Incredible and fascinating detail…
I’m not a birder but I love filming nature and wildlife and usually if I’m able to ID a bird my next thing is to have all kinds of questions about when they breed, how many times a year, who feeds the young, where they migrate from, if they form a longer lasting bond, how long the fledglings hang around and that is usually beyond the scope of your average birding app, but those plus a gazillion other questions are answered in this wonderful app. I love it!!
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Execellent
Amazing to get all nine volumes in one app. Features like breeding and moult is excellent plus having videos and photos are great. Very good you get the location with which helps when understanding the taxonomic changes. Some of the identification is dated but it was published (the first volume) many decades ago and knowledge has changed massively. With getting the Collins guide to work as a pair
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Bonne application, perfectible
Dommage que l’anglais soit la seule langue de cette application, trop peu souvent mise à jour. Bons points pour la taxonomie !
Abandoned App?
Bug reported over 5 months ago and allegedly fixed and awaiting release. Since then no reply to e-mails, no fix, nothing.
Other apps claim supported by BWP (eg Life List) but they aren't, presumably needing an update that never happens.
Suspect abandoned. Shame as it has lots of great info and potential.
Other apps claim supported by BWP (eg Life List) but they aren't, presumably needing an update that never happens.
Suspect abandoned. Shame as it has lots of great info and potential.
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Amazing value
Amazing value for any serious birder. Though out of print used volumes are still popular, but the weight and the shelf space!
BWPi si back
A good edition of BWPi here, with songs and videos. It is a shorter version and that needs more stability too (screen regularly frozen on ios14). It would be great (and a plus for such a numeric Edition) to have a search function to look for key words or mentions within the text. A bit disappointed for this prize !
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Quel fabuleux outil
Quel fabuleux outil que ce BWP informatisé pour l'ornithologue, débutant ou confirmé!
Dommage que l'essentiel de l'information ne soit pas traduit en français, ce qui limite forcément son audience.
Dommage que l'essentiel de l'information ne soit pas traduit en français, ce qui limite forcément son audience.
Great portable reference
The app is superb on my iPad. On the iPhone, it had initially difficulty loading in spite of there being ample space on the phone. Once it loaded, it provides a very useful reference. I very highly recommend it. Now I have a full reference to European birds, which I can carry even when I would never carry a paper volume.
As a small improvement, it would be very useful to be able to search for birds in any language (eg in scientific /Latin) independently from the language chosen for visualization.
I would be thrilled if there were a similar app for the US; there I have the Sibley but I like more the layout of this app.
As a small improvement, it would be very useful to be able to search for birds in any language (eg in scientific /Latin) independently from the language chosen for visualization.
I would be thrilled if there were a similar app for the US; there I have the Sibley but I like more the layout of this app.
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Response from developer
It sounds like you may have run out of space to load it. Please make sure you have at least 8GB of free space for the installation (it's less than that when loaded), restart your device, attach to your best possible wifi and try again.
No longer the book it was for bird sounds
For bird sound enthusiasts and noc mig enthusiasts this ap is a big disappointment. The original books with Joan Hall-Craggs, PAD Hollom and Patrick Seller all leading experts in bird vocalisations were the definitive handbook for this subject. Bird guides have systematically destroyed this side of the work. The sonograms have been eliminated, the original sounds that the texts were based on have been discarded. At different times they have introduced different collections of sounds (Roche etc) that have little connection to the original. There is no connection to the original recordings held by the British Library. With some work this could have been a scientific masterpiece for sound enthusiasts instead it’s a huge disappointment.
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Essential for birders
Absolutely brilliant to have this essential resource on the Mac. Fifth star will be awarded when I can increase the font size!!
Update - it is a menu option for the main text! CMD and "=". Awarding the fifth star now and assuming this feature will be added to the species list :)
Update - it is a menu option for the main text! CMD and "=". Awarding the fifth star now and assuming this feature will be added to the species list :)
Very good and complete app for bird lovers
I find this app and « guide ornitho » very good.
