dramatically reduces prey availability. Spain is believed still to hold the major 
breeding population within the region. 
This important report summarises the biology, habitat and nesting requirements 
of the species, and highlights large gaps in our knowledge of its ecology. Little is 
known about the migration routes of the different Lesser Kestrel populations or 
of their ecology in their African winter quarters. 
The author lists a number of conservation recommendations and suggests areas 
requiring further research. Although the general situation revealed in this review 
is depressing, it is hoped that the habitat conservation measures outlined will 
benefit a number of other species such as White Storks Ciconia ciconia, Great 
Bustards Otis tarda, Little Bustards Tetrax tetrax, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse Pterocles 
alchata and Gull-billed Terns Gelochelidon nilotica. 
Nick P Williams 
Birds of IsraeL Computerized Bird Identification System and 
Ornithological Data Base/ Encyclopedia. Eds Ron Frumkin, Noah 
Rotary and Tzila Ahariv. Published by A Sapir, 19 Dov Hoz Street, 
44356 Kf ar Saba, IsraeL 
This computer database contains basic information about 464 Israeli birds: size, 
sexual dimorphism, distribution, nesting habits, scientific names etc. In fact, it 
contains as much accurate information as many bird books, but in a far less usable 
form. Computer software has a long way to go before it can really help bird 
identification. 
The identification and encyclopediac functions of the software are accessed in 
different ways: looking up the characteristics of unknown birds can lead to their 
identification; or it can be used almost as a book by using the index screens to find 
details of a particular species. 
Unfortunately, the identification route is clumsy and has many pitfalls. I found 
that even if I knew the species, the software would often lead me in completely 
the wrong direction. The idea is that when you see a bird, you can narrow its 
identification down by entering the data of your observation. For example, a bird 
nestbuilding in July will not be solely a winter visitor to Israel, so the programme 
then excludes winter visitors from your consideration. The identification can be 
narrowed further by a series of similar choices, with the hope that eventually you 
have entered enough information to lead to one species. It is, however, very easy 
to make the 'wrong' choice just because of the particular circumstances of an 
observation. 
Identification through keys can be successful for many groups, particularly 
plants and invertebrates, but has never proved satisfactory for birds. Books have 
tried the approach and at least have the advantage of being able to include 
pictures to confirm the identification. 
Even if the limitations of a keyed approach to bird identification are ignored, this 
software is poor. The encyclopediac side of the programme has about 70 data 
entries for each bird, but many of these are abbreviated and poorly laid out. 
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