In the 2012 President's Budget Request, the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is terminated. As a result, all resources, databases, tools, and applications within this web site will be removed on January 15, 2012. For more information, please refer to the NBII Program Termination page.
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) Distribution Map [Image: Avibase]
Global maps and global information sites offer a broad picture of bird conservation. The following are good places to start:
Avibase, with links to taxonomy, maps, and more for the world's birds.
BirdLife International Data Zone, with information on species, Important Bird Areas and Endemic Bird Areas throughout the world.
OBIS-SEAMAP, with information on seabirds and other marine life aggrerated in a global, spatially referenced database.
Maps & GIS Data
Magnolia Warbler Distribution
[Map: Allison Sussman; Photograph: Gerhard Hofmann, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center,
Breeding Bird Atlas Explorer]
These resources represent bird and other datasets using maps as a visualization tool, or provide a way for you to download and use data in a spatial context for analyses.
Bird Distributions
Large-scale spatial resources developed for bird distribution.
Often spatial data is collected or indexed by region to facilitate regional partnerships. These are examples of collections of data by region, displayed in interactive mapping tools.
Henslow's Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii) [Photograph: John Cassady]
These projects provide access through a central location to geospatial data resources needed to support research, management and conservation of specific ecosystems or ecoregions in North America.
PrairieMap - a geospatial data clearinghouse for prairie grassland ecosystems in western North America.
SAGEMAP - a geospatial data portal for sage-grouse and sagebrush steppe habitats in the western United States.
Base Maps
Searching for map data - political, hydrological, meteorological, or other? Download, preview, print, or use "web map services" directly in your desktop GIS using these online resources:
The Geospatial One-Stop allows you to find many data layers and provides links to government datasets.
The National Atlas provides a set of easily downloaded base layers, printable maps, and contextual views and online maps to assist in finding data.
The USFWS GIS & Spatial Data webpage provides access to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spatial data resources and links to other federal, state, academic, non-governmental and commercial websites that provide spatial data.