I score four stars and not five for just one reason : the app is not localized.
I would love to get this app in French because even if I’m not so bad in English, the vocabulary employed is very technical which is a very good thing but hard to understand for non native.
You already translated the common names of the birds and I’m very grateful for that. We can also search in the database using foreign languages. Very helpful. So... when for descriptions? 😂😂
So... please translate this wonderful app for other European languages, please please please ! 😀
Keep up the good work!
I score four stars and not five for just one reason : the app is not localized.
I would love to get this app in French because even if I’m not so bad in English, the vocabulary employed is very technical which is a very good thing but hard to understand for non native.
You already translated the common names of the birds and I’m very grateful for that. We can also search in the database using foreign languages. Very helpful. So... when for descriptions? 😂😂
So... please translate this wonderful app for other European languages, please please please ! 😀
Keep up the good work!
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BWP
It's nice to finally have the text of the BWP available on the go. Bravo! The new illustrations are very good.
BUT: Where are the spectrograms that made the books so unique? In combination with the small and sometimes odd selection of sound recordings in sometimes very poor quality (and questionable ID), the app is a great disappointment.
The videos of ducks from captivity with clipped wings are disgusting. If there are no videos of wild arctic ducks!?
I really hope that future updates will make the app worth the lush price.
BUT: Where are the spectrograms that made the books so unique? In combination with the small and sometimes odd selection of sound recordings in sometimes very poor quality (and questionable ID), the app is a great disappointment.
The videos of ducks from captivity with clipped wings are disgusting. If there are no videos of wild arctic ducks!?
I really hope that future updates will make the app worth the lush price.
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Great
Some really unhelpful reviews here.
Great to have this back on my Macbook had the original DVD rom
Breeding info and pictures are great being someone with a dedicated interest in the breeding habits of birds.
Really recommend this - outstanding
Great to have this back on my Macbook had the original DVD rom
Breeding info and pictures are great being someone with a dedicated interest in the breeding habits of birds.
Really recommend this - outstanding
Doesn’t include BWP Update
Disappointing that the text has not been modified to include BWP update, which was made available as separate text with BirdGuides BWPi product many years ago.
For some species the updates are important, providing completely revised text to BWP (e.g. for Red-necked Grebe the update provides replacement text for Habitat, Distribution, Population, Movements, Food, Social Patterns and Behaviour, Breeding, and Geographical Variation plus new section on Cause or Mortality and Related Species. Without these updates the early volumes and the text in this app is now over 40 years old (vol 1 was first published in 1977)
The statement the this is a revision and update of BWP seems incorrect, for example Manx Shearwater uses the original text and includes Yelkouan and Balearic (although separate accounts for these species are also provided). Although photos have been added, as BWPi included text for BWP update and BWP Concise edition, I would argue that that version was actually more current - this versions seems a step backwards.
Also would have been nice if the app allowed text size to be altered, which I find too small for a phone app.
For some species the updates are important, providing completely revised text to BWP (e.g. for Red-necked Grebe the update provides replacement text for Habitat, Distribution, Population, Movements, Food, Social Patterns and Behaviour, Breeding, and Geographical Variation plus new section on Cause or Mortality and Related Species. Without these updates the early volumes and the text in this app is now over 40 years old (vol 1 was first published in 1977)
The statement the this is a revision and update of BWP seems incorrect, for example Manx Shearwater uses the original text and includes Yelkouan and Balearic (although separate accounts for these species are also provided). Although photos have been added, as BWPi included text for BWP update and BWP Concise edition, I would argue that that version was actually more current - this versions seems a step backwards.
Also would have been nice if the app allowed text size to be altered, which I find too small for a phone app.
