximius), species number 2000!
How to insert page numbers in the Printable checklist
One of the most useful tools for an upcoming birding trip is the Printable checklist.
In this tutorial we explain how, once you have configured the Printable checklist as desired, to get a printed version of the checklist including pages numbers. The process differs a bit based on the browser you are using: Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari or Internet Explorer.
A recent study has demonstrated that adults migrate earlier than juveniles in autumn in long-distance migrant passerines that have a winter moult, while differences are much smaller in species that have a summer moult, with juveniles often preceding adults. A similar pattern has previously been reported for migratory passerines in North America
Other highlighted news:
An experiment with artificial tree nests has showed that aerial predators may detect nests by the ultraviolet reflectance of eggs.
An analysis of time-series of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) observations on Spitsbergen and in Greenland has found an increase of nest predation on several bird species, like Common Eider (Somateria mollissima).
First Country Reports
White-winged Snowfinch (Montifringilla nivalis), one photographed on 22 February 2016 at Kalaat es Senam, Kef Governorate, seems to be the first record for Tunisia and probably for the whole African continent.
Report photo by Cedric Mroczko
Other interesting First Country Reports include Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) in Brazil, apparently the first record for South America; Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis) on Bali, first record for Indonesia and South-East Asia; Common Swift (Apus apus) in Thailand, first record for South-East Asia, too; and Yellow-throated Greenbul (Chlorocichla flavicollis), first record for Namibia and Southern Africa.
Bird Families of the World An Invitation to the Spectacular Diversity of Birds By David W. Winkler, Shawn M. Billerman and Irby J. Lovette
Co-published by Lynx Edicions and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, this work distills 17 volumes of the encyclopedic Handbook of Birds of the World into a single book. Bird Families of the World features the latest systematic research and summarizes the life history and biology of each group. 31 x 24 cm • hardback • c. 600 pages • 243 distribution maps
c. 750 colour photos • 2,336 bird figures (all genera Illustrated)
Flight Identification of Raptors of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East By Dick Forsman
This book is the ultimate flight-identification guide for the raptors of the Western Palaearctic, covering Europe, North Africa, the Middle East (including Arabia) to Central Asia. It provides identification information for all 60 species that regularly occur in the region. going to subspecific level wherever needed. The text covers every plumage and age in detail, with each species account accompanied by a range of photographs covering all the principal plumages.
