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Learn Bird Songs with Larkwire


I recently got the opportunity to demo this really great software for learning bird songs. It's called Larkwire. Currently it's available as a web app and also an iPhone app (looking forward to when it comes to the Android market). I tried out the web app and I like it a lot. What sets it apart from bird song tutorial CDs is that it's a trivia game. For competitive personality types like myself it motivates you to really pay attention and learn the different songs.

I played two games- the Clear-toned Songs and the Complex Bird Songs. It's nice because it plays more than just one variation of a bird song. That's what I dislike about bird song audio CDs- they only play just a short snippet of the bird's song and we all know that they make many different sounds.

Give it a whirl! I'll definitely come back for more. I like the challenge of the games and it's also making me a better birder at the same time.

Comments

idose said…
Bird songs and the winter time - perfect combo for the festive season. Ain't it so?
Dawn Fine said…
I tried out the online version and liked it. I would like to try it on my ipod touch but couldn't find and app for it.

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