In mid-2002 the
Oriental Bird Club (OBC)
began an on-line image database known as Oriental Bird Images (OBI).
The aim
was to build as complete a website reference database as possible of
photographs of bird species found in Asia (the Oriental Region), thus
providing
a useful tool for ornithologist and birdwatcher, as well as a pleasant
browsing
experience for the interested layman. The OBC is proud to announce that
the
2000th species was uploaded to OBI on 7th January 2005.
The bi-millenial
image is a superb photograph by Chikara Otani of the rare and exquisite
Bonin
White-eye (Apalopteron familiare),
a threatened species endemic to
the small, 73km² group of Bonin Islands (or Ogasawara islands) in Japan.
OBI
now contains well over 9000 photographs
of Asian birds, in many cases offering comparative studies of plumage
differences of "difficult" species, as well as simply stunning
colourful shots.
Why
not check the Database out at
http://www.orientalbirdimages.org
You can search for species by
English or
scientific name, or browse through the latest (99) contributions, or
investigate family groups. E.g. type in the word "kingfisher" in the
search box and see what photos of kingfishers there are.
The
OBC is extremely grateful to the more than 300 photographers who have
freely
contributed of their best work to the Database, as well as the handful
of
ImageMasters who have put in many hours of hard voluntary work in
photographing, searching out images and editing the Database. Only
another 700
or so species to go!
Apologies for cross-posting,
but we would
be grateful if members could circulate this press release to other
email groups
and media as they consider appropriate.
Krys
Krys Kazmierczak
OBI Editor
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www.orientalbirdimages.org
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Tom & Marie Tarrant
137 Watson Rd
Samsonvale, Qld 4520
Tel: (07) 3425 1780
Mob: 0409 264 725
www.aviceda.org
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