Does anyone know of any exceptional web-sites that give extensive natural history of North American birds? I'm looking for detailed info on behavior, habitat, nesting, range, scientific name origin etc. above and beyond what's found in Sibley's and other field guides. It would be nice to have just one or two premier resources instead of having to google every time and getting a hodge-podge to choose from and not being sure about their reliability. Thanks.
Results will likely be hit-and-miss, but you can find very reliable information and exhaustive details in the peer-reviewed scientific journals archived at SORA. Just a few weeks ago I downloaded a 600+ page document on "The Ecology and Behavior of the Prairie Warbler". Fascinating stuff.
Keep in mind these are science journals, not Happy Fluffy Fairy Tales, so some content will certainly be considered objectionable to the average nature lover.
Go Wild Bird Omnibus at http://www.birdzilla.com/. You can access the Bent Life Histories thru this site. If you want to pay for a subscription to the more recent monographs available at the Birds of North America http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA, you will have access to the best and most recent information on all North American species. It's $40 annually. You might be able to find the set at a local library.
Thank you both, Jay and Doug. I can tell I'll spend a lot of time on the sites you have suggested from my initial perusal. And Jay, "Happy Fluffy Fairy Tales" is just what I didn't want - since I'm a retired zoology teacher I don't think I'll find the science content to be too intimidating. Hope not anyway. I appreciate your efforts on my behalf - thanks to each of you.
"Birds of North America" Online is the online version of the handbook to the breeding birds of North America. The yearly subscription is about $40, well worth it for the extensive entires made for each species. This source is very reliable, very UTD, and very in-depth.
Discussion
4 repliesKeep in mind these are science journals, not Happy Fluffy Fairy Tales, so some content will certainly be considered objectionable to the average nature lover.
Go Wild Bird Omnibus at http://www.birdzilla.com/. You can access the Bent Life Histories thru this site. If you want to pay for a subscription to the more recent monographs available at the Birds of North America http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA, you will have access to the best and most recent information on all North American species. It's $40 annually. You might be able to find the set at a local library.