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• The Peck bird information manager is an extensive reference about North American birds.  Its namesake feature is the pecking form that allows users to quickly search through hours of bird song recordings by pecking (or drawing) some bird song shorthand.  The Peck application is also extensible: You can add photographs, recordings, etymology, checklists, identification tips, Wikipedia articles, species assessment data and your own sighting log.  The Peck bird information manager consists of two components: the Peck application and the optional Peck multimedia (see the 'Multimedia Options' section below).  The Peck application runs on any device with Palm OS 3.0 or greater, but needs a card slot and Palm OS version 5.0 or greater to access the photographs and recordings.  Download the application here (5.6 Mbyte .zip application updated 18 January 2008).
  
  
  
  
  
• auto start is specific to the Palm Operating System.  Copy this start.prc application (18 Kbyte updated 06 February 2007) to your SD card's /PALM directory and it will automatically start the Peck application whenever you insert your card.  If the Peck application is not already installed, this auto start application will try to find and run the Peck installer application.
  
  
• The Species Inventory application (i.e., SI) assists with the key tasks of managing sightings: logging, searching, and sharing.  When you are logging sightings in the field, SI saves time and reduces data entry errors by automatically filling out most of the data entry fields: date, time, observer, site, group, species, specimen count, and longitude and latitude of observer (if a GPS receiver is connected).  Because SI stores sighting information in flash memory instead of RAM, SI is an industrial strength data logger but employs several filters so you can easily focus on a small set of sightings.  When you are searching for a specific logged sighting (e.g., Where did I see that species before?), SI can quickly filter sightings according to time, observer, site, group, and species.  Or you can use SI's Quick Find to scroll through the sighting list searching the species names.  Finally, and potentially its most valuable capability, SI makes it easy to share sightings.  For sharing on a local scale, simply exchange sighting files via beaming, email, or on-line spreadsheets.  Or create a Google map of your local sightings with SI's Google map report generator.  For sharing on a national scale, SI offers an eBird upload file report generator that produces sighting reports that you can upload to your eBird account.  The Species Inventory application requires a device with a card slot, Palm OS version 4.0 or greater, and the Peck application installed.  Available for download (1.0 Mbyte .zip updated 11 January 2008).
  
  
• The Birder's Expectation gadget (version 8.4.4, updated 2008 April 29), for your iGoogle page, lists the likelihood (based upon eBird statistics) of species being sighted in your region during the current week.
  
  
  
  
• The Birder's Abacus gadget (version 8.5.1, updated 2008 May 06), for your iGoogle page, compiles bird counts from one or more online spreadsheets and generates a report.  The user manual was last updated 2008 May 06.
  
  

If you have questions or comments about any of these applications, please email them to the discussion group.

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APPLICATION	OPERATING SYSTEM	DISPLAY RESOLUTION	MULTIMEDIA DOWNLOAD (updated January 2008, 1595 images, 1244 recordings)	MULTIMEDIA on 1-Gbyte micro/mini/SD Card
Peck	Palm	high: at least 320x320 pixel display (e.g., TE|2, Treo 680, Treo 700p)	670 Mbyte download costs $16.95 at Google Base followed by submitting the order completion form. It is free to integrate Wikipedia article text into your Peck bird information manager by downloading the zipped Wikipedia article text (1 MByte updated January 2008) in the /Eduneer/Wikipedia/Peck directory and copying that directory to your SD card.	$39.50 at Google Base

The Peck multimedia is a compilation of photographs and recordings that are encrypted, stored on Secure Digital cards, and presented by the Peck application.  Please review the somewhat lengthy download instructions and copy instructions before downloading.  The multimedia installation instructions are in the copy instructions and can be summarized in one phrase, "Copy instead of hotsync."  Although quite a few people have saved time and money by downloading and copying the multimedia themselves, a good guideline is that if the thoughts of using an FTP client application and an SD card writer are not particularly pleasant then your best choice of multimedia is the 'multimedia on 1-GByte micro/mini/SD card.'  With that, the installation / setup is trivial: insert the card into your Palm OS device.

As you might expect, efforts have been made to minimize the environmental impact of these field guides.

