The 7 Best Apps and Tools for Identifying Birds, According to Experts
Give a name to every winged beauty you see on your next bird walk.
Jeff R Clow/Getty Images
Whether you're a self-proclaimed ornithophile or you simply enjoy the occasional backyard bird sighting, there's always something new to learn about these winged creatures. But with more than 800 bird species in the United States alone, it can feel next to impossible to get to know the many birds you see daily. Luckily, there are several bird apps that can help you identify species and learn more information about their habitat, behavior, diet, and beyond. Some tools can even identify birds from the sound of their call alone. To further your knowledge about these beautiful avians, we're sharing a few expert-approved bird apps and tools that will help you with identification.
Meet the Expert
Steve Roels, Kirtland’s Warbler program director at American Bird Conservancy
Roslyn Rivas, programs manager and bird outing leader for New York City Audubon
Tod Winston, a birding guide and urban biodiversity specialist for New York City Audubon
Related: 10 Bird Feeders That Will Attract Hummingbirds, Finches, and More to Your Yard
Merlin Bird ID
Merlin Bird ID, which was designed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is widely recognized as the best digital tool specifically designed for bird identification. "It is excellent at producing immediate bird IDs using sound recordings, photos, or user responses to questions about the appearance of a bird," says Steve Roels, Kirtland’s Warbler program director at American Bird Conservancy. "Since we hear birds far more often than we see them, having real-time IDs of bird sounds is a game changer."
Platforms: iOS, Android, Web
Pricing: Free
eBird
Another app created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, eBird is a widely used tool for bird lovers. "Birders can make checklists of all the birds they've seen, how many of each, and where they traveled," says Roslyn Rivas, programs manager and bird outing leader for New York City Audubon. Anyone can view checklists submitted from all around the world, which is great for identifying birds in a given area. "eBird is also a fantastic tool for community science—submitting checklists adds to the global database, which gives insights on the range of bird populations in real time," says Rivas.
Platforms: iOS, Android, Web
Pricing: Free
iNaturalist
iNaturalist is a platform that automatically identifies birds from photos, as well as plants and flowers. "iNaturalist can identify any kind of life, so it is a terrific tool for exploring bird habitats. What kind of berries is that bird eating? What kind of tree is a bird nesting in?" says Roels. "iNaturalist has a wonderful user community that helps with IDs when the computers have trouble finding a match."
Platforms: iOS, Android, Web
Pricing: Free
Related: The 10 Best Apps for Identifying Plants and Flowers
Xeno-Canto
Xeno-Canto, which is available exclusively on the web, is a crowd-sourced library of bird sounds. "It helps me with advanced bird identification challenges, like understanding regional variations in the songs of a widespread species (birds can have accents just like humans)," says Roels. "It is also fun to simply browse recordings and be amazed at the diversity of sounds birds can make."
Platforms: Web
Pricing: Free
All About Birds
All About Birds was created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and includes tips, photos, and sound files to help you sort out difficult bird identifications, says Tod Winston, a birding guide and urban biodiversity specialist for New York City Audubon. The tool also provides a multitude of information about each species, including details on diet, behavior, seasonal plumage, and range maps.
Platforms: Web
Pricing: Free
Sibley Birds
Sibley Birds is a digital companion to the Sibley Guides to Birds, which includes illustrations of various bird species and information about their habitat. The app includes detailed artwork from David Sibley’s guidebook, as well as thorough descriptions and distribution maps. It also provides access to bird songs and calls, which can help you identify what you're hearing, says Winston.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Pricing: $20
Audubon Bird Guide
Like a combination of Merlin Bird ID and eBird, the Audubon Bird Guide app is an extensive field guide that helps users identify the birds they spot while also allowing them to keep a record of those species observations, says Rivas. The app can identify over 800 species of North American birds by being given key information like how big the bird is, its color, and what its tail looks like.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Pricing: Free
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