Useful resources

As I attempt to use images from my camera to help me make sense of my surroundings, I have relied upon many books (ranging over topics such as birds, meteorological optics and dragonflies) and upon many websites (examples being Wikipedia and All about birds).

Some recently developed resources look really appealing. 

Map of Life 
This draws upon about 200 data sets covering nearly a million species all presented though a searchable map. You can either plot the geographic range of a species, or you can pick a location and explore the various species found there. It appears to remain under development as the types of species available in the two sections differ. The datasets can be explored using either:
• An app for use on a mobile device  https://auth.mol.org/mobile
• A website for use on a computer   http://map.mol.org/lists

The name, Merlin, is clever in that it is both the name of a bird and a legendary magician. Oddly, the app’s logo shows a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (the lab’s logo), rather than a merlin.

Merlin
This interesting routine actually helps you identify birds you have photographed, but two different technique are used. The app uses a bit of textual information you supply (bird size, colours, location, date) to give a list of plausible candidates. On the website, a picture is uploaded and is then marked with the location of the bird, and its bill, eye and tail. The website then uses image analysis to suggest the species.
• An app for use on a mobile device  http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org
• A website for use on a computer  http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/photo-id/

For months now, I have made effective use of the Merlin app to narrow the possible identification of unknown birds. However, the image analysis performed by the website is even more interesting. In my limited testing, it does superbly with a standard bird-profile shot, but stuggles with an unconventional view, such a bird flying directly towards the camera.