• reduce - If you opt to download the multimedia, you eliminate the cost and packaging waste associated with shipping.  If you opt to buy the multimedia on a micro/mini/SD card, the card is purchased in bulk and therefore avoids the large PVC blister pack that comes with retail purchases of micro/mini/SD cards.
• reuse - If you opt to buy the multimedia on a micro/mini/SD card, your card has read / write capabilities and can be reused in other applications (e.g., photography).  To promote reuse, the SD card shipped by Eduneer is what SanDisk calls a microSD 'Mobile Memory Kit.'  It is a microSD card along with miniSD and full size SD adapters so you will be able to reuse this one card in devices with micro, mini, or full size SD card slots.
• recycle - If you opt to buy the multimedia on a micro/mini/SD card, your mailer is composed of recycled paper (10% post-consumer) and recycled plastic.

For more ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle, visit the EPA Web site.

The following table compares some recently developed electronic guides for birders.

Eduneer's Peck		National Geographic's Handheld Birds	MightyJams' birdJam	Wildlife Acoustics' Song Sleuth
initially released	September 2005	June 2006	2005 (see note 1)	2005
government project	no	yes (see note 2)	no	no
updated	yes (see note 3)	yes (see note 4)	?	yes (see note 5)
target devices	smartphones and PDAs	smartphones and PDAs	iPod	custom hardware
target device has built-in speaker	yes	yes	no	no
# of images included	1595 (mostly photographs)	"1600+" (mostly drawings)	99 (see note 6)	none
additional user included images allowed	yes	no	no	no
slide show capabilities	yes	no	no	no
# of recordings included	1244 (2.7 hours of recordings)	"nearly four hours of [...] playback"	depends upon CD selection	about 500 per module (see note 7)
additional user included recordings allowed	yes	no	yes (see note 8)	(see note 9)
audio search capability	yes	no	no	yes
ID tips searchable	yes	no	(not applicable)	(not applicable)
life history descriptions searchable	yes	no	(not applicable)	(not applicable)
bird size filter available	no	yes	no	no
bird color filter available	no	yes	no	no
bird shape filter available	yes	no	no	no
typical time to scroll to any species	< 5 s using Quick Find text search	?	< 15 s using scroll wheel	(not applicable)
etymology	common/scientific names of 736 species	none	none	none
species assessment data	yes, compiled by Partners in Flight	no	no	no
AOU check-list	complete	partial (see note 10)	no	no
up to date AOU check-list	yes (supplement 48)	no (supplement 46)	no	no
bird record committee check-lists	236	?	0	0
distribution maps	none (see note 11)	650+	none	none
localized sighting statistics	yes (see note 12)	yes (see note 13)	none	none
sighting logger	yes (see note 14)	yes	no	no
sighting log uploadable to eBird	yes	yes (see note 15)	(not applicable)	(not applicable)
sighting log displayable in Google Maps	yes	no	(not applicable)	(not applicable)
free user manual available	yes	no	?	no
free trial version available	yes	no	no	no
personalized support	yes (support group)	yes (online contact form, email, chat)	yes (online contact form)	yes (email, toll-free telephone support)
private support	no (see note 16)	yes	yes	yes
application registration required	no (see note 17)	yes	no	yes
multimedia distribution options	download or 1-GByte micro/mini/SD card	256-MByte SD card or 1-GByte miniSD card	CDs or loaded iPod	download
price	$39.50 (see note 18)	$99.95	$178.95 (see note 19)	$299.95 (see note 20)

