Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab Hack 3.0.2 + Redeem Codes
Identify Birds You See & Hear
Developer: Cornell University
Category: Reference
Price: Free
Version: 3.0.2
ID: edu.cornell.birds.merlin
Screenshots
Description
What's that bird? Ask Merlin—the world’s leading app for birds. Just like magic, Merlin Bird ID will help you solve the mystery.
Merlin Bird ID helps you identify birds you see and hear. Merlin is unlike any other bird app—it's powered by eBird, the world’s largest database of bird sightings, sounds, and photos.
Merlin offers four fun ways to identify birds. Answer a few simple questions, upload a photo, record a singing bird, or explore birds in a region.
Whether you’re curious about a bird you’ve seen once or you’re hoping to identify every bird you can find, the answers are waiting for you with this free app from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE MERLIN
• Expert ID tips, range maps, photos, and sounds help you learn about the birds you spot and build birding skills.
• Customized lists of birds to find where you live or travel
• Merlin was created by bird experts for everyone.
• Merlin is global—look up any bird at any location.
• Keep track of your sightings—linked to eBird, a global database of more than 1 billion bird observations!
MACHINE LEARNING MAGIC
• Powered by Visipedia, Merlin Sound ID and Photo ID uses deep learning to identify birds in photos and sounds. Merlin learns to recognize bird species based on training sets of millions of photos and sounds collected by birders at eBird.org, archived in the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
• Merlin delivers the most accurate results thanks to experienced birders, who curate and annotate sightings, photos, and sounds, who are the true magic behind Merlin.
AMAZING CONTENT
• Choose bird packs that contain photos, songs, and calls, and identification help for anywhere in the world, including Mexico, Costa Rica, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, Australia, Korea, Japan, China, and more.
• It’s available in your language. Merlin is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Hebrew, German, Japanese, Korean, Turkish, Marathi, Malayalam, Afrikaans, Arabic, Indonesian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s goal is to help you and millions of others to learn about birds. Our nonprofit mission to improve the understanding and protection of birds and nature is made possible by the generosity of Cornell Lab members, supporters, and citizen-science contributors.
Merlin Bird ID helps you identify birds you see and hear. Merlin is unlike any other bird app—it's powered by eBird, the world’s largest database of bird sightings, sounds, and photos.
Merlin offers four fun ways to identify birds. Answer a few simple questions, upload a photo, record a singing bird, or explore birds in a region.
Whether you’re curious about a bird you’ve seen once or you’re hoping to identify every bird you can find, the answers are waiting for you with this free app from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE MERLIN
• Expert ID tips, range maps, photos, and sounds help you learn about the birds you spot and build birding skills.
• Customized lists of birds to find where you live or travel
• Merlin was created by bird experts for everyone.
• Merlin is global—look up any bird at any location.
• Keep track of your sightings—linked to eBird, a global database of more than 1 billion bird observations!
MACHINE LEARNING MAGIC
• Powered by Visipedia, Merlin Sound ID and Photo ID uses deep learning to identify birds in photos and sounds. Merlin learns to recognize bird species based on training sets of millions of photos and sounds collected by birders at eBird.org, archived in the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
• Merlin delivers the most accurate results thanks to experienced birders, who curate and annotate sightings, photos, and sounds, who are the true magic behind Merlin.
AMAZING CONTENT
• Choose bird packs that contain photos, songs, and calls, and identification help for anywhere in the world, including Mexico, Costa Rica, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, Australia, Korea, Japan, China, and more.
• It’s available in your language. Merlin is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Hebrew, German, Japanese, Korean, Turkish, Marathi, Malayalam, Afrikaans, Arabic, Indonesian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s goal is to help you and millions of others to learn about birds. Our nonprofit mission to improve the understanding and protection of birds and nature is made possible by the generosity of Cornell Lab members, supporters, and citizen-science contributors.
Version history
3.0.2
2023-10-23
Updated Sound ID Model (v34): Merlin can now identify over 1200 species by sound! We added over 150 new species to sound ID in this update, including fan-favorites like Wilson’s Plover, Flame-colored Tanager, and New Zealand Fantail.
