At first glance you might think this is an awesome way to identify birds in the wild or in your backyard, by the song they sing. After all, it’s got a 54 page song book and a scanner that looks like a pen. This is just what you needed to identify birds by sound. Except it’s not quite what you think.

You scan the barcode for a bird, and then you can listen to a digital recording of the song from the speaker. That’s all well and good if you need to know what a bird sounds like, but it doesn’t help you identify a song you hear just now outside. The only thing to do is scan through all the damn birds in the book! In short, this device is for the birds!

It used to be that when those loud ass birds assault your ears at the butt-crack of dawn, you’d have to get out the shotgun, take a shot through your window, and upon the sweet sound of silence, go back to sleep and save the glass cleanup till you get up at noon. Not anymore though. For one thing it’s not socially acceptable to kill small animals. Use the BirdXPeller Pro bird repeller instead.

It won’t kill all the birds. It just repels them by emitting different noises that make them believe a predator is near. It will scare off birds within one acre. Three different types of the BirdXPeller Pro frighten away different birds. $239.

Here’s the latest in desk pets that plug into your usb port. This owl is cute, but kinda creepy. Sure, he comes off all wise and all, but I get the feeling that the minute you turn your back on him, he gets all evil. And we all know owls are nocturnal creatures. That means that while you are asleep, this bird is wide awake, plotting your eventual demise.

He has a clip that allows him to perch on top of your computer monitor, or you can use the optional tree-stump. He blinks and moves his head from side to side, while he watches you. He’ll also move his eyes around. He’ll be available on May 5, 2008 and will cost you about $26. If you give a hoot! Video after the jump.