Pizzey and Knight Birds of Australia IOS edition

The Pizzey & Knight Birds of Australia  app for iPhone and iPad includes a Field Guide with pages like the book, a Bird Guide with bird list and bird pages, Identification for listing likely species, Similar Birds for comparing select birds, My Location for bird lists, and My Lists to keep your own sightings lists, My Photos to add your own photos, and Birding Sites for where to go birding.  Bird Games are a new interactive module as a $5 in-app-purchase.

The MULTIMEDIA DATA includes • over 250 field-guide pages • over 980 individual bird pages • all the ‘new’ bird species and names • over 2500 illustrations, 4000 photos, and 1500 bird sounds • colour-coded distribution maps • seasonal status bar • endemic and   red data species • rare bird maps.

The FIELD GUIDE displays the full family pages of the book. You can swipe through the pages, select from the family list, or search for a species in the bird list.  

On the Field Guide page you tap on a bird for the name, select from the toolbar to open Bird Page, play Bird Sound, view Distribution Map, Add Sighting, view Bird Text, view Similar Birds, and open Bird Guide List at that species. 

The BIRD GUIDE includes a full bird list and links to individual BIRD PAGES for over 980 species. Selecting a bird in the list opens the functions toolbar.  Optional settings for the BIRD LIST include regional lists, alphabetical or taxonomic sort order, text and thumbnail size, and bird names in 10 languages including English, Scientific, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish.

The BIRD PAGES for over 980 species include illustrations, species text, colour-coded distribution maps, photographs and sounds.  Tap the bird for the full functions toolbar.

The bird pages include multiple photos per species.   Scroll through the thumbnails or swipe the photo image left.  Tap the image to zoom.

The GALLERY PAGE displays all the content and multi-media for the bird.  Tap the image to zoom, view the text or play the sound.

IDENTIFICATION uses location, habitat, bird shapes and plumage to shortlist possible species for identification, or viewing with the Compare Birds function. 

SIMILAR BIRDS loads a list of birds for comparison and identification. 

COMPARE BIRDS displays the bird pages side by side for direct comparison.

MY LOCATION is an interactive map for generating bird lists and locating birding sites near you. You can use current location or drop a pin for a new location with GPS co-ords and bird list. Birding sites are displayed with links to a list and site description.

MY LISTS is a personal list manager that includes a life list (My List) and sub-lists that report to your life list. Sighting details include place, date, GPS co-ords, and sighting notes.  

Functions include My List, Add Multiple Lists, Report to My List, Allow Multiple Records (sightings), Species Count, Current Date and Time, Set List Date in the past, GPS Location, Map Location, Sighting Notes, and add Photos to list.

For backup you can Sync to iCloud, Backup to device, Export and Share Lists, and Print Lists.

The SIGHTINGS SUMMARY for a selected species displays a list of sightings and localities on a map.

My List as your Life List

Your life list is the first time you see a new bird species. Use My List as your life list and add new lists that "Report to My List".  By default only the first/earliest sighting is added to My List. 

Creating Lists

To create a list quickly and easily:

. First add a new list and set the place name and date in the list settings.

. Use My Location to select a local area list.

. Scroll through the list and tap the add icon to add directly.

Adding Sightings

. in the bird list, tap the add icon to add directly with the list settings.

. or tap the bird name for the popup menu and select Add/Edit to both add and edit the details.

Adding a new list

On the My List page tap the + icon to add a new list:

Place name is not always the same as the list name. eg Kruger Park > Skukuza.

Date is usually the current date and time.  Switch on Use List Date for adding old sightings.

Add GPS with current location (live) or select from a map location (fixed).

Report to My List is for creating your life list from sub-lists that you add to the My Lists page.

Allow multiple records is for recording a list where the same species is seen in different locations or on different dates. Useful for birding trips or site surveys.

Species Count reduces multiple records to one species counted for the list.

Remember to SAVE the list settings.

Active List is when the tickbox is highlighted and the list is active for receiving sightings.  You can change which list is active by selecting another list tickbox.

Three choices for date

. The list settings default to the current date and time unless you set a list date.

. To use a specific date for all sightings, switch on Use List Date, tap to set the date, then SAVE.

. To change the date for a specific sighting, use the Add/Edit option, change the date and save the sighting details.

My Photos album links your   photos to sightings and lists. A   camera icon in the bird lists confirms you have a photo, the thumbnails are   shown on the bird page, and these open in a photo viewer. In the photo album, the photos can be   sorted by species, list or place and date.

You can add photos to your device using iCloud,   Dropbox or Google Drive. The app   copies and reduces the size of photos for use in the app, and these can be   synced to iCloud for backup. The original files are not edited and remain in   the Photos app on your device. 

The Birding Site module includes 250 birding sites from around Australia and island territories. The sites can be viewed by using My Location to load the map with birding sites as above, or by selecting from the birding site list.

The Bird Games include Beginner, Birder, Twitcher and Sound games to help you learn the birds and sounds and test yourself. The app cycles through illustrations, maps and photos while playing the bird sound.  You lose points for timer countdown and incorrect guesses. The app keeps your score and you can chart your progress. You may try 50 games before the app requires an in-app-purchase of $4.99.