New translation: Merlin is now available in Thai!
New translation: Merlin is now available in Thai!
3.0.1
2023-08-30
New in this release: language updates and bug fixes for Merlin’s new layout
Danish translations: buttons and label text within Merlin are now available in Danish!
Layout fixes for Hebrew, Arabic, and other languages: fixed the layouts on the Sound ID and Life List pages for languages with right-to-left script.
Swarovski dG: restored ability to download your images directly from your Swarovski dG into Photo ID
Danish translations: buttons and label text within Merlin are now available in Danish!
Layout fixes for Hebrew, Arabic, and other languages: fixed the layouts on the Sound ID and Life List pages for languages with right-to-left script.
Swarovski dG: restored ability to download your images directly from your Swarovski dG into Photo ID
3.0
2023-07-05
We're giving Merlin a makeover! We hope you find the new navigation system sleeker and more intuitive to use.
In addition to being able to more quickly navigate around the app, Sound ID can now run in the background while you use other parts of Merlin, like Explore and Life List.
In addition to being able to more quickly navigate around the app, Sound ID can now run in the background while you use other parts of Merlin, like Explore and Life List.
2.1.8
2023-04-24
We’re excited to announce our latest update, with new features to make exploring your saved Sound ID recordings even more fun!
• Tap to cycle through multiple Sound ID results for a bird
Now, when you tap on a bird in your Sound ID recordings, you can cycle through multiple results for that bird. This is a great way to compare different results and find the one that you’re most confident in.
• Sound ID results are highlighted in Playback mode
We’ve also made it easier to explore your Sound ID recordings by highlighting the singing birds, same as the live recording. This makes it easy to see which birds are singing and to identify and learn the songs and calls.
• Sound ID recordings are backed up to iCloud
Finally, we’ve added iCloud backup support for Sound ID recordings. This means that your recordings will be automatically backed up to iCloud, so you can restore them if you ever update to a new device.
We hope you enjoy these new features! If you have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thanks for using Sound ID!
• Tap to cycle through multiple Sound ID results for a bird
Now, when you tap on a bird in your Sound ID recordings, you can cycle through multiple results for that bird. This is a great way to compare different results and find the one that you’re most confident in.
• Sound ID results are highlighted in Playback mode
We’ve also made it easier to explore your Sound ID recordings by highlighting the singing birds, same as the live recording. This makes it easy to see which birds are singing and to identify and learn the songs and calls.
• Sound ID recordings are backed up to iCloud
Finally, we’ve added iCloud backup support for Sound ID recordings. This means that your recordings will be automatically backed up to iCloud, so you can restore them if you ever update to a new device.
We hope you enjoy these new features! If you have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thanks for using Sound ID!
2.1.7
2023-04-13
We’re excited to announce our latest update, with new features to make exploring your saved Sound ID recordings even more fun!
• Tap to cycle through multiple Sound ID results for a bird
Now, when you tap on a bird in your Sound ID recordings, you can cycle through multiple results for that bird. This is a great way to compare different results and find the one that you’re most confident in.
• Sound ID results are highlighted in Playback mode
We’ve also made it easier to explore your Sound ID recordings by highlighting the singing birds, same as the live recording. This makes it easy to see which birds are singing and to identify and learn the songs and calls.
• Sound ID recordings are backed up to iCloud
Finally, we’ve added iCloud backup support for Sound ID recordings. This means that your recordings will be automatically backed up to iCloud, so you can restore them if you ever update to a new device.
We hope you enjoy these new features! If you have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thanks for using Sound ID!
• Tap to cycle through multiple Sound ID results for a bird
Now, when you tap on a bird in your Sound ID recordings, you can cycle through multiple results for that bird. This is a great way to compare different results and find the one that you’re most confident in.
• Sound ID results are highlighted in Playback mode
We’ve also made it easier to explore your Sound ID recordings by highlighting the singing birds, same as the live recording. This makes it easy to see which birds are singing and to identify and learn the songs and calls.
