Identify Birds You See or Hear with Merlin Bird ID
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology recently launched a free birding app, called Merlin Bird ID, which enables users to identify the birds they see or hear, anywhere, at any time.
The Bird ID Wizard asks users to answer three simple questions about the bird they are trying to identify, and Merlin will reply with a list of possible matches. Merlin offers quick and accurate identification for all levels of bird watchers to help them learn about birds across the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa, and Oceania. Sample questions may include, “What size was the bird?” “What were the main colors?” and “What was the bird doing?”
Merlin’s Sound ID listens to the birds around you and shows relative suggestions for who’s singing. Compare your recording to the songs and calls in Merlin to confirm what you heard. The Sound ID is available for all birds in the U.S. and Canada. More species and regions will be coming soon.
Do you love bird photography? With the help of Merlin, snap a photo of a bird or pull one from your camera roll. The app will offer a short list of possible matches. Photo ID works completely offline, so you can identify the birds in your photos, no matter where you are.
Another interesting aspect of the app is the Life List feature. Build a digital scrapbook of your birding memories with Save My Bird. Tap “This is My Bird!” each time you identify a bird, and Merlin will add it to your growing Life List.
Merlin is powered by eBird, allowing you to build custom lists of the birds you’re likely to spot wherever you are. Use the filter options to explore birds for different locations or a time of year, or switch to show all the species in the Bird Packs you’ve downloaded. Get more from the app with these Merlin tips and tricks: https://bit.ly/3A36HXq.
To learn more about Merlin Bird ID, visit https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org.