Learning To Bird (1 Viewer)

[Timbe]

Hi. I live near, and am a frequent visitor to Nam Nao National Park and Phu Khieo Wildlife Reserve and these parks have got me interested in birdwatching. Could anybody here suggest some android apps, websites, or other resources I can use to study bird species? I see several for North America, but didn't see any for Thailand or Asia. I have already bought Craig Robson's "Birds of Thailand" book.

 

[Corvus cornix]

Hi.

I haven't had any in-depth experience of it, but the website www.thaibirding.com looks like it may be useful. I'd recommend posting any questions or queries you have on here. I would also suggest getting in touch with your local natural history society who may have some useful local information.

Cheers

 

[Jim M.]

Hi.

I haven't had any in-depth experience of it, but the website www.thaibirding.com looks like it may be useful. I'd recommend posting any questions or queries you have on here. I would also suggest getting in touch with your local natural history society who may have some useful local information.

Cheers

Yes, that is Bangkok-based bird guide Nick Upton’s site. Another good site for bird sightings and locality information is http://www.norththailandbirding.com/

Timbe,

I'm not aware of any apps that cover your area; there are some apps for birds of india though, which has a fair amount of overlap. But you might also want to look into whether you can find the other thai field guide, A Guide to the Birds of Thailand by Lekagul & Round. The first edition is out-of-print, but you may be able to find a used copy. In any event, I believe there is a second edition in Thai only (useful for you assuming of course you speak Thai). It makes a good complement to the Robson book; it has more introductory text and the textual entries for each species are more helpful. The Robson book is good but I find the text very dry.

You might also find these links of interest:

http://orientalbirdclub.org/

www.xeno-canto.org

At the latter site, you can search for species of interest and listen to their calls. It has calls of birds from around the world.

Hope this helps

 

[Timbe]

Thanks. I've already found both of those Thailand websites helpful and enjoyable. I'm sure the other two will be as well.

As for books, I did see that other one in the Nam Nao visitor center and have thought about getting it because the ranger said the pictures are better - and in my limited experience so far this seems to be right.

 

[Jim M.]

Some of the illustrations in the Lekagul/Round book are more helpful for ID purposes, but overall the illustrations are of a lower quality than Robson IMO, with some even being "cartoonish" as Nick Upton says in his review on his site.

I should also mention that you can download mp3 files from the Xeno-Canto site to a smartphone so you can take them with you in the field, if you wish.

Finally, if you read Thai, this site should be helpful as well: http://www.bcst.or.th/?lang=en Nick Upton's site has a useful compilation of relevant links.

 

[robby thai]

Other useful sites with information on national parks are : http://www.wildlifethailand.com/ and https://www.thainationalparks.com/

Robby