Hi Fiona and others
There is a "Naturalists Colour Guide" by Frank B Smithe produced by the
American Museum of Natural History (1975) that is used by ...
naturalists, among others.
It has 86 colour swatches, a name and number for each swatch, and the
Munsell notation for each swatch. These reflect the hue, value and
chroma, which are far beyond my comprehension. At least the swatches
indicate what is meant by "Olive", "Olive-Brown" or "Brownish Olive" to
give an example.
I can't say that I use it often but I consider it an important reference
book, alongside dictionaries, etc.
Cheers
Peter
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Fiona Anderson
Sent: Friday, 9 March 2007 9:55 AM
To: ;
Cc: ;
Subject: Field Guide Requirements-- some thoughts
Greg,
I find the quick guide on the back page of the new Simpson & Day very
useful. There is a (very expensive) and chemically derived universal
colour
shart for soils but I have never heard of one for birds.
Cheers,
Fiona
>From: peter crow <>
>To: "Gregory Little" <>
>CC: 'Messages Birding-aus' <>
>Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Field Guide Requirements-- some thoughts
>Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2007 09:44:54 +1000
>
>Greg,
>
>Look inside the cover of the compact Morcombe.
>
>Peter
>On Thursday, March 8, 2007, at 09:24 PM, Gregory Little wrote:
>
>>Gooday Birders
>>
>>Peter
>>
>>Among your good ideas for FG's I would especially like to see the
quick
>>index to bird groups ie ducks, wrens, finches, cockatoos, falcons etc
in
>>the inside cover and I would love to see a colour chart. Is there an
>>internationally accepted bird colour chart available? There must be.
>>
>>Greg Little
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From:
>> On Behalf Of Bob Forsyth
>>Sent: Thursday, 8 March 2007 5:17 PM
>>To: Messages Birding-aus
>>Subject: [Birding-Aus] Field Guide Requirements-- some thoughts
>>
>>G'day all,
>>
>>
>>
>>Peter Cooper wrote 28/02/2007 " ... I think we need a new web site
>>called 'Australian Birds From Below and Behind'..."
>>
>>that prompted me to post a few words about the design of Field Guides.
>>
>>
>>
>>Novice Birdos rely 100% on Field Guides (FGs) & thus their ease of use
>>is essential.
>>
>>
>>
>>Australia is very fortunate to have a number of very good Field Guides
>>to Bird Identification
>>
>>.. although texts over 1Kg such as Pizzey & Knight, and Morcombe
barely
>>qualify as Field Guides
>>
>>
>>
>>My latest versions include >
>>
>>- Morcombe, FG to Australian Birds
>>
>>- Morcombe, FG to Australian Birds, Complete Compact Edition, 2006,
>>lightweight edition
>>
>>- Pizzey & Doyle, FG to Birds of Australia, revised edition 1991
>>
>>- Pizzey & Knight, FG to Birds of Australia,1st ed'n, Reprinted 1997
>>with corrections
>>
>>- Simpson & Day, FG to Birds of Australia, 2004, 7th Ed'n
>>
>>- The Slater FG to Australian Birds, (Revised & Updated) 2003
>>
>>
>>
>>Each has their strengths and consequently their followers.
>>
>>... and probably many birdos will have their unique priorities on this
>>subject.
>>
>>
>>
>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>
>>Here are a few thoughts that come to my mind >
>>
>>
>>
>>STATEMENT
>>
>>Field guides 1st priority is to enable the user to ID the bird ! !
>>
>>Once the bird has been identified the user can then refer to one of
>>umpteen texts to read that author's version of the birds' sequence in
a
>>Taxonomic listing.
>>
>>
>>
>>SEQUENCE
>>
>>- Look alike birds should be placed together. Slater does a good job
>>
>> but Morcombe has Brown Quail & Little Button-quail 84 pages apart)
>>
>>
>>
>>- Waders/Shorebirds should be in size sequence (or as close as
>>practicable)
>>
>>
>>
>>ILLUSTRATIONS
>>
>>- Illustrations for a particular species, should be placed opposite
the
>>appropriate text
>>
>> (except where grouped with the text, e.g. Morcombe Compact Edition)
>>
>> Slater has a number of annoying exceptions to an otherwise good
layout
>>
>> S&D placement of illustrations defies logic.
