Great news for all bird enthusiasts! Wild Republic has entered into a partnership with the National Audubon Society to create a line of realistic-looking plush beanbag birds. This partnership also includes the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which has provided the authentic sounds for each bird to further add to the realism of these plush toys.

Each bird's lifelike design and impeccable detailing are the result of input from Audubon, and the authentic bird songs in this plush toy are provided by Cornell's expert recordists. This Ivory-Billed Woodpecker's call was recorded in 1935 in Louisiana, USA.

So rare it is held in mystical regard by bird lovers across America, the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker was thought to be extinct since 1880 but was recently rediscovered in the "Big Woods" of eastern Arkansas in February 2004. This is one of the largest such birds in the world, thought to have a lifespan of around 15 to 20 years. The great ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson called it "a whacking big bird," because at nearly two feet long, it possesses a three-foot wingspan and a pterodactyl crest of black and red.