• Sound ID recordings are backed up to iCloud
Finally, we’ve added iCloud backup support for Sound ID recordings. This means that your recordings will be automatically backed up to iCloud, so you can restore them if you ever update to a new device.
We hope you enjoy these new features! If you have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thanks for using Sound ID!
2.1.6
2023-04-10
We’re excited to announce our latest update, with new features to make exploring your saved Sound ID recordings even more fun!
• Tap to cycle through multiple Sound ID results for a bird
Now, when you tap on a bird in your Sound ID recordings, you can cycle through multiple results for that bird. This is a great way to compare different results and find the one that you’re most confident in.
• Sound ID results are highlighted in Playback mode
We’ve also made it easier to explore your Sound ID recordings by highlighting the singing birds, same as the live recording. This makes it easy to see which birds are singing and to identify and learn the songs and calls.
• Sound ID recordings are backed up to iCloud
Finally, we’ve added iCloud backup support for Sound ID recordings. This means that your recordings will be automatically backed up to iCloud, so you can restore them if you ever update to a new device.
We hope you enjoy these new features! If you have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thanks for using Sound ID!
• Tap to cycle through multiple Sound ID results for a bird
Now, when you tap on a bird in your Sound ID recordings, you can cycle through multiple results for that bird. This is a great way to compare different results and find the one that you’re most confident in.
• Sound ID results are highlighted in Playback mode
We’ve also made it easier to explore your Sound ID recordings by highlighting the singing birds, same as the live recording. This makes it easy to see which birds are singing and to identify and learn the songs and calls.
• Sound ID recordings are backed up to iCloud
Finally, we’ve added iCloud backup support for Sound ID recordings. This means that your recordings will be automatically backed up to iCloud, so you can restore them if you ever update to a new device.
We hope you enjoy these new features! If you have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thanks for using Sound ID!
2.1.5
2022-12-06
New in this release
• eBird/Clements Taxonomy 2022 - Updated species names to align with eBird
• Updated app translations
• Support for both Portuguese (Portugal) and Portuguese (Brazil)
• Support for ID text in Marathi and Malayalam
Also included 2.1.4
Updates to My Sound Recordings screen to quickly explore and manage your recordings
• Quickly view the top species
• Search by species, location, and filename
• Sort by date, recording length, and file name
• Select multiple recordings to share or delete
New common name options
• Spanish (Honduras)
• Portuguese (Angola)
Other updates include:
• Support audio imports from iCloud
• Show recording length for Sound ID session longer than 1 hour
• eBird/Clements Taxonomy 2022 - Updated species names to align with eBird
• Updated app translations
• Support for both Portuguese (Portugal) and Portuguese (Brazil)
• Support for ID text in Marathi and Malayalam
Also included 2.1.4
Updates to My Sound Recordings screen to quickly explore and manage your recordings
• Quickly view the top species
• Search by species, location, and filename
• Sort by date, recording length, and file name
• Select multiple recordings to share or delete
New common name options
• Spanish (Honduras)
• Portuguese (Angola)
Other updates include:
• Support audio imports from iCloud
• Show recording length for Sound ID session longer than 1 hour
2.1.4
2022-11-09
This latest version brings Sound ID improvements for US, Canada, and European species, as well as around 200 additional birds, covering some of the most common and widespread birds of Central and South America.
Updates to My Sound Recordings screen to quickly explore and manage your recordings
• Quickly view the top species
• Search by species, location, and filename
• Sort by date, recording length, and file name
• Select multiple recordings to share or delete
New common name options
• Spanish (Honduras)
• Portuguese (Angola)
Other updates include:
• Support audio imports from iCloud
• Show recording length for Sound ID session longer than 1 hour
Updates to My Sound Recordings screen to quickly explore and manage your recordings
• Quickly view the top species
• Search by species, location, and filename
• Sort by date, recording length, and file name
• Select multiple recordings to share or delete
New common name options
• Spanish (Honduras)
• Portuguese (Angola)
Other updates include:
• Support audio imports from iCloud
• Show recording length for Sound ID session longer than 1 hour
2.1.2
2022-06-07
• Layout tweaks for smaller screens to show more results
• The latest and greatest Sound ID model!
