Thanks Geoffrey. Below are some notes that address some of your points and might help people.
A lot of people have been involved in this work (see
Assist us page).
All links below are active and should take you to the website without the need to log in.
The species in the online version are also presented in taxonomic order if you follow the previous and next entry in the header of the order, family, subfamily and species pages. However, in the online version, you do not have to follow
this. The search facility makes finding the species easier and there are two index-like presentations of the species:
Species Filter
and the HANZAB Index+. The species filter also permits the species list to be restricted to Australia, New Zealand or Antarctic species and also by conservation status and part of the
species common name (eg just ‘Albatross’).
Re understanding the information, there are links to the treatment and presentation information from the seven volumes on each major heading. For example, the information symbol on the
heading PLUMAGES ⓘ
takes you to the help about plumages. Once in the help document, the menu at the top of the page allows movement to other sections and to supporting information
documents such as the
Glossary. You can also use the search function to find the Glossary,
Abbreviations and other supporting information.
As well as the Glossary,
Parts of Birds contains illustrations.
I hope this helps.
I am happy to help people find their way around the site.
Steve
From: Geoffrey Dabb <>
Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2023 3:08 PM
To: 'Wallaces' <>; 'Canberra birds' <>
Subject: RE: [Canberrabirds] HANZAB online now available
Thanks Steve. Great work. Might I add a word on What is HANZAB? The short answer is that is an encyclopedia about Australian birds issued in 7 volumes (9 parts) from 1990 to 2006. Species are covered in taxonomic order.
Given the scale of the undertaking, the information is very compressed, making much use of abbreviations and conventions. To understand the meaning of these (the plumage stages for example) it is necessary to refer to vol 1A. Steve tells me that the conventions
and abbreviations are now more readily accessible in the online version. One convention relates to descriptions of colours, where it is necessary to look at your (presumably deceased) bird under a Phillips 60W daylight globe and consult FB Smithe Naturalist’s
Color Guide, being guided by the numbers rather than the enigmatic verbal labels.
There is one aspect where both the position in the real world, and our knowledge about it, is difficult to present in a helpful way. This concerns the idea of ‘range’. HANZAB has done its best in interpreting the result
of various surveys. Recent field guide don’t do much better. On top of the problems of seasonal or climate-driven movement, there are current or emerging trends, either expansive or retreating. Depending on what you want to know about how usual or unusual
a species is in a particular location, you’d probably be better off looking at eBird or Birdata archives, selecting particular periods or seasons.
From: Canberrabirds <>
On Behalf Of Wallaces via Canberrabirds
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2023 2:32 PM
To: Canberra birds <>
Subject: [Canberrabirds] HANZAB online now available
Here is a link to
HANZAB online.
I am happy to answer any questions about it. However, please use the comments area available on each page to record errors in the content.
There should be an update released before the end of the year.
Happy reading.
Steve
