Friday, May 14, 2010

News Release: All About Birds: Best Lifestyle Website in 2010

The 14th Annual Webby Awards judges have chosen the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds website as Best Lifestyle Site of the year. Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by The New York Times, the Webby Awards is the leading international award for excellence on the Internet.

The All About Birds website (www.AllAboutBirds.org) helps people identify and learn about nearly 600 species of North American birds. The site features photos, sounds, and video of birds, bird-identification tutorials, bird-feeding tips, gear reviews, and an online magazine about birds and bird watching.

"The All About Birds website helps satisfy people’s curiosity about birds—and invites them to explore more about their diversity, beauty, and fascinating behavior,” said Cornell Lab communications director Miyoko Chu. “We know that bird watchers are enthusiastic about our site, but we were so thrilled that it appealed to the Webby judges too, who considered sites on every topic from food to fashion.”


The site owes much of its visual richness to hundreds of images taken by amateur photographers across the country who contributed to the site’s Birdshare group. The site's sounds and video come from the Cornell Lab's Macaulay Library, the world's largest archive of wildlife sounds.

The Webbys are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy whose members include Martha Stewart, David Bowie, Arianna Huffington, and Twitter's Biz Stone. This year’s competition received nearly 10,000 entries from more than 60 countries and all 50 states.

"The Webby Awards honors the very best of the Internet," said David-Michel Davies, executive director of the Webby Awards. "The Cornell Lab's achievement is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators.

For a full list of Webby Awards winners, visit http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=14