I’ve always thought greeting cards that played sounds when you opened them were a bit quirky and sometimes even a tad annoying. So I was a bit skeptical when I heard about Really Wild Cards. But after seeing the beautiful artwork and knowing the sounds were from the Macaulay Library and sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, my skepticism declined.
Really Wild Cards has a collection of some fourteen different North American bird species as well as a dozen British birds. I received two North American bird sound-producing cards: Common Loon and Canada Goose.
The artwork is by Maurice Bebb, someone I had never heard of prior. Each of the cards is excellent and realistic as expected from something Cornell endorses. Inside the card is a small photo and a page’s worth of information about the bird including some “cool facts”.
Of course, the main draw is the sound produced when you open the card. The loon call is of good quality although a bit on the loud side. I would have preferred a softer sound (since volume control would be difficult) and maybe also a shorter clip. When you hold the card open the sound runs for awhile and then is quiet. The goose card seemed to upset Bella (my Doberman/Chesapeake Bay Retriever).
Overall, Really Wild Cards are a pretty cool thing to send to birders and non-birders alike. The factual information along with a cool sound and nice artwork makes a nice starting point to get someone interested in birds. They are priced at $7.99.
Looks interesting but as the word on street goes I herd these were a cheaper imitation based on a series released earlier by Wild-Card.org. I personally prefer the wild-card.org series from an artistic/ beauty point of view. I am disappointed at Cornell choice to try and reproduce the other series….
i dont know what planet Andrew is from (or what street he goes down!)as these Really Wild Cards are far superior in range, choice of image and the sound quality is light years ahead. They also play for an average 15 seconds almost twice as long as his imatation ones.
It is also worth noting that these are officially recognized by Cornell and that by purchasing the genuine Really Wild Cards a percentage of the profits from the sales are used to fund research and conservation at the Cornell lab of Ornitholgy.