HBW ALIVE. Josep del Hoyo (director). Website: http://www.hbw.com/
WEBSITE SUMMARY: HBW Alive is an online comprehensive reference resource for all the birds of the world. It contains the contents of the acclaimed 17-volume Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) Series.
The print version of the HBW series was launched in 1992 and was completed in June 2013, with a total of 13,367 pages written by 277 authors, c. 15 million words, 1030 plates painted by 33 artists, 20,617 figures, 10,200 maps and c. 100,000 bibliographical references.
Now as an online project, HBW Alive is a living resource, a new way of learning and interacting with ornithological information. All contents, including texts, maps and artwork are constantly updated through a combination of professional editors and moderated user participation.
Videos, photographs and sounds enlighten many concepts and data. A great number of audiovisual materials available on the internet complement the texts and the HBW Alive provides fast, organised access to a large number of them.
HBW Alive provides a highly customizable format, with geographical filtering and personal notes which will meet every user’s needs and interests.
RECOMMENDATION: For those that couldn't afford the printed series, this should be a viable alternative. Subscription plans can be viewed here: http://www.hbw.com/subscription-plans
At last a sustainable regularly updated on-line world bird resource. Building on the authority and huge scope of HBW this is a very important undertaking and deserves support from all birders.
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