Collins Bird Guide app (third edition) for iOS

The Collins Bird Guide needs little introduction. With more than 1 million copies sold and the book translated into 23 languages, its success as a field guide to the birds of Europe is in no doubt. Quite simply, there is no better guide for identifying birds in the region. But not only is it available as a book, it has also been made into an app by developers at NatureGuides.

I was quick on the uptake of the app version of the book's second edition when it was released in 2014. It was hard to ignore the ability to carry a field guide in my pocket while adding no extra weight to the iPhone I was already carrying. Furthermore, I was able to 'carry' numerous other bird apps and eBooks, which would have amounted to dozens of kilograms in physical form.

But the advantages of apps go well beyond savings on weight. In fact, the benefits of apps and eBooks are so strong that I'm now reluctant to buy books unless they are available in digital format. Apps can be searched for particular species or search terms and song/calls can be played – both of which are impossible in physical books. The Collins Bird Guide app offers a 'search by attributes' feature that allows searching for birds, using for example colouration or size, and should appeal to less experienced birders. Furthermore, it has a comparison feature, which allows similar species from various parts of the book to be compared side by side, which is very useful and again impossible in the physical version of the book.

I was a big fan of the 'original' app – its ease of use, attractive design and functionality combined to make a superb addition to my birding armoury. So, when the option to update to the third edition app became available last month, I wasted no time in getting it downloaded. What had been updated? Would there be any new app features? The new app of course has all the newly added species and updated plates from the book. Highlights include new or updated plates for West African Crested, Royal and Saunders's Tern, Black Redstart, harriers and many others. Many species texts and distribution maps have also been updated.

There are a number of notable new features and updates. It is now possible to hide species that do not occur in a particular region, which might help narrow down the identification of a bird for some users. Font size can be changed so that users with poorer vision are accommodated and there is now an option to either stream or download videos. A species search button has been added to the bottom right corner of the screen, making it faster to navigate to a particular species. The listing capabilities available in the second edition version of the app have now been moved to their own standalone app called 'Life List', which is available to download in the App Store.

I barely have any niggles with the app, but one is that the 'search by attributes' bar in the top right of the screen is occasionally unresponsive for me. The positioning of the text in the comparison views can occasionally be too far from or too close to the plates. However, the beauty of apps is that they can be continuously updated, meaning any niggles are often ironed out in future updates.

In summary, I would firmly recommend that birders who own an iPhone or iPad download this app, regardless of experience level, for the design, functionality and content it offers are unparalleled. If you're buying the app for the first time, it'll cost you £14.99 – but if you're simply updating to the third edition, there's a £7.99 fee.

The comparison feature being used in the Collins Bird Guide app.

West African Crested Tern, one of the 'new' species featuring in the third edition of the app.