• Video support for Sound ID - you can now open/Import videos and Sound ID will import just the audio and identify the singing birds
• The latest and greatest Sound ID model!
• Video support for Sound ID - you can now open/Import videos and Sound ID will import just the audio and identify the singing birds
2.1.1
2022-05-08
• Layout tweaks for smaller screens to show more results
• The latest and greatest Sound ID model!
• Video support for Sound ID - you can now open/Import videos and Sound ID will import just the audio and identify the singing birds
• The latest and greatest Sound ID model!
• Video support for Sound ID - you can now open/Import videos and Sound ID will import just the audio and identify the singing birds
2.1
2022-04-17
Now with Sound ID for birds in the United States, Canada, and Europe! Record the birds you hear, and watch real-time results show up on the screen to help guide you to the correct identification.
2.0.3
2022-01-02
This release brings bug fixes that improve Merlin to help you discover and identify birds around you.
2.0.2
2021-09-18
Now with Sound ID! Record the birds you hear, and watch real-time results show up on the screen to help guide you to the correct identification.
2.0.1
2021-07-24
Sound ID for 450+ species in the US and Canada!
Have you ever been mystified when hearing a bird you can’t see? Merlin helps you identify birds even when you can’t see them. Record the birds you hear, and watch real-time results show up on the screen to help guide you to the correct identification.
2.0.1 notes
Tweaks and fixes to make your birdwatching more enjoyable! Thanks for all the feedback and reports.
Have you ever been mystified when hearing a bird you can’t see? Merlin helps you identify birds even when you can’t see them. Record the birds you hear, and watch real-time results show up on the screen to help guide you to the correct identification.
2.0.1 notes
Tweaks and fixes to make your birdwatching more enjoyable! Thanks for all the feedback and reports.
2.0
2021-06-23
Sound ID for 400+ species in the US and Canada!
Have you ever been mystified when hearing a bird you can’t see? Merlin helps you identify birds even when you can’t see them. Record the birds you hear, and watch real-time results show up on the screen to help guide you to the correct identification.
The ability to identify bird songs and calls is powered by thousands of audio recordings in Macaulay Library, and over a billion bird sightings submitted to eBird.
Have you ever been mystified when hearing a bird you can’t see? Merlin helps you identify birds even when you can’t see them. Record the birds you hear, and watch real-time results show up on the screen to help guide you to the correct identification.
The ability to identify bird songs and calls is powered by thousands of audio recordings in Macaulay Library, and over a billion bird sightings submitted to eBird.
1.8.4
2021-05-11
We periodically release fixes and tweaks to improve Merlin Bird ID and help you identify more birds.
1.8.2
2020-08-31
Save My Bird
Now when you use the Bird ID or Photo ID features to identify a bird, you can tell Merlin that "This is my bird!" and save that sighting to your free Cornell Lab account. As you record when and where you see birds, you'll be able to watch your life list grow!
Think of a life list as a scrapbook of memories. It’s a record of the sweet sights and sounds you took in over all the days you went birdwatching. That’s why we’re excited to give you the tools to start your life list in Merlin. Use Save My Bird to create a list of all the birds you’ve confidently identified in person. You can even save the same species multiple times, if you want to keep track of all the places you’ve crossed paths with it.
1.8.2
New common name options
Arabic
Asturian
Azerbaijani
Catalan
Spanish, Peru
Spanish, Paraguay
Euskera
French, French Guiana
Galician
Slovak
1.8.1
Fixes to streamline logging in again if you've changed your password
Updates to translations
Now when you use the Bird ID or Photo ID features to identify a bird, you can tell Merlin that "This is my bird!" and save that sighting to your free Cornell Lab account. As you record when and where you see birds, you'll be able to watch your life list grow!
Think of a life list as a scrapbook of memories. It’s a record of the sweet sights and sounds you took in over all the days you went birdwatching. That’s why we’re excited to give you the tools to start your life list in Merlin. Use Save My Bird to create a list of all the birds you’ve confidently identified in person. You can even save the same species multiple times, if you want to keep track of all the places you’ve crossed paths with it.
