For the love of birds

FOR a site that describes one of nature's most colourful creations, www.orinithology.com, appears rather plain. But don't go by appearances—in this case, the homepage. The site has details that could draw even the most disinterested to the avian world.

From links to academic articles to celebration of birds in literature and popular culture, the site has resources for a variety of readers. Click on albatross and you will find Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner as well as Charles Baudelaire's The Albatross.

There is a section on birds in stamps, and even one on jokes on birds. For the more curious, there is a key to identifying common birds, and they can even chat with an orinithologist.