>>
>>
>>
>>- Birds that are frequently seen on the wing, should also be
illustrated
>>as such
>>
>> e.g. Quail, Waterfowl, Raptors, Nightjars
>>
>>
>>
>>- Birds that are frequently seen from their rear (or below) should
also
>>be illustrated as such
>>
>> e.g. Crakes, Rails, Gallinules (i.e. Swamphen, Moorhen)
>>
>>
>>
>>DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES
>>
>>- Diagnostic features should be highlighted on the illustration, not
>>hidden in the text.
>>
>> .. as they say "a picture is worth a 1000 words"
>>
>>
>>
>>INDEXES
>>
>>- The most frequently read pages, the Indexes, should be printed in
>>easily read font.
>>
>> (and road tested by someone with failing eyesight .. in the dusk !)
>>
>>
>>
>>- Scientific Names and Common Names should be listed separately,
>>
>>
>>
>>- Common Names listing should be printed nearest the cover,
>>
>> and highlight the start of each letter of the alphabet (e.g.
Morcombe
>>Compact FG)
>>
>>
>>
>>- Quick Indexes (see S & D 7th ed'n & Morcombe Compact Edition) are a
>>welcome addition to FGs
>>
>> (e.g. S & D 7th Ed'n, Morcombe Compact Ed'n) and should be located
on
>>an inside cover
>>
>>
>>
>>PAGE NUMBERS
>>
>>- Page numbers should be in large bold print, and printed on the outer
>>edges of the page
>>
>>
>>
>>IDENTIFICATION TABLES
>>
>>- These are a feature of some International texts such as >
>>
>> - Shorebirds, An Identification Guide, Hayman, Marchant, Prater
>>(p391-399)
>>
>> - Crows and Jays, Madge and Burn (see p166 for Australian Crows)
>>
>> - 5 others are listed on Birds Qld Web Page
>>www.birdsqueensland.org.au
>>
>>
>>
>>COLOUR CHART
>>
>>- I have yet to see any Field Guide include a colour chart ! Why not ?
>>
>> How else do you define Rufous, Cinnamon, Scarlet, Olive ?
>>
>>
>>
>>GLOSSARY & BIRD BODY PARTS
>>
>>All FGs should include >
>>
>>- Glossaries (example S&D 7th ED'n p346-349)
>>
>>- Illustrations (example S&D 7th ED'n p1)
>>
>>
>>
>>WEB PAGE
>>
>>All should have their own web page listing any errors or extra
>>information and a facility to allow feedback of errors to the author.
>>
>>The internet is here .. let us use it !
>>
>>
>>
>>BOOK CONSTRUCTION
>>
>>- Covers should be rugged. I find S&D vinyl cover perhaps the best...
>>but easy to get dog-eared.
>>
>>- Glossy paper must be kept dry. Nor ideal for a book used in all
>>weathers !
>>
>> earlier Slater editions could be dried out in a microwave (I have
yet
>>to test out the 2003 edition)
>>
>>- The latest version of Slater has a clear slip cover which appeared
to
>>be a good idea, but mine disintegrated after a bit of use
>>
>>- Rounded corners seem to prevent dog-ears (latest edition of Slater)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>OTHER IDENTIFICATION BIRD MONOGRAPHS
>>
>>- A Quick Guide to some Waders of Moreton Bay, Litz-Tyne &
>>Venables,1996, QOSI/BQ
>>
>>- Field Guide to the Waders, Condon & McGill. 6th Ed'n, 1974, BOCA
>>
>> Both these publications provided relative sizes and silhouetes .. a
>>great idea.
>>
>> I look forward to obtain Andrew Geering's forthcoming wader book.
>>
>>
>>
>>- What Bird of Prey is that ? Beruldsen, 1995
>>
>> Contains useful information but requires editing and reformating.
>>
>>-The Birds of Prey of Australia, Debus, 1998
>>
>> Contains useful information but the illogical placement and lack
of
>>an index to the illustration disqualifies the book as a Field Guide
>>
>>
>>
>>- Birds of Queensland's Wet Tropics and Great Barrier Reef, Nielsen,
>>1996
>>
>> Introduces a unique method of listing birds within a unique
>>identification feature e.g.
>>
>> Red or orange beak, yellow breast, white rump, etc. Thus a bird
can
>>be listed under multiple headings. I found the book useful for this
>>region.
>>
>>
>>
>> Well, I'll now wait for some useful feedback.
>>
>>
>>
>>Regards from
>>Bob Forsyth
>>Mount Isa, NW Qld.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>==========www.birding-aus.org
>>birding-aus.blogspot.com
>>
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