North American Birds Sight & Sound
CD-ROM
Company: NatureWare
Estimated Price: $25.00
Let me first start off by saying that I am
not a bird watcher. Never have been, at
any rate. But when I received NatureWare’s
Mac & Windows CD-ROM for review, I found myself engrossed. Not only by the way this programs works, but by the high quality of the presentation found therein.
North American Birds is
an absolutely fabulous
CD-ROM for any bird
lover out there. I know
that bird watching is a
very popular activity, and
that many of you reading
this, in fact, participate in
it. I could skip all the praise
right now and tell you to go
out and buy this CD-ROM this minute, but I want to give you more reasons that simply my word. (Though it would be nice if that is all it took!)
Created for the most part
by Cliff Lemen, this
CD-ROM is very
reminiscent of a FileMaker
Pro database. Which, of
course, is a very good
thing. With North
American Birds, you
simply click buttons to access everything, from one central menu. (See illustration)
While you can take the guided tour to view and hear hundreds of birds, you can also select any particular bird you wish. From North American Birds, you can learn where your state bird goes in the winter, where he calls home during the warm months, what his bird song sounds like, and much more.
North American Birds was designed for ease of use, but also for the purpose of entertaining and teaching. Two important elements for any CD-ROM that will, I’m sure, find its way into quite a few classrooms.
With over 2,400 beautiful illustrations, and sporting more than 450 bird songs, this would be considered a great program. But Mr. Lemen and company did not stop at that. Also included are games, quizzes, and one of the best tutorials I have ever used. The tutorial is, in fact, Cliff Lemen himself talking you through the use of the CD-ROM. It is little touches like this that make the whole thing so worthwhile.
The price for North American Birds is only $20.00 (plus the $5.00 S/H fee) Is it worth it? I think so. If you love birds, or would like to learn more about the ones you’re feeding in your back yard, this is the CD-ROM for you. Are you teaching a class about birds? Then you must have this in your classroom. It really is a great program.
Tim Robertson (publisher@mymac.com)
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