HBW Alive: Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive

For those who have coveted the Handbook of the Birds of the World, but have baulked at the price (around £2,700) - what would you say to having all 13,367 pages, 10,200 maps, over 20,600 figures and some 15 million words direct to your laptop for £24 a year? All searchable and continually updated? Madness? Well, it has come to fruition in the shape of HBW Alive. You can simply search by species name, or drill down by family, or, more usefully, by country. Although not bang-up-to-date in terms of rarities, as a way of researching new species for an upcoming trip, this will be a hard-to-beat facility (it also provides options for recording trip lists). Clicking on a species reveals the text, tabs for photos, videos and sounds from the Internet Bird Collection, a map and even one to compare between different versions. Adding notes and bookmarks to each account is easy, turning this into your own personal bird archive. All that is missing are the original photos: for those one needs to sit back with a glass and enjoy the print version. Regardless, this wonderful site will become the key resource for world birders. Sign up now! 

Book reviewed by Rob Robinson