Bird in the Hand

The old proverb “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”, is usually about balancing the risks of the known with the unknown. Not in this case! With this app you can be sure of having not one, but nearly 50 birds “in your hand” when you next head bush.

The Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service has partnered with Geometry Pty Ltd and some of Australia’s best photographers and sound recordists to produce a beautiful and professionally produced App.

The App covers 49 of Tasmania’s common and endemic birds and includes bird calls, high quality pictures and information on their habitat, breeding, diet etc. Use the App while out bush to work out which call is which.

Our latest version now includes the ability to send in sightings from GPS-enabled devices. The coordinates of submitted sightings are entered into the Natural Values Atlas and will help scientists build a record of the distribution of Tasmanias' birds.

The island of Tasmania is Australia’s smallest and most Southern State. It is one of the world’s special places. Over 40% of the island is reserved for conservation (over 440 reserves) and 20% of the State is listed as World Heritage. The island is a haven for birdlife, including the very rare Orange-bellied parrot (under 200 birds remain in the wild). For more info on Tasmania’s reserves and wildlife, see the Parks and Wildlife website: www.parks.tas.gov.au.

So check out this app, offer suggestions (to iphone@parks.tas.gov.au) and let us know if you have any really high quality Tasmanian bird photos or vocalisations that we can include in our V 3.0 release.

In the future we are also planning to make other applications available covering Tasmania’s native wildlife and National Parks.

Available for iPhone and iPod touch, OS version 3 or higher.