Sea of Thieves game adds Birdworld's Toucan to cast

Boy, six, who resides at Farnham's Birdworld, contributed his unique sounds to 'Sea of Thieves', an action-adventure game developed by Rare LTD and published by Microsoft Studios.

The game, which enables players to live a pirate's life in an open virtual world with various pet companions, found its toucan voice in Boy.

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Boy contributed his unique sounds to the game 'Sea of Thieves' (Image: Supplied)

The team at Rare LTD travelled the country to find an animal park hosting Toco Toucans. Upon recommendation, they found Boy at Birdworld, home to 181 species of birds.

Musician Chloe Kwok, producer Louise Roberts, and senior sound designer at Rare Katie Tarrant were due to record Boy's squawks and clicks in a day.

Boy was initially camera shy, but with assistance from Polly Bramham, Living Collections manager at Birdworld, Boy gradually became comfortable. After shifting to a separate enclosure and gently feeding the microphone, the team was able to get the necessary recordings.

The game enables players to live a pirate's life in an open virtual world with various pet companions (Image: Supplied)

Boy's recordings were edited and incorporated into the game. Early responses indicated that his contribution was well received by players.

As for Boy, his days continue as usual, filled with target training sessions and attention from his keeper.

Katie said: "When we first envisioned adding a toucan as a pet in the game, I began researching reference videos and quickly realised how unique their sounds are. However, I was surprised to find that no sound effects libraries included toucan calls. That’s when we decided to record them live and thankfully, Birdworld came to our rescue."

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Boy's recordings were edited and incorporated into the game (Image: Supplied)

Musician Chloe added: "It’s safe to say that Boy was camera shy at first, but after gently getting to know him, he soon grew in confidence.

"So much so that at one point he tried to eat the microphone, which was highly amusing. It was clear that Boy certainly had the personality that we were looking for."

Living collections manager Polly said: "Toco Toucans are the largest members of the toucan family, and currently, their populations are stable enough to be classified as Least Concern from a conservation standpoint.

"Of the 50 toucan species, 39 are now experiencing population declines—a troubling trend we've observed for years. The more we learn about these incredible birds, the better equipped we are to protect and appreciate them."