Build-A-Bird (1986 or earlier) was educational software for the

Unisys ICON The ICON (also the CEMCorp ICON, Burroughs ICON, and Unisys ICON, and nicknamed the bionic beaver) was a networked personal computer built specifically for use in schools, to fill a standard created by the Ontario Ministry of Education. It was b ...

II public school computer. It may have appeared on the ICON I or Unisys ICON III.Smith, Elmer V. Information, communications and technology transfer: proceedings of the 43. FID congress held in Montréal, Québec, Canada 14–18 September 1986 = Information, communications et transfert de la technologie. Amsterdam u.a: North-Holland, 1987. p. 21
Google books

Overview

Build-A-Bird was designed and developed by Ergonomics Lab,

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. Gameplay revolved around creating a bird by choosing from a selection of different body parts such as stork-like legs, short legs adapted to alighting on various natural surfaces, or predatory talons. Beak type and wing type were also among the changeable body part selections in Build-A-Bird. Upon selecting your preferred, various body part types the game would provide one or several real life birds that fit your selections. What happened next in the game involved educational material about your bird's range and habitat. The visual representations of the birds, their body parts and the bird habitats were in colour and vivid for the time but lacked animation.

References

{{Reflist Software for children Educational software