THE nine volumes of The Birds of the Western Palearctic plus the two volumes of BWP Concise fill half a metre of my shelf space and weigh 14 kilograms. Now Birds of the Western Palearctic Interactive (DVD-ROM, BirdGuides Ltd, £199) weighs a few grams, yet that single DVD-ROM holds not only the full text and artwork from all 11 volumes, but also 2300 video clips of virtually all the species covered.
OK, BWPi is no use without a computer, but given such a tool it’s hard to justify all the shelf space the original volumes take up. Navigating your way…
