Song Sleuth Bird Song Analyzer Hack 2.3.4 + Redeem Codes
w/ David Sibley Bird Reference
Developer: Wildlife Acoustics
Category: Reference
Price: Free
Version: 2.3.4
ID: com.wildlifeacoustics.SongSleuth
Screenshots
Description
Song Sleuth turns your iPhone or iPad into a bird song analysis powerhouse covering the 200 most common vocalizing land birds in North America. Developed by Wildlife Acoustics, in collaboration with world-renowned bird expert and illustrator David Sibley, the app records bird songs, allows you to compare your songs to known species, has a reference to research and learn bird song, and even suggests matching species.
Not just for beginners, the app also has features for intermediate birders who might need an identification hint or wish to study the included example recordings to take their ear birding to the next level. Advanced birders who don’t need any identification help will appreciate the ability to make and keep recordings for further study.
PLEASE READ BEFORE DOWNLOADING
Song Sleuth Auto-ID gets you started with suggested matches, but it is not perfect. Ultimately, it’s up to you to make the final identification. The app is intended to be an interactive and fun way to learn birding by ear. The more engaged you are in the process, the more we hope you will learn. Please read the following information on the app’s capabilities and limitations:
-The app does not identify simple calls, chips and scolds, only bird songs and more distinct calls that are characteristic of that species.
-The app does not recognize birds that are mimicking other birds such as the Thrashers and Mockingbird.
-It is ideal to get a recording of a single bird singing. The app can be confused by noise or background birds but tools are provided to trim and filter your recordings to improve the results.
- The app performs best outdoors with live birds, and not as well with pre-recorded sounds. Also, Song Sleuth automatically selects the birds that are likely to be in your area at the present time of year, so you need to be sure the birds you are playing are selected in the SPECIES LIST.
SONG SLEUTH HELPS YOU IDENTIFY SINGING BIRDS
Simply press the record button when you hear a bird singing and the app begins recording a few seconds back in time using the built-in microphone. Tap the record button again when the song is complete and Song Sleuth immediately shows you three most likely species. To assist you in determining the correct bird, you can listen to your recording and the example recordings of the likely matches as well as compare their spectrograms side-by-side.
SAVE, VIEW, LISTEN TO AND SHARE RECORDINGS
Recordings are saved in the RECORDING LIST where you can view the recording’s spectrogram, listen to the recording (and speed it up or slow down), add a text note, or view the GPS location. You can also trim the recording or filter the frequency range to remove extraneous sounds. Recordings can be shared with other Song Sleuth users via text messaging or email.
INCLUDES DAVID SIBLEY BIRD REFERENCE INFORMATION
The included David Sibley Bird Reference lets you learn more about each species. The reference includes Sibley illustrations of each bird, a description of each bird and its songs, zoomable range maps and a bar chart showing the likelihood of each bird’s presence in your area throughout the year, using Sibley’s extensive database of bird presence.
COMPLETE COLLECTION OF EXAMPLE RECORDINGS
Well-known nature recordist Lang Elliot and friends spent countless hours recording in the field to provide over 1,000 world-class recording examples of the included bird species. You can listen to a all the vocalizations made by each species or compare spectrograms to your own recordings or examples from other species.
SEE YOUR RECORDING LOCATIONS
Recording locations can be viewed on a satellite or road map or transferred to a computer and viewed in Google Earth. (Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.)
Not just for beginners, the app also has features for intermediate birders who might need an identification hint or wish to study the included example recordings to take their ear birding to the next level. Advanced birders who don’t need any identification help will appreciate the ability to make and keep recordings for further study.
PLEASE READ BEFORE DOWNLOADING
Song Sleuth Auto-ID gets you started with suggested matches, but it is not perfect. Ultimately, it’s up to you to make the final identification. The app is intended to be an interactive and fun way to learn birding by ear. The more engaged you are in the process, the more we hope you will learn. Please read the following information on the app’s capabilities and limitations:
-The app does not identify simple calls, chips and scolds, only bird songs and more distinct calls that are characteristic of that species.
-The app does not recognize birds that are mimicking other birds such as the Thrashers and Mockingbird.
-It is ideal to get a recording of a single bird singing. The app can be confused by noise or background birds but tools are provided to trim and filter your recordings to improve the results.
- The app performs best outdoors with live birds, and not as well with pre-recorded sounds. Also, Song Sleuth automatically selects the birds that are likely to be in your area at the present time of year, so you need to be sure the birds you are playing are selected in the SPECIES LIST.
