For 6 years thousands of birders covered New York searching for breeding birds. The result of their efforts The Atlas of Breeding Birds of New York State , was published in 1988.
Maps are the main feature of a breeding bird atlas publication.
A map for each bird shows where Atlasers found evidence of breeding. Blocks with confirmed breeding are represented by a black square. Probable breeding is shown with an cross in a square and possible with a slash in a square. Accompanying each map is a discussion of the bird's breeding status, habits and habitats. The publication comes with transparent pages that show various features like river systems, elevation, forest types, etc.