1.8.2
New common name options
Arabic
Asturian
Azerbaijani
Catalan
Spanish, Peru
Spanish, Paraguay
Euskera
French, French Guiana
Galician
Slovak
1.8.1
Fixes to streamline logging in again if you've changed your password
Updates to translations
1.8.1
2020-08-22
Save My Bird
Now when you use the Bird ID or Photo ID features to identify a bird, you can tell Merlin that "This is my bird!" and save that sighting to your free Cornell Lab account. As you record when and where you see birds, you'll be able to watch your life list grow!
Think of a life list as a scrapbook of memories. It’s a record of the sweet sights and sounds you took in over all the days you went birdwatching. That’s why we’re excited to give you the tools to start your life list in Merlin. Use Save My Bird to create a list of all the birds you’ve confidently identified in person. You can even save the same species multiple times, if you want to keep track of all the places you’ve crossed paths with it.
1.8.1
Fixes to streamline logging in again if you've changed your password
Updates to translations
Now when you use the Bird ID or Photo ID features to identify a bird, you can tell Merlin that "This is my bird!" and save that sighting to your free Cornell Lab account. As you record when and where you see birds, you'll be able to watch your life list grow!
Think of a life list as a scrapbook of memories. It’s a record of the sweet sights and sounds you took in over all the days you went birdwatching. That’s why we’re excited to give you the tools to start your life list in Merlin. Use Save My Bird to create a list of all the birds you’ve confidently identified in person. You can even save the same species multiple times, if you want to keep track of all the places you’ve crossed paths with it.
1.8.1
Fixes to streamline logging in again if you've changed your password
Updates to translations
1.8
2020-08-10
Save My Bird
Now when you use the Bird ID or Photo ID features to identify a bird, you can tell Merlin that "This is my bird!" and save that sighting to your free Cornell Lab account. As you record when and where you see birds, you'll be able to watch your life list grow!
Now when you use the Bird ID or Photo ID features to identify a bird, you can tell Merlin that "This is my bird!" and save that sighting to your free Cornell Lab account. As you record when and where you see birds, you'll be able to watch your life list grow!
1.7.4
2020-06-09
# New common name options
English, UAE
English, Bangladesh
English, Kenya
English, Philippiness
English, South Africa
French, Guadeloupe
French, Haiti
Indonesian
Japanese
Korean
Mongolian
Romanian
# Various bug fixes
English, UAE
English, Bangladesh
English, Kenya
English, Philippiness
English, South Africa
French, Guadeloupe
French, Haiti
Indonesian
Japanese
Korean
Mongolian
Romanian
# Various bug fixes
1.7.3
2020-05-01
This update adds support for the Swarovski Optik dG, as well as various fixes and improvements to help you identify more birds.
1.7.2
2020-03-28
This update adds support for the Swarovski Optik dG, as well as various fixes and improvements to help you identify more birds.
New - support for upcoming packs in French and German
New - support for upcoming packs in French and German
1.7.1
2020-03-10
This update adds support for the Swarovski Optik dG, as well as various fixes and improvements to help you identify more birds.
1.7
2020-02-24
This update adds support for the Swarovski Optik dG, as well as various fixes and improvements to help you identify more birds.
1.6.4
2020-01-16
Check out the new Bird Pack screen, making it easier for you to find the birds at your next birding destination!
Ways to hack Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab
- Redeem codes (Get the Redeem codes)
Download hacked APK
Download Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab MOD APK
Request a Hack
Ratings
4.9 out of 5
75.6K Ratings
Reviews
Tory Mathis,
Loads of fun
Let me begin by stating I never use the original function of describing the bird I see. If I can see it that we’ll, chances are I can identify it without Merlin. The same goes with the photo ID feature—if I can get close enough and get a good enough look , I can ID the bird as well as Merlin can. I have tested out the photo ID, and I believe it would be a useful tool for beginners. Be aware that it’s not perfect: it has just as hard a time distinguishing between sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks as I do. Where the app really shines is in the sound ID. At first I was a little skeptical. One of the first times I used it it thought that one bird was both a common raven and an American crow. Same thing with some gulls. It thought there was both a California and Herring gull. I eventually found one I could call a California, the Herring gull never materialized. It also thought there was a tundra swan, but upon reviewing the recording, there was nothing there, and definitely no swan within my sight. The more I have used it, however, the more confident I become in its ID power. Generally, if Merlin disagrees with what I thought the sound was, I’ll try to track it down and find it. And more often than not, I find what Merlin told me was there. But the most fun I have had with this app was watching a northern mockingbird singing while Merlin picked out thirteen different bird songs that one mockingbird had learned and incorporated into its repertoire.