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trop bien... mais
Quelle super idée de reprendre le Handbook en version portable depuis l'arrêt de BWPi en DVD-ROM. Mais contrairement au BWPi de l'époque (les anciens CD ne sont plus compatibles avec les systèmes d'exploitation récents... nous voilà bien), il s'agirait au mieux de la Concise Edition (et encore ?) mais pas des Handbooks complets. Les textes sont donc hyper allégés. Dommage.
Pas possible sur la version Mac de copier-coller les références bibliographiques.
Peut-etre une idée de mise à jour ?
Au prix de 39euros, je m'attendais à avoir accès à tout le HBWP complet avec une fonction de recherche textuelle qui fait défaut ici. POur l'heure c'est un BWPi incomplet.
Pas possible sur la version Mac de copier-coller les références bibliographiques.
Peut-etre une idée de mise à jour ?
Au prix de 39euros, je m'attendais à avoir accès à tout le HBWP complet avec une fonction de recherche textuelle qui fait défaut ici. POur l'heure c'est un BWPi incomplet.
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Excellent app
Three weeks in and still very happy that I bought this app. Not sure why there are those complaints about the age of some of the stats, the developers have been totally upfront that this is based on the original work from that period with some tweaks. Not had any problems going between this and the Collins guide and they compliment one another very well. Is it perfect? No, of course not, there are some minor niggles such as the mode of scrolling through the illustrations rather than having them full screen as in the Collins guide, but such things aside I cannot recommend this app highly enough.
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Response from developer
Thanks for your review. You can now also swipe between full-screen assets :)
Duplication
Quite easy; unless you want the xtra info BWP provides, then don’t bother. Buy the Collins app
And the extra videos within it. Videos in both provided by nature guides. Pictures/diagrams pretty much the same, although they do take some and spin them 180d to make them look different.
However, if you do want the extra info then it’s worth it.
And the extra videos within it. Videos in both provided by nature guides. Pictures/diagrams pretty much the same, although they do take some and spin them 180d to make them look different.
However, if you do want the extra info then it’s worth it.
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Response from developer
The illustrations used within Collins are taken from the Collins Bird Guide. The illustrations used in BWP are taken from the OUP title Birds of the Western Palearctic. There are far more illustrations per species than in Collins. There are also additional videos for the species that don’t appear in Collins.
Great resource!!!
Simply love this app! It has way more information then the Collins BirdGuide AND it works perfectly together using direct links to the Collins BirdGuide App. All information incl Videos and Nest images are available offline. Simply perfect! It’s true that some images could be nicer - but honestly - this app is a must have and worth every penny. Love it.
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Superb
I have just tried this out on my iPad and it is amazing, I do have shorter version of the books, but this is so easy to use and so well done. Reading some of the criticism, I can only think that the bugs have been fixed.
It works perfectly with the Collins app. Excellent photos (easy to switch from one to another) and excellent videos. All with the best information on every aspect of the subject.
I would not use this while out birdwatching - but at the end of the day to review and find out more about what I have seen. Also so valuable to take away on a birdwatching break.
Very pleased with it.
It works perfectly with the Collins app. Excellent photos (easy to switch from one to another) and excellent videos. All with the best information on every aspect of the subject.
I would not use this while out birdwatching - but at the end of the day to review and find out more about what I have seen. Also so valuable to take away on a birdwatching break.
Very pleased with it.
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Great body of work, poor experience
I appreciate the enormous amount of work and knowledge that has been captured here. However, it’s translation to an iPad app is a poor user experience. A number of obvious features are missing: after selecting images it should be possible to swipe through all images for that species (these images are low resolution); more detailed explanation of indicator plumage should be given on images; it should be easy to navigate between family accounts and the corresponding species descriptions; distribution maps and annual cycle diagrams must have keys and explanations readily to hand, in fact there is no explanation anywhere in the text of the orange on maps (I assume this means resident). Overall the BWP feels like a very flat book and not an interactive app.
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Response from developer
It's now possible to swipe between assets. Tapping the info icon on the maps brings up the key.