SONG SLEUTH HELPS YOU IDENTIFY SINGING BIRDS
Simply press the record button when you hear a bird singing and the app begins recording a few seconds back in time using the built-in microphone. Tap the record button again when the song is complete and Song Sleuth immediately shows you three most likely species. To assist you in determining the correct bird, you can listen to your recording and the example recordings of the likely matches as well as compare their spectrograms side-by-side.
SAVE, VIEW, LISTEN TO AND SHARE RECORDINGS
Recordings are saved in the RECORDING LIST where you can view the recording’s spectrogram, listen to the recording (and speed it up or slow down), add a text note, or view the GPS location. You can also trim the recording or filter the frequency range to remove extraneous sounds. Recordings can be shared with other Song Sleuth users via text messaging or email.
INCLUDES DAVID SIBLEY BIRD REFERENCE INFORMATION
The included David Sibley Bird Reference lets you learn more about each species. The reference includes Sibley illustrations of each bird, a description of each bird and its songs, zoomable range maps and a bar chart showing the likelihood of each bird’s presence in your area throughout the year, using Sibley’s extensive database of bird presence.
COMPLETE COLLECTION OF EXAMPLE RECORDINGS
Well-known nature recordist Lang Elliot and friends spent countless hours recording in the field to provide over 1,000 world-class recording examples of the included bird species. You can listen to a all the vocalizations made by each species or compare spectrograms to your own recordings or examples from other species.
SEE YOUR RECORDING LOCATIONS
Recording locations can be viewed on a satellite or road map or transferred to a computer and viewed in Google Earth. (Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.)
Version history
2.3.4
2023-05-12
+Fixes broken auto-identification.
2.3.3
2023-04-22
+Several crash fixes.
2.3.2
2022-11-28
+Minor bug fixes.
2.3.1
2022-11-03
+Several crash fixes.
2.3
2022-10-05
+Adds the option to not run automatic ID so you can use the app as a general recording app. Select "No automatic ID" in the state and province list and recordings will be saved directly from the RECORD AND ID screen without opening any of the ID screens. Recording periods are outlined in a white box on the spectrogram. Recordings are still initiated and ended with the record button and still start 3 seconds back in time.
+Many crash fixes.
+Many crash fixes.
2.2.10
2022-07-11
+Fixes a display issue in the species search bar.
+Now requires iOS version 12 or higher to assure we can mantain a great user experience.
+Now requires iOS version 12 or higher to assure we can mantain a great user experience.
2.2.9
2021-01-07
+Minor bug fixes
2.2.8
2020-11-24
+Fixes several crash causes.
2.2.4
2020-01-02
+Added a Quick Start guide to the Help section on the Information page. This was meant to make it into the last release, sorry!
2.2.3
2019-12-31
+Added a Quick Start guide to the Help section on the Information page.
+iOS 13 related bug fixes.
+iOS 13 related bug fixes.
2.2
2019-06-06
+Song Sleuth is now backwards compatible on older devices that cannot upgrade to Apple's newer Metal graphics rendering (devices stuck at iOS 10.3.3)
+The app will now remember which screen was open to minimize initializing time.
+Fixes the broken link to FAQ on the Information screen.
+The app will now remember which screen was open to minimize initializing time.
+Fixes the broken link to FAQ on the Information screen.
2.1.1
2018-12-08
+Replaces Open GL graphics processing with Apple's newer Metal processing. This is for future compatibility but also might improve performance on older devices.
2.1
2018-11-30
GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS
+General crash and bug fixes.
+Adds a link on the Information Screen to learn more about the Echo Meter Touch bat recorder, detector and analyzer. Check it out!
CLASSIFIER IMPROVEMENTS
+Big orange play button on the Likely Matches now automatically begins playback at the time offset and end point as selected by the blue box on the Isolate Song screen. The sound is also filtered so frequencies above and below the blue box are not played. This makes comparing your recording to the examples so you can determine a match, much more intuitive.
MAP IMPROVEMENTS
+Recording locations are now clustered when zoomed out in maps to reduce visual overload and prevent crashing.
+General crash and bug fixes.
+Adds a link on the Information Screen to learn more about the Echo Meter Touch bat recorder, detector and analyzer. Check it out!
