What does it mean when this mechanical wall-mounted bird drops dead?

This is a canary in the coal mine, but for the modern era — literally. Birdie is a little yellow wall-mounted mechanical bird that quite literally faints when the air in the room gets too bad. You’ll have to crank up the air filter or open the windows to lüften, as the Germans say, in order to get the little bird to pop back up. Originally launched in 2022, this cute air quality monitor is back with upgrades.

Birdie Pro, currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, is kitted out with an array of sensors for keeping tabs on the air quality. It can check CO2, temperature, humidity, pollen and outdoor AQI levels. There’s also smart home connectivity and a companion app where you can view graphs, historical data and educational content about your air quality.