Just to add my two cents worth, Simpson & Day's CD rom uses an alphabetical
list for searching and I find it a pain. If lists are sorted alphabetically,
you can never be sure just which word is taking precedence for the
alphabetical sort. For example, do you put the Paradise-Kingfishers under P
or K? Do you place the Scrub-robins under S or R?. If you put them under S
they will be in with the Scrubwrens and Scrub-birds, nowhere near their
relatives the Robins. I guess you can get used to any ordering in time, but
I think it makes sense for field guides to have closely related species
close together so that birders can compare them when making an ID. If your
lists are then in a different order to your field guide you have to learn
two different orderings, personally, I found one was difficult enough for
beginners. If we want to attract more people into birding, and we should for
the conservation spinoffs involved, not to mention the cost advantages
inherent in larger production runs for binoculars, field guides etc., then
we should try to avoid unnecessary complications for beginners.
Paul Osborn
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