A bird atlas is an ornithological work that attempts to provide information on the distribution, abundance, long-term change as well as seasonal patterns of bird occurrence and usually represented in the form of maps. They often involve the use of large numbers of volunteers who help cover a large geographic region and the methods used are standardized so that the studies can be continued in the future and ensure comparison of results over time. In many cases the species covered are restricted to those that breed or are resident. Migration atlases on the other hand cover migratory birds and usually consist of maps showing summaries of ringing and recoveries.
There is no single definition of a bird atlas, however they always involve spatial (locations) and temporal (time) components. A typical bird atlas project collates data on bird presence or abundance with mapping of this information over a significant geographical region over a well-defined period of time. Other kinds of data gathering efforts such as breeding bird surveys may also sometimes be considered as atlas projects.
Read more about Bird Atlas: History, Methods, Applications
Famous quotes containing the words bird and/or atlas:
“The bird of Araby,
That potentially
May never die,”
—John Skelton (1460?–1529)
“A big leather-bound volume makes an ideal razorstrap. A thin book is useful to stick under a table with a broken caster to steady it. A large, flat atlas can be used to cover a window with a broken pane. And a thick, old-fashioned heavy book with a clasp is the finest thing in the world to throw at a noisy cat.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)