Scuba Nonna,
Great for a beginner like me
I love birds and want to learn more about them. I have been hesitant to join birdwatchers as I’ve heard via birder email lists the experienced birders can be impatient and critical of newbies and also make it hard for newbies to join any groups. It’s like breaking into a click. That said, I felt I needed to learn before I even got started so I tried Merlin ID. I have used all 3 tools and find each one useful. I’m most excited about the sound ID though. This app is not perfect and you should question a match that seems questionable, like if it gives you a “rare” match. Do some research by listening to the call options to see if the match is authentic. This app also doesn’t recognize every bird. But, when there isn’t a match just submit the recording to Merlin so they can further improve the app. It is constantly improving and can only do that if we all help out. One day, I heard a bird but couldn’t see it. The sound tool identified the bird so then I knew what to look for and sure enough, I was able to visually identify said bird! I was super excited and encouraged. I also enjoy reading about each bird, the various photos and learning the different calls and songs. I’ve begun to share this with my daughter and grandkids when we take walks. My grandson lights up when he is able to see photos of the birds he is hearing and he’s only 2.5. Fun for the whole family!
Jimmyjummy69,
Amazing tool, but a few minuscule issues
This app is amazing. I use it every time I go bird watching, and it is far more efficient than most of the manuals I own. However, it is not without its minor faults.
The first and most blaring is the fact that Isee many birds with many more than only 3 colors, and when I see birds with only 3 or less colors they might be different colors than I have the options I have to pick from! I understand that there are limitations that make it difficult, but the app would be that closer to perfect if you added more colors and the option to pick more than three colors.
The other issue is that on a very slim chance I cant find the bird im looking for! This is for the most part my fault, but I think that sometimes it is because the bird isn’t on the list of birds registered on the app. It could also be because of the pictures of the birds do not include all or most variations of the bird I see, so I cannot confirm my sighting. If the roster of birds was filled up more, and there was more pictures, then all of those problems would be solved!
It is such a great app with such great features and it almost never fails me. The only issues it has are so minor, or could be fixed in an update soon, that it makes them nearly irrelevant. Because of all of this the app is virtually perfect, and i recommend all bird watchers newbies and veterans alike to download this app.
The first and most blaring is the fact that Isee many birds with many more than only 3 colors, and when I see birds with only 3 or less colors they might be different colors than I have the options I have to pick from! I understand that there are limitations that make it difficult, but the app would be that closer to perfect if you added more colors and the option to pick more than three colors.
The other issue is that on a very slim chance I cant find the bird im looking for! This is for the most part my fault, but I think that sometimes it is because the bird isn’t on the list of birds registered on the app. It could also be because of the pictures of the birds do not include all or most variations of the bird I see, so I cannot confirm my sighting. If the roster of birds was filled up more, and there was more pictures, then all of those problems would be solved!
It is such a great app with such great features and it almost never fails me. The only issues it has are so minor, or could be fixed in an update soon, that it makes them nearly irrelevant. Because of all of this the app is virtually perfect, and i recommend all bird watchers newbies and veterans alike to download this app.
Kristen266,
Great free app.
This is a fun and easy to use bird ID app. Generally I know the birds in my area but I don’t know all their calls and some birds are similar. Once you’ve recorded and stop, you can click on the green arrows and there are examples of all their calls (though some alarm calls are missing). On a early spring morning when birds are chatty and finding mates, I’ve picked up 17 birds. However, I think two of them were really a Mockingbird imitating a Purple Martin and Kildeer on the shoreline and I hadn’t seen either. So, it’s good to listen to a Mockingbird’s own sounds and if a bird you haven’t seen comes up quickly with the Mockingbird, it may not be Merlin’s fault.
