Bird tracking provides a way to assess the habitat range and behavior of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s without ever seeing the bird. Bird tracking falls under the category of

tracking Tracking may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, measuring the position of t ...

and is related to

animal tracking Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked (the "quarry"). A further goal of tracking is the deeper unde ...

. A guide to bird tracking has been published. Bird tracking is a tool used by naturalists to assess what birds are present in an

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

even if the bird is rarely seen.

Data collection

In the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

of the United States, a program called NatureMapping collects data by educating the public and having them pool their data in a

citizen science Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes re ...

application. Data can be collected in the field using a handheld palm pilot and GPS system that streamlines the collection process. This free program is called CyberTracker. In order to make sure that data is reliable, a tracker

evaluation Evaluation is a systematic determination and assessment of a subject's merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of standards. It can assist an organization, program, design, project or any other intervention or initiative ...

system has been put in place through the CyberTracker organization.

References

External links

NatureMapping
Habitats Wild animals identification Fowling Birdwatching {{habitat-stub