Birds keywords

[Ger]

In another thread (https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=8335.msg58540#msg58540) a separate discussion on Bird Keywords started. As that's a bit off-topic in there, a new thread here.

Summary:
Member Sawwhetowl mentioned he is not using a standardized bird species list:

I will never come close to needing all those bird species in my keywords.  I will only add the birds I currently have pictures for.

Member Menace replied:

Same here. I just looking in wikipedia to get a most accurate keyword.

Additional question from Sawwhetowl:

How do you handle species splits and lumps?

[Ger]

I organize the IMatch keywords for my own needs and pleasure, so no responsibilities to any agency or so. As the other users, I add flora and fauna the moment I capture them. I don't keep track of the scientific hierarchy classification.

For all flora and fauna I use the English name as leading keyword and I add scientific name, Dutch and Afrikaans name as synonyms in the thesaurus. I use the internet (wikipedia, specialized web sites...) and reference literature to find correct names.

Ger

[Jingo]

For my bird, plant and tree photography - I do the same thing... I just add new items as I come across them.  Unfortunately, I don't get to photograph and see that many new birds all that often... so having entire database of info would just complicate things for me and it is simpler to do as Ger does - look them up and add the info as needed.

[Menace]

So, do you have any idea how to handle the vernacular name in various languages in parallel?
Any hint is much appreciated. Thank you!

Unfortunately I don't know to handle it in a good way. Gers approach seems for me a very good solution.

To be honest, I try to use as much as possible scientific Taxonomy. So I can learn, why and how species are sorted. But, Taxonomy is a mess. There are sub-Taxa and super-Taxa, intraclasses and unranked.

So I even add for example "Ord" to my categories, to remember, that this is a "Ordo" or "UOrd" to know it is a "Unterordnung" a sub-Ordo. I also add the scientific and the german name (for example: @Keywords|Systematik|Stamm Gliederfüßer (Arthropoda)|Klasse Insekten|Neuflügler (Neoptera)|Eumetabola|Holometabola|Ord Hautflügler (Hymenoptera)|UOrd Taillenwespen (Apocrita) ).

That is not scientific at all. And that is the reason, why I also uses Darwin-Core. I made a "Darwin-Core" Mini; just with the main-Taxons: (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Specific Epithet and one Vernacular name. This becomes also a databased keyword, so that I have a clean, very strict hierarchy.

I don't use a various vernacular names any more. Maybe in birds, there are not so much; but flowers or plants, there are to many.

[Mario]

If you guys come up with ideas for improving IMatch for this purpose, let me know via a feature request.

64-bit IMatch and especially IMatch 2018+ can handle much larger category sets (when I started 500 categories were 'much' and now 30,000 or 50,000 are 'much).

The next release includes some substantial improvements in the way IMatch calculates (updates) categories in relation to the demands of the tree controls used by the Category Panel, Category View, Filter Panel and Viewer. This speeds things up considerably and reduces the potential for locks (and thus a sluggish UI). Especially for 'slow' categories based on formulas or the very expensive "Uncategorized" category formula (which needs to calculate each category in the database in order to figure out its result).

[akirot]

Thank you all - this is a very fruitful discussion!
I like Ger's approach of using the synonyms with the leading language id - it's fairly simple and easy to use.
I will also have a look into the Darwin core, Menace's "mini taxonomy core" is a well structured approach.
Probably a combination of both could be the working result for me.
Yes, taxonomy is a mess - but I don't know of a better system. This is why I add entries to my categories only on a need to use basis too (mainly based on Wikipedia as you do).
Additionally I use Darwin Core for "water bodies" and islands. (When sailing the next "city" or "location" often is too far away.)

[DigPeter]

Yes - in particular botanical taxonomy is a mess.   Though Clive Stace in his New Flora is attempting to standardise Common Names, there is not universal agreement, so using Common Names as the lead is not particularly useful. Scientific Names are perhaps more stable, but the also change. I suppose strictly that the latest Scientific Name should be the new lead one and the old one should become a synonym.  It is too much trouble for me to try to keep things up to date.   Perhaps the situation in other kingdoms is more clear cut and simpler. Is there a recognised standard set of Common Names for birds for instance?

[mastodon]

I would be nice to see some examples of category trees. Especially for family. I will use a taxonomy based tree for animals, plants and fungi's, although I do that it is not so easy (which ones to use?).

[Ger]

DigPeter asked:

Is there a recognised standard set of Common Names for birds for instance?

Maybe have a look at the IOC world bird list: http://www.worldbirdnames.org?
Probably not the official standard, but seen as de facto standard by a lot of people (e.g. https://ornithology.com/names/).

I also use Avibase. A lot of information (and the option to compare taxonomy lists): https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/avibase.jsp.

ger

[Ger]

Mario asked:

If you guys come up with ideas for improving IMatch for this purpose, let me know via a feature request

Interesting question. Maybe this thread can help us all a bit.

I currently add language indicators like (sc) or (af) manually to the synonym itself. Maybe a possibility to add attributes to synonyms?
This attribute could then be used as a toggle/selection in the @Keyword list to identify and hide certain keywords. In my example: only show scientific keywords, or hide all synonyms.

Another wish is an option to validate whether all synonyms are assigned to every master keyword. I now sometimes see mismatches (an image is assigned to the master keyword, but not to (all) synonyms. I have on my to-do list to (once) write an app for that, but never got to it.

ger

[DigPeter]

Thanks Ger

[Mario]

All feature requests and ideas please go into the FR board. They are lost in general posts.

[Ger]

Mario wrote:

All feature requests and ideas please go into the FR board. They are lost in general posts.

I know. And it wasn't a feature request (yet); it was more meant to facilitate the discussion and probably come to a more robust FR, following your mail:

If you guys come up with ideas for improving IMatch for this purpose, let me know via a feature request.

ger

[sawwhetowl]

DigPeter asked:

Is there a recognised standard set of Common Names for birds for instance?

Maybe have a look at the IOC world bird list: http://www.worldbirdnames.org?
Probably not the official standard, but seen as de facto standard by a lot of people (e.g. https://ornithology.com/names/).

I also use Avibase. A lot of information (and the option to compare taxonomy lists): https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/avibase.jsp.

ger

Unfortunately there is not an "official" list.  For world wide bird taxonomy, the more well used are Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Clements), and the IOC.  There are more regional ones.  For example, in the western hemisphere, the American Birding Association (ABA)  for North America  and the American Ornithological Society (AOS) for North and Central America.  For my bird listing software, I use the AOS as, of yet, I have not traveled beyond North and Central America.  All of these lists have a version number or date.  As bird species are reclassified (lumps are where separate bird species are reclassified as 1 species and splits is where 1 species  is split into different species), bird lists are updated to reflect the changes.  Currently the Clements list is at version 2018 and the IOC is at version 8.2

Based on the Clements version 2018, there are:

• 20,530 Subspecies
• 10,585 Species
• 250 Families

I'll start bird taxonomy at the Family Common Name and enter species by common.  Currently I am pondering adding scientific name as synonyms, old common name and old scientific names for when there are species lumps or splits.

I'll likely not enter subspecies because it is a rabbit hole

[Jingo]

I really hope someday to be able to photograph a Tooth-Billed Bowerbird! 

[sawwhetowl]

I really hope someday to be able to photograph a Tooth-Billed Bowerbird!

I was just looking at the IOC list and added some of the Bowerbirds as keywords to my test database.  Not sure why I did not actually do birds I have photographed.   I could export my test thesaurus and import it in my final DB when I am done testing.  So, unfortunately, I have seen no Bowerbirds but hoping to photograph all of the Bowerbirds someday!