It did pick up the sound of my door opening as a Loon but we don’t have any. When signing up, when you choose the pack it’s good to choose your area so there are less mistakes. The photo ID works pretty well so far. When you explore birds in the app, some birds say rare that really aren’t, e.g. Mergansers have become common in the winters here mostly in brackish waters. It’s possible that it might mix up juvenile hawks that all have white breasts with brown drippy markings. You can go to Cornell Lab’s website and learn how to recognize their differences, the length of their tail feathers being one way.
It’s helpful and fun and surprisingly picks up bird sounds even when there’s traffic noise.
It did pick up the sound of my door opening as a Loon but we don’t have any. When signing up, when you choose the pack it’s good to choose your area so there are less mistakes. The photo ID works pretty well so far. When you explore birds in the app, some birds say rare that really aren’t, e.g. Mergansers have become common in the winters here mostly in brackish waters. It’s possible that it might mix up juvenile hawks that all have white breasts with brown drippy markings. You can go to Cornell Lab’s website and learn how to recognize their differences, the length of their tail feathers being one way.
It’s helpful and fun and surprisingly picks up bird sounds even when there’s traffic noise.
Cconner79,
Amazing App for easy Bird ID
This app is wonderful! I knew next to nothing about birds until a Eastern Goldfinch landed in my bird bath one day spurring interest into exactly what the name of this beautiful bird was. I searched inline but characteristics I described didn’t help me find what I was looking for so I checked in the App Store for a bird identification app finding many games but only a couple of identification apps I downloaded 3 but found this to be the best for me. Since then I have become an avid bird watcher! The app is easy to use even for me. I was disabled by a drunk driver in 05’ & fed up with tv so great to find a hobby I can enjoy outdoors. Even my parents joined in & my daddy after suffering a head injury himself in 2011 took up the hobby along with wood working. Together we would make feeders & houses to help attract more birds. He would build & I would paint different types of houses I researched on the website to help attract birds of all types. Unfortunately We lost him to cancer in February of this year (2018) but the time we spent birding together these past 7 years is something I’ll always hold near & dear to my heart. Thanks so much to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Birds in the Hand, & the developers of the Merlin Bird ID for providing us with this wonderful app that has given me some very sweet memories & a wonderful hobby.
Superduperdo,
Best free birding app
This app got me started with birding. Last spring, I downloaded it to start identifying the common birds around me like American Robins, European Starlings, Common Grackles, and Northern Mockingbirds. Soon, I moved from merely identifying birds to counting them also, and soon after, I started recording full checklists with the EBird app (I think also a product of the Cornell School of Ornithology?), which is the best solution for those who wish this app would record their sightings. Now, less than a year later, I have 150 species on my list and have found a new lifelong hobby that I expect to bring me joy for decades to come. It’s all thanks to Merlin!
Though I eventually found that a high quality illustrated field guide (I use Sibleys in the US and Collins in Europe) is more useful than any app, I still reference Merlin for sounds or any time I don’t have my guide on me. I was very excited when Merlin came out with bird packs for Europe right before I traveled to Greece this past fall, and I look forward to seeing more bird packs coming out for other parts of the world as time goes on. It’s fun to scroll through the foreign packs and dream about traveling to new places and seeing those birds. I’d glad that when I do go, I’ll have Merlin with me to help identify them!