CLASSIFIER IMPROVEMENTS
+Big orange play button on the Likely Matches now automatically begins playback at the time offset and end point as selected by the blue box on the Isolate Song screen. The sound is also filtered so frequencies above and below the blue box are not played. This makes comparing your recording to the examples so you can determine a match, much more intuitive.
MAP IMPROVEMENTS
+Recording locations are now clustered when zoomed out in maps to reduce visual overload and prevent crashing.
2.0.1
2018-08-03
App version 2.0.1 includes the following improvements:
GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS
+Adds a Playback Speed and Audio Output pop-up setting window, available by pressing and holding on any play button in the app. Now you can choose earpiece or speaker from anywhere and the setting will be remembered. The playback speed resets back to 1X at every screen.
+Limits the initialization screen to only once per day so you can get to recording faster!
+In Compare Mode, adjusts contrast and brightness of example recordings to more closely match the user’s recording.
+Fix for app not running on some versions of iOS 10.
+Fix for app crashing on Similar Song List if there were only a few matching recordings.
+Several UI tweaks and bug fixes.
IDENTIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS
+Fix for the example recordings on the Likely Matches screen no longer jumping to the part of the recording that most closely matches the recorded song.
+When entering your own ID, numerical characters dashes and underscore are now allowed. We can't allow all characters.
+When you start typing to enter your own ID, "Enter Own ID" text now disappears.
+Made song isolation box easier to grab in landscape view if it overlaps the floating buttons at the bottom.
+Fix for the song isolation box being drawn so small that the handles overlap.
+Fix for the song isolation box moving when moving from portrait to landscape orientation.
+Fix for red dots as well as blue being shown on song isolation screen.
+Fix for species presence label misalignment in Likely Matches screen.
SPECTROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS
+Zoom levels are now remembered all across the app, except in Compare Mode where it is assumed the user will zoom in further than is desirable in other parts of the app.
+Makes settings drawer movable so you can drag it to just show contrast and brightness settings and still see most of the spectrogram to make the best adjustment.
+Fix for bottom buttons sometimes floating on the spectrogram in portrait view.
RECORDING IMPROVEMENTS
+Upside down mode for iPhone X! There is a new button at top of the recording screen that will flip the screen.
+Replaces noise to alert VoiceOver users that recording has started with a much less annoying tone.
You can view these release notes later by selecting Version History from the Information screen. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. We are always looking for ways to improve the app for you. Happy birding!
GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS
+Adds a Playback Speed and Audio Output pop-up setting window, available by pressing and holding on any play button in the app. Now you can choose earpiece or speaker from anywhere and the setting will be remembered. The playback speed resets back to 1X at every screen.
+Limits the initialization screen to only once per day so you can get to recording faster!
+In Compare Mode, adjusts contrast and brightness of example recordings to more closely match the user’s recording.
+Fix for app not running on some versions of iOS 10.
+Fix for app crashing on Similar Song List if there were only a few matching recordings.
+Several UI tweaks and bug fixes.
IDENTIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS
+Fix for the example recordings on the Likely Matches screen no longer jumping to the part of the recording that most closely matches the recorded song.
+When entering your own ID, numerical characters dashes and underscore are now allowed. We can't allow all characters.
+When you start typing to enter your own ID, "Enter Own ID" text now disappears.
+Made song isolation box easier to grab in landscape view if it overlaps the floating buttons at the bottom.
+Fix for the song isolation box being drawn so small that the handles overlap.
+Fix for the song isolation box moving when moving from portrait to landscape orientation.
+Fix for red dots as well as blue being shown on song isolation screen.
+Fix for species presence label misalignment in Likely Matches screen.
SPECTROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS
+Zoom levels are now remembered all across the app, except in Compare Mode where it is assumed the user will zoom in further than is desirable in other parts of the app.
+Makes settings drawer movable so you can drag it to just show contrast and brightness settings and still see most of the spectrogram to make the best adjustment.
+Fix for bottom buttons sometimes floating on the spectrogram in portrait view.
RECORDING IMPROVEMENTS
+Upside down mode for iPhone X! There is a new button at top of the recording screen that will flip the screen.
+Replaces noise to alert VoiceOver users that recording has started with a much less annoying tone.
You can view these release notes later by selecting Version History from the Information screen. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. We are always looking for ways to improve the app for you. Happy birding!