• note 1: MightyJams' birdJam was called birdPod before 2007.
• note 2: The development of Handheld Birds was funded by NSF awards #0232945 for $99,968 and #0422158 for $1,042,427.
• note 3: The Peck application updates are free, and there can be several per month while mistakes are being fixed or new features added.
• note 4: The National Geographic's Handheld Birds application has been updated once.
• note 5: Wildlife Acoustics offers free software updates for one year after purchase.
• note 6: To get photographs in birdJam, purchase Photoset: Common Eastern Birds for birdPod/birdJam.
• note 7: Wildlife Acoustics offers 14 modules at $39.95 per module or $249.95 for the complete set.   Each module contains about 500 recordings of about 60 species.   In total, the 14 modules cover 157 species.
• note 8: To include your own recordings in birdJam, purchase birdJam Maker Software, Eastern and Western North America.
• note 9: The Song Sleuth can record bird songs, but those recordings do not update its song identification database.
• note 10: National Geographic's Handheld Birds application does not include the AOU list, but can sort its list of birds according to the order of the AOU list (supplement 46).
• note 11: Although the Peck application currently displays no distribution maps, distribution information is inherent in the Peck application's localization capabilities that offer 48 distributions throughout the year for each of the 696 documented species.  In other words, you don't need to look at 696 distribution maps to determine which species are currently in your region.  Instead, just check your region in the BCR list.
• note 12: The time resolution of the sighting statistics in the Peck application is one week.   The locale resolution is one Bird Conservation Region.
• note 13: The time resolution of the sighting statistics in the Handheld Birds application is one month.   The locale resolution is one state.
• note 14: The logging of sightings is implemented by the Species Inventory application, which integrates with the Peck application.
• note 15: A PC running Microsoft Windows OS is required by Handheld Birds to upload sighting logs to eBird.
• note 16: A public support forum reduces support duplication and therefore reduces support costs.  By the way, it also provides an incentive (i.e., avoiding public humiliation :*) to quickly fix mistakes in the application.
• note 17: Although the Peck application is free to copy, its multimedia is encrypted according to your micro/mini/SD card's ID.
• note 18: The $39.50 price is for the high-resolution multimedia on a 1-Gbyte micro/mini/SD card.  The price of other Peck multimedia options are listed under the heading "Multimedia Options".
• note 19: The $178.95 price is for the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs (Eastern and Western regions), the birdJam Maker Software (Eastern and Western North America), and the Photoset of Common Eastern Birds for birdPod/birdJam.
• note 20: The $299.95 price for the Song Sleuth includes one bird song module covering about 60 species.

• "This whole Peck program is excellent." - January 2008
  
  
• "I have no computer savvy, but I manage to use it to my satisfaction." - September 2007
  
  
• "I received my SD card with the Peck program--and I love it!  Thanks so much for providing this, and at such a low cost.  I also purchased the National Geographic program (at a much higher cost) a few weeks ago and I find that the Peck program has more information and pictures.  I also prefer photos to drawings, so find the program great." - August 2007
  
  
• "I use Peck daily and even use the Peck Alarm as my alarm clock when I'm home and when I'm traveling!" - April 2007
  
  
• "The more I use your software the more excited I am to use it." - April 2007
  
  
• "Much of my birding around home is by sound and this program is the best interface I've found yet for audio use.  What an ultimate field guide.  You guys ROCK!" - March 2007
  
  
• "WOW!  Downloaded successfully and am most impressed with the capability of this program on my Palm TX - I've even managed to add a picture (just to see if I could).  Thanks for this excellent program - I'm going to tell others to look at it!" - March 2007
  
  
• "I got it working-and all I gotta say is WOW!!!!  Very nice.......and for the price it is incredible!!!!" - February 2007
  
  

• Palm OS devices, such as Treo 650, Treo 680, Treo 700p, Treo 755p, Tungsten TX, Tungsten E2, Zire 31, or the Centro.  For details about supported Palm OS devices, see the Peck Bird Information Manager Hardware Compatibility document.
  
  
• Microsoft Windows Mobile devices with or without touchscreens.  Examples of devices with a touchscreen are the Treo 700w/wx, Treo 750, Cingular 8125, Cingular 8525, Dell Axim X51v, HP iPaq hw6500, HP iPaq hw6900, Verizon Vx6700.  Examples of devices without a touchscreen are Motorola Q, Cingular 3125, Samsung BlackJack, T-Mobile Dash.  To run on a Windows Mobile device, the Peck application requires installation of the StyleTap application.  (A native Windows Mobile 6 version of the Peck application is being developed, but there is no release date set yet.)
  
  
• Nokia Internet Tablets N770, N800, N810 can now run Palm OS applications via the ACCESS Garnet VM (Virtual Machine).
  
  
• Beginning in the first quarter of 2008, Symbian OS devices running UIQ 3 or S60 3rd Edition, which includes smartphone models from Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola.  To run on a Symbian OS device, the Peck application requires installation of the StyleTap application.  (StyleTap currently has an alpha version of their Palm OS emulator running on Symbian OS devices, and plans to publicly release the product in the first quarter of 2008.)
  
  
• Beginning in the second half of 2008, hardware from the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) will be available.  Porting the Peck application to OHA devices is an active project.
  
  
• Any desktop/laptop OS.  The Peck application does not require a desktop or laptop at all, and the Species Inventory application is designed to work with any desktop or laptop that can read the text of the sighting files and reports (e.g., the eBird upload file) saved to your micro/mini/SD card.

