Mobile apps for nature field guides

‐‐ The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief introduction to software applications that make nature field guides accessible on computers, including desktop and mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, and to describe some specific products that are available.Design/methodology/approach ‐‐ This article discusses the development and proliferation of software applications or “apps” for nature field guides. Common features of such apps and some specific examples are presented.Findings ‐‐ Numerous field guide apps are available for identifying animals, plants, and other natural phenomena using mobile computing devices or smartphones. Apps for mobile devices retain the traditional quality of portability for field guides, and most of these apps offer high quality photographs along with descriptive text. Some products include audio files for identifying bird songs or frog calls. Features for users include the ability to maintain life lists and to search guide contents using graphic icons, animal or plant markings, or colors.Originality/value ‐‐ Reviews of nature field guides have generally focused on print sources or electronic book editions of print titles. While several newspapers, magazines, and websites have published reviews of mobile field guide apps, an introduction and reviews have not yet been published in a source like Reference Reviews.