Though I eventually found that a high quality illustrated field guide (I use Sibleys in the US and Collins in Europe) is more useful than any app, I still reference Merlin for sounds or any time I don’t have my guide on me. I was very excited when Merlin came out with bird packs for Europe right before I traveled to Greece this past fall, and I look forward to seeing more bird packs coming out for other parts of the world as time goes on. It’s fun to scroll through the foreign packs and dream about traveling to new places and seeing those birds. I’d glad that when I do go, I’ll have Merlin with me to help identify them!
paulite31,
Algorithm problem
It has come to my attention that the algorithm used to show likely birds in a region is flawed. The algorithm occasionally causes rare birds to appear common at certain hotspots. My guess to how this happens is likely due to the birding community discovering a rare bird and sharing that info with their community. Then people from all over show up and enter the bird into eBird. This causes a large number of people to report the same single bird. As a result the algorithm will occasionally tell you birds like a scissor-tailed flycatcher is common at Arcadia Marsh, MI. When as far as I can tell it was only seen on one day by many people. Or it could tell you that a lazuli bunting or a painted bunting are common at Whitefish Point, MI when in fact there are very few historic reporting a of either of those birds statewide. An improvement could be made by changing the algorithm to factor in the number of birds reported per checklist for example (10 trumpeter swans) along with the number of days the bird has been seen over a period of time. This would prevent anomalous inaccurate results for a single bird that was seen up to hundreds of times on only 1 day. Aside from that the app is excellent at what it was made to do. As a predictive tool of what birds you may find in a given region, extra research is required to double check Merlin’s findings.
Passage Maker,
Nothing Short of Amazing
The speed and sensitivity of the Sound ID function is startling. It appears to be able to process several birds at nearly the same time. I can’t speak to it’s accuracy yet, because I haven’t had that many opportunities to visually confirm the sound IDs. But even if accuracy is only ok (and I suspect it’s much, much better than that), the app has already been invaluable to me as a novice birder. It has sped up my learning tremendously. Hearing the actual call as the app gives the bird’s name, and then seeing pictures of that type of bird on the app - this is exactly what I need to build those associations in my memory. And then being able to read a bit about it’s behavior and listen to the variety of its calls and songs provides context, and hones in on consistencies and variations of that bird’s call. Watching the app sort out the calls of over half a dozen birds as they call and respond in the morning, again and again, is really helping me learn how to tell them apart and name them. I’ve taken two birding classes and I use two different field guides, but none of those have helped me learn birds as much as this app. This is exactly what I needed!
Afree76,
Best resource for the novice birder.
I’ve had this app for a few years now and just wanted to test it out. It’s probably not very helpful that I’m just now getting around to it. I was initially pretty disappointed at first because the number of species specific to Alaska was fairly limited. It took a little time, but they rolled out regional specific bird packs. It just blew up from there and became my go-to app for identifying birds. The photo ID feature is pretty great, but limited only by the quality of my phone camera. It’s usually pretty accurate though. I’ve just gotten way more interested in birds I really didn’t pay attention to before! The app is great and if you enjoy birds of all sizes in your area, chances are this app will be instrumental in identifying them. I think I use it more than any other app I have.
Oh yeah, I also really love the bird sounds feature. This is also very useful when you can’t necessarily see the bird, but you might have a close idea of what it could be. Do check it out, this is well put together app overall. I wonder if they’ll have a feature where you could identify simply by recording a song or a call? I’m excited for any new developments in the future!
Oh yeah, I also really love the bird sounds feature. This is also very useful when you can’t necessarily see the bird, but you might have a close idea of what it could be. Do check it out, this is well put together app overall. I wonder if they’ll have a feature where you could identify simply by recording a song or a call? I’m excited for any new developments in the future!
Tina B VT,
Great, but could be smoother and quicker for sound identification
This app has helped me learn and pay attention to sound qualities I didn’t used to discern, vastly increasing the accuracy of my birding by ear. My most frequent frustration is when I lose the chance to record an infrequent sound, because it can take so many clicks and scrolls to get to the Start new recording activator. I wish as soon as I open the screen, no matter whether I last looked at data for a bird with twenty song and call variations, or if there was no match, or if there were 8 species heard, that I could see and touch the Record function in one step. Instead, the passing bird is gone out of range too often, or stopped calling or singing. My second frustration is that there’s no quick way (at least that I have found) to delete a recording in which the target wasn’t registered. I wish there was a Delete last recording button right on the screen with the No match report, and also on ones where a plane or truck noise took over the recording.
All that said, I often recommend this app to birders who haven’t tried it yet. Thanks
All that said, I often recommend this app to birders who haven’t tried it yet. Thanks