• Support documentation is available at www.eduneer.com/peck.
  
  
• Anyone can read or join (to write) the Peck application user group.
  
  

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Of course, product quality is also a form of user support.  To promote quality, each component of the Peck bird information manager has an improvement process at its core.

• software - The user group is a public record of questions about the Peck application.  It empowers users to quickly search the group's previous discussions, it is a forum to discuss the Peck application's capabilities (present and planned), and the public airing of programmer (i.e., namely me) mistakes is a rather brutal but quite effective insentive to quickly fix bugs.
  
  
• databases - Filtering is an important feature.  Unfortunately it is very time consuming to implement.  The filter databases included in the Peck application are published under the GNU Free Documentation License to allow future field guide development to save time by reusing existing compilations of filter information.  If you have a little spare time and some interest in improving your field guide as well as future guides, please review the request for collaborations and pitch in.
  
  
• photographs - Even though the Peck multimedia already includes more photographs than any other portable field guide about birds, the goal is to have multiple photographs of each species, covering both sexes, various ages, various plumages, and various viewing angles.  If you would like to have some of your photographs included in the distribution of the Peck multimedia, see the instructions on how to submit photographs.  If you would like to include some of your photographs with just your copy of the Peck multimedia, see the instructions on how to extend the Peck multimedia.
  
  
• recordings - Even though the Peck multimedia already includes about 2.5 hours of recordings, the goal is to have every common vocalization included and indexed for searching.  If you would like to have some of your recordings included in the distribution of the Peck multimedia, see the instructions on how to submit recordings.  If you would like to include some of your recordings with just your copy of the Peck multimedia, see the instructions on how to extend the Peck multimedia.
  

Outlined below are the steps to setting up the Peck bird information manager.  A good option for those with dial-up Internet access or those not interested in using an FTP client application is purchasing the multimedia on a 1-GByte micro/mini/SD card because it avoids the first four steps, and simplifies the fifth and sixth.  (In addition to containing the multimedia, the 1-GByte micro/mini/SD card has the application installer and an auto start application that installs the Peck application when you initially insert the card into your Palm OS device, and starts the Peck application on subsequent insertions.)

1. get an SD card - There are lots of tips about SD cards in the copy instructions.
   
   
2. get some multimedia - Review the multimedia options (listed above under the heading 'Multimedia Options') and get one.  Note that if you decide to purchase a download of the multimedia, you should first read the download instructions.
   
   
3. copy the multimedia to your SD card - Follow the copy instructions.
   
   
4. get the application(s) - Download and unzip the Peck application.  If you are interested in logging your sightings of birds, download and unzip the Species Inventory application.
   
   
5. install the application(s) - To install the Peck application, run the downloaded and unzipped peck-Installer.prc application on your Palm OS device.  Similarly, to install the Species Inventory application, run the si-Installer.prc application.
   
   
6. start the Peck application - To start the Peck application, go to your Palm OS device's application launcher (i.e., tap the home icon) and then tap the Peck application's icon (i.e., the bird beak icon).  If you happen to start the Peck application before copying the Peck multimedia to your SD card, that is okay also.  However in that case, after you copy the Peck multimedia to your SD card, you should then select the AOU list's 'Select/Link to Multimedia' menu item.
   
   

Can your bird field guide do this?

• List the species others have sighted in your region this week from most to least likely, according to eBird statistics.
• List the species you have sighted from least to most likely, again according to eBird statistics.

With these simple listing capabilities, you become a better birder.  The first list takes advantage of 'many eyes' to help you identify birds.  If you are used to searching through bird checklists in AOU order or alphabetical order or ordered according to some bird attribute, you may feel like you are cheating when you first use the option to view your checklist ordered according to the reports of others in your region during the current week of the year.

Although the most to least likely order is helpful when identifying birds, the second listing capability of ordering species from least to most likely is helpful when reporting your sightings to others ... so they can know at a glance if you have sighted any rare birds.

These listing capabilities are among the best practices in today's bird field guide designs and are an advantage that electronic field guides have over paperback field guides.  And in the Peck application, they are free.  Later you may decide to add your own photographs and recordings and/or buy the Peck multimedia that currently includes

• 1244 recordings (2.5 hours)
• 1595 photographs
• 735 etymology entries

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