iBird Explorer Pro is an app for the iPhone/iPod Touch with references for 891 species of birds found in North America (Editor: now 914 species). It is, so far, totally unique (apart from its iBird siblings, more on that later) as an interactive field guide (with songs and calls), exhaustive reference, and powerful search engine for iPhone/Touch carrying birders in the field. It is, in fact, pretty much unique as interactive, reference on any platform, and just maybe, the most unique and useful field accessory you are ever likely to see.

I have reviewed two previous versions of iBird Explorer Plus (original and the v1.4.1 update) in a sort of incremental way. Pro marks enough of a departure to warrant a whole new review. (iBird Plus and the regional apps will continue to be upgraded with new content and features appropriate to their serious birder audience, but Pro will acquire a feature set which is more appropriate for the professional guide, teacher, mentor, citizen scientist, ornithologist, or field biologist.) Read more...

Reacting to the flood of tourists touring around Europe on their respective "grand tours" with their noses perpetually stuck in travel guides instead of experiencing the wonders to be found all around them and for which purpose they expressly came (or so they said), Edmund Wilson, that loveable literary curmudgeon of yore wrote his famous Europe Without Baedeker. As I was contemplating the best way in which to convey to you, dear readers, my impressions of the new iBird Explorer Plus, I couldn't help but recall Wilson's book and what caused him to write it. As I am indeed guilty of too often experiencing life second hand rather than first, I felt justly chastised by his general criticism of travelers. Packing as I was at the time for a trip to the Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival in Titusville, Florida, I thus fell upon the idea of taking dear old Edmund's advice to heart and making the trip sans field guide, at least in the traditional sense - Florida Without Field Guide, if you will. Read More...

What a fantastic piece of software for the birder or perhaps even more so for the bird photographer. Just to be clear, I am not a birder, but I am a bird photographer. I also firmly believe that you cannot be a really good wildlife photographer without knowing your subject. So I am always reading and observing in order to improve my chances of making a really great photograph. Now along comes iBird! iBird is the first software that I purchased for my iPhone and I have had my phone for almost a year! It has everything that I need to know to identify birds while in the field. Great descriptions, great illustrations, great photographs (yes, some are mine) and even calls are included in this application.

iBird is the first software that I purchased for my iPhone and I have had my phone for almost a year! It has everything that I need to know to identify birds while in the field. Great descriptions, great illustrations, great photographs (yes, some are mine) and even calls are included in this application. Read More...

I recently ran across a software program called iBird Explorer that was featured in Apple's iPhone application store. Having a grandfather who was a published ornithologist, and being a bit of a backyard birder, it is unsurprising that the application caught my eye. So after browsing through some user generated reviews, I decided to buy the application - and not just the featured version priced at $4.95, but the deluxe version priced at $19.95. In the ensuing weeks, despite the continued prognosis of further global economic doom, I have felt every penny of that was well spent.

My personal reaction should be very welcome news to publishers because what I bought was less a software program and more a digital book. Further, I had recently bought a printed bird guide for about half the price and though it contained nearly identical content, I now feel that I overpaid for the print version, or (perhaps even more encouraging for publishers), underpaid for the digital one. Read More....

After reading the reviews of Winged Explorer on 10000birds and Born-Again Bird Watcher, I couldn't wait to try the iPhone version myself. Since I have 57 other apps on my phone (not as bad as it sounds, really!), you can well imagine that the iPhone is my combination auxiliary brain and guaranteed antidote to boredom. I seldom go anywhere without it.

And that's the beauty of this application. You don't have to plan a birding trip to have your field guide with you-- it's always right there in your phone. It's small, weighs very little, and has its own built-in light source. If you travel a lot on business, you don't want to carry a lot of printed materials on and off of airplanes on the off chance you might have a few minutes to go to a local park, but I bet you wouldn't leave town without your cell phone. Read More...

While it is unlikely a mobile phone or PDA application will ever replace a printed field guide, it is wonderful to see such applications being developed. The iBird Explorer Plus from the creators of Whatbird.com is the premiere portable field guide.

iBird Explorer provides entries for 891 North American Birds and can be browsed by scrolling or entering the first or last name of the bird or by family.

For a price of only $19.99, iBird Explorer Plusis a great deal and should be in every birder's pocket. Read More...