North American Bird Reference Book, Version 5.0

Rating:
Summary: Great Educational Value!
Review: As a school teacher, I am always looking for easy-to-use, instructional products to use in my classroom. Once I saw the Bird Reference Book, I immediately told my school about it and we proceeded to order several copies for use in our classrooms. Seeing the birds on the screen at the same time you hear the songs is an especially valuable asset of this software, and the natural history information and informative essays that are also included make it a perfect tool for students to use in completing special assignments. I highly recommend this product for other school teachers.

Rating:
Summary: Great Educational Value!
Review: As a school teacher, I am always looking for easy-to-use, instructional products to use in my classroom. Once I saw the Bird Reference Book, I immediately told my school about it and we proceeded to order several copies for use in our classrooms. Seeing the birds on the screen at the same time you hear the songs is an especially valuable asset of this software, and the natural history information and informative essays that are also included make it a perfect tool for students to use in completing special assignments. I highly recommend this product for other school teachers.

Rating:
Summary: The North American Bird REference Book
Review: Counter intuitive, very hard to use, can't easily find an unknown bird. Will not run from hard drive after installation. DON'T BUY !

Rating:
Summary: Great Deal
Review: John Robinson's North American Bird Reference Book helps you to hone your bird-watching skills with full color photographs, the bird's song, and his tips on markings and other guidelines that help you identify what you are seeing in the field. The product includes an identification matrix -- a tool that allows you to identify a bird by describing its attributes: you provide size, color, length of bill, etc. and it returns to you a list of the most likely birds that match the criteria you provided. The CD-ROM also contains essays, quizzes, and links to many bird-related web sites. The photographs are great quality, the bird songs are awesome - makes it easier to remember what the different birds sound like. John's material is a professional product that will help you bring your birding skills up a notch or two. A great deal, neat tool.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Bird I.D. software
Review: Once again Mr. Robinson has done an extraordinary job of sharing his many years of ornithological field and lab research by creating a detailed and extensive resource for birders interested in taking their passion to the next level. Other bird ID CDroms may claim to have it all, but this one delivers in a very straight-forward, no-nonsense style. Crisp images, clear sounds and an abundance of interactive information are what make this a great CDrom. If you are interested in knowing how to identify birds, then the North American Bird Reference Book is as vital an addition to your toolset as your binoculars or scope.

Rating:
Summary: Not worth $50
Review: The user interface looks like a 2 year old wrote it. Navigation sucks! Can only go forward and backward on a filtered record set. Pictures don't print with documentation. No way to print pictures. Information doesn't tell you what birds like to eat.