On 18 Feb 2009 at 11:47, Vicki Biltz wrote:

From: Vicki Biltz <vickibiltz at msn.com>
To: tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date sent: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:47:47 -0800
Subject: [Tweeters] Birds of North America through Cornell

> Hi, I am looking at subscribing to this via Cornell, but wondered if
> anyone else uses this resource, and just what it would have to
> offer?Thanks for any help. Vicki Biltz Bonney Lake Wa.

Birds of North America is for me a basic tool for getting current
information on plumage details, feeding habits, breeding and general
behavior, migration, breeding distribution maps, annual life cycle
diagrams, etc. I've got the entire set of Bent's Life Histories, and
while that's still very useful, its also very dated. So yes, if you
frequently need information on a species at greater depth or
specificity than that available in the general and family guidebooks,
Birds of North America can be worthwhile.

I don't subscribe through Cornell; I get access through my membership
in the American Ornithologits' Union (Cornell would be cheaper).

Anyone with a Seattle Public Library card has free access to BNA
through the SPL web site. SPL has reciprocal agreements with many other
library systems, including, for example, Timberland Regional Library in
sw Wash. So, living in Olympia, and having a TRL library card I was
also able to get a SPL card, and thereby access to BNA through that
route.

So: for anyone who needs information at that level-of-detail, highly
recommended.

Doug

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Douglas Canning
Olympia, Wash
dcanning at zhonka.net
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