An online guide to birds and birdwatching has won a Webby Award. It was made and is maintained by Cornell University’s Ornithology Lab. The siteeducates visitors about 585 bird species and bird behavior. It features Nest Cams, and offers a volunteer project where you can sign up and participate in their research simply by counting and tagging online bird images.
A Sound of the Week feature highlights the song of a specific bird, which you can play on your computer. There are also sound and video clips for 51 common bird species.
A section on teaching others about birds could be useful for educators or those who just want to share their enthusiasm for birds with friends or family members. Especially useful is the bird identification skills section. It lists four keys for identifying birds:
Size & Shape
Color Pattern
Behavior
Habitat
If you like birds, try out the site and forward to your fellow bird enthusiasts.
The Webby Awards are June 14 in New York City. This year the best of the Web competition received nearly 10,000 entries. The annual competition began in 1996.