New “My Bird World” iPad Game Is Great for Kids

“These are happy birds—and they want to help you learn,” writes one reviewer about “My Bird World,” a collection of four interactive bird games that teach children about 24 species of North American birds. The game was co-produced by Five Ravens, the digital division of Birdcage Press, and the Cornell Lab for use on the Apple iPad. My Bird World is available on iTunes for just $4.99.

“With these intriguing and fun challenges, players learn about North American birds, including their songs, food choices, and habitats. The games are filled with fascinating facts, real bird calls, and great photos,” says Nancy Trautmann, director of education at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Players “earn” birds to place in virtual woodland, marsh, forest, and other habitats by playing Match Facts or Infestation Predation. After winning birds, it’s time to earn their food, whether it’s seeds for an American Goldfinch or fish for the Osprey. To win food, users play one of the nine levels of Memory or one of the three levels of Flight Patterns. Every time players feed a bird, they learn more about it and hear it sing. The games test memory, reading, sound and visual pattern recognition, and bird identification.

“We developed these games to make learning painless and fun,” says Five Ravens co-founder Wenda O’Reilly. “The more interested and engaged the player, the better they retain the information. It’s great for children, but plenty of adults are getting hooked too!”

More than 400 bird facts are included in “My Bird World.” Bird songs and calls come from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library, the world’s largest collection of natural sounds. A portion of the proceeds also supports Cornell Lab research and education programs about birds.