Is that a grebe or a loon? After exploring the Birds of the World CD-ROM set from CounterTop Software, you should be able to name them with confidence, as well as their habitats, lifestyles, and (if your friends are patient) even mimic their calls.
Users receive the North American Bird Reference Book, Webster's Birds of the World [sic], the Encyclopedia of Australian Birds, and a Hummingbirds screen saver. Quality varies--the North American Bird software has a bare-bones interface with decent images and information, while the other two references have nicer plumage and more features. None of the sources will replace textbooks, but they do contain diet, range, appearance, song, and mating information good enough for use as a basic reference or educational tool for the novice. The Webster's disk has additional material on birds as a class, explaining the fundamental differences between them and other animals and providing a quiz to check your knowledge. The Hummingbirds screen saver is neat, but ultimately a little out of place with the reference materials; still, fans of the little guys will love it to death.
Though it might not be the best possible package, Birds of the World is inexpensive and informative, and for most of us, that's good enough. --Rob Lightner
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