Wild About Birds! A New App for Beginning Birders

Nov. 30, 2011 - PRLog -- How much does it cost to look smart? In this case: $1.99.  Wildtones.com not only puts birds into the palm of your hand with their new iPhone/iPad app, Wild About Birds!, with an interactive scrapbook, fun facts, bird images and songs, they have cleverly developed a technique for quickly and adeptly distinguishing birds by key ‘identifiers’ – such as unique beaks, feather markings, signature movements and other sure-fire clues that leave little room for error with beginning birders.
    Parents will feel, and be, even more brilliant than their kids think they are when they get the question(s): what is that red bird called? or what does that bird eat? Newbie birders, beginners of every age and those planning activities with children now have a simple, straight-forward mobile application for $1.99 (additional habitats available for .99) from iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wild-about-birds!/id467849629?mt=8).  This new app offers quick, accessible information on bird identification, unique identifiers not found in other apps, a scrapbook for collecting the birds you’ve identified correctly and much more.  
   Hunters, high-fliers, migrants, low nesters and songsters are all a part of the fun feathered features in Wild About Birds!  
   “In a “sea” of bird apps for experienced birders, Wild About Birds! is a life raft for kids or adults who are learning about birds,” says Deborah Rivel, founder of Wildtones.com and the apps creator.  “There really isn’t much available that’s both fun and makes learning to identify birds easy to do.”
   “With our identification game, the user learns an easy way of what to look for in each bird.  Our shortcut or “key” feature simplifies the process by showing easy key things to remember that make that bird special.”
   From individual bird songs to their cool “cribs,” Wild About Birds!  is for the birder who enjoys the journey as much as the reward.   The app is also a great way to track birding success stories via the Scrapbook -- hit the “+” sign and a red check mark appears on the bird, and the bird image in color is revealed in the scrapbook. Touch one or more of the birds and they will sing one at a time or in a chorus!  The user can find out where else in North America any of the 40 birds in the initial Backyard Birds habitat live and up to 108 new birds with the additional habitats are located.  This new app is a great accompaniment to take on hikes, family trips or for use it while watching birds at the feeder.  Parents and grandparents will look like pros with Fun Facts information about birds that answer many of the questions kids ask about birds.  
   Wild About Birds! includes two images of each bird, male and female.  If the male and female are nearly identical, a second perspective of the bird is included.  Specific bird calls and tips on where the bird might ‘hang out’ most of the time – on the ground, in a tree or shrub – are included so the user has the best shot at sighting various birds.  Bird images and sounds are provided by wildlife photographer , author and sound recordist Stan Tekiela.
   For those app users who have mastered the first edition of 40 backyard birds, or want to see what birds they can find elsewhere, newbie birders can go to the Get More Birds icon on the main menu and choose from three new habits for only .99 each.  
   The new habitats include Leafy Forests (the most commonly found birds in deciduous forests – forests with leafy trees – 22 new birds, including two bonus birds, in all), Fields & Edges (22 new birds, including 2 bonus birds from the grasslands, prairies, open fields, cliffs the edges of forests and other habitats) and Lakes & Marshes (24 new birds, including four bonus birds which include ducks, geese, swans, wading birds – some of the most interesting and popular birds that live in lakes, rivers, streams and fresh water marshes and swamps are in this habitat).
   Wildtones.com, the maker of this application, is inspired by all things that soar, crawl, fly, dive, walk, growl, chirp and howl.  We think the more you know about nature the more involved you will want to be.  So, we decided to take our passion for nature and make it fun and accessible to everyone.  Connecting you with nature, maybe even for the first time, is what we do.  At Wildtones, we not only strive to inspire, surprise and create enjoyment, we donate a percentage of our profits to animal-related charities a percentage of our profits to help birds and other animals through every Wildtones purchase.
       Wildsight Productions, Inc., the parent company of Wildtones.com, was founded in 1991 by Deborah Rivel, an internationally acclaimed wildlife film producer and director.  Headquartered in New York, the mission of Wildsight Productions is to promote human understanding of wildlife and the environment through the media – the goal being to inform, entertain and enlighten.  Her most current venture is Wildtones.com.  Past projects include the documentary Life With Big Cats:Tippi Hendren and Shambala, co-produced with Discovery’s Animal Planet Channel and Canal Plus, and a series of six wildlife programs for U.S. Public Television that focused on human/animal relationships.   Wildsight has won numerous awards, including seven Emmy Awards, three International Chris Awards and several Genesis Awards for its support of animal rights in the media.

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