2.0
2018-05-16
We are excited to present Song Sleuth 2.0 with numerous fixes, improvements, new features, new birds, and improved classification. Please read the updated user guide and view the new walk-through video to learn more about everything that has changed.
GENERAL APP IMPROVEMENTS
+Dozens of bug fixes and UI tweaks and improvements.
+Dramatically improved Voiceover support for sight-impaired users.
+New setting to hear playback through the bottom speaker, or on iPhone, through the earpiece speaker to minimize disturbance to birds in the field.
+New date-picker on the species list allows you to choose any two-week period. The app will then choose birds and show likelihood for that date range so you can study birds or explore similar songs off season.
+New sorting options allow you to sort the bird species list by likelihood, species grouping or alphabetically.
+Fixes an issue where Song Sleuth would automatically connect to Bluetooth headsets and car infotainment systems.
SPECIES IDENTIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS
+New bird classifiers! The following birds have been added to the app: Canyon Towhee, Juniper Titmouse, Cactus Wren, Marsh Wren, Rusty Blackbird, Swainson's Thrush, Black-throated Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Alder Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher.
+Adds four “mimicker” bird species: Brown Thrasher, California Thrasher, Curve-billed Thrasher, and Northern Mockingbird. They join the Gray Catbird already in the app. The app cannot identify mimickers because of the variability and incredible imitation skill, but having the birds in the app will allow you to explore and learn more about their songs to assist in your own identification skills.
+Improvements to the classification algorithm and the addition of about twelve thousand additional training recordings improves ID of several trouble species. More species will be improved in the coming months as we continue to add more training data.
+New features to isolate the recorded song from noise and other songs for better ID. After a recording concludes you move a resizable box around only the song of interest. If you are unsure, press the play button at the bottom to hear only the sounds inside the blue box.
+New similar songs feature allows you to study and practice tricky song identification. Next to many example recordings in Sibley Reference and on the Likely Matches screen, you will now see a button to view similar songs. This opens a page showing other example recordings that are sorted by similarity. You can play the recordings or easily enter Compare Mode for each. When you press play on a similar song, it starts playback at the similar vocalization within that recording for easy back and forth comparison. Only birds that are currently selected on the Species List will be included so you can study only the similar songs in your area or at any time of year.
+Updated the presence likelihood information.
+If you run ID on a previously made recording, the Likely Matches screen now shows the presence likelihood based on the date of recording.
+Breaks out California Scrub-Jay into the recently reclassified Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay from Western Scrub-Jay.
SPECTROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS
+Adds Audio Gain setting to adjust input volume on iPad microphones or external microphones (iPhone microphone does not allow adjustment).
RECORDING LIST IMPROVEMENTS
+The recordings are now visible in Apple’s Files app.
You can view these release notes later by selecting Version History from the Information screen. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. We are always looking for ways to improve the app for you. Happy birding!
GENERAL APP IMPROVEMENTS
+Dozens of bug fixes and UI tweaks and improvements.
+Dramatically improved Voiceover support for sight-impaired users.
+New setting to hear playback through the bottom speaker, or on iPhone, through the earpiece speaker to minimize disturbance to birds in the field.
+New date-picker on the species list allows you to choose any two-week period. The app will then choose birds and show likelihood for that date range so you can study birds or explore similar songs off season.
+New sorting options allow you to sort the bird species list by likelihood, species grouping or alphabetically.
+Fixes an issue where Song Sleuth would automatically connect to Bluetooth headsets and car infotainment systems.
SPECIES IDENTIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS
+New bird classifiers! The following birds have been added to the app: Canyon Towhee, Juniper Titmouse, Cactus Wren, Marsh Wren, Rusty Blackbird, Swainson's Thrush, Black-throated Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Alder Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher.
+Adds four “mimicker” bird species: Brown Thrasher, California Thrasher, Curve-billed Thrasher, and Northern Mockingbird. They join the Gray Catbird already in the app. The app cannot identify mimickers because of the variability and incredible imitation skill, but having the birds in the app will allow you to explore and learn more about their songs to assist in your own identification skills.
+Improvements to the classification algorithm and the addition of about twelve thousand additional training recordings improves ID of several trouble species. More species will be improved in the coming months as we continue to add more training data.
+New features to isolate the recorded song from noise and other songs for better ID. After a recording concludes you move a resizable box around only the song of interest. If you are unsure, press the play button at the bottom to hear only the sounds inside the blue box.
+New similar songs feature allows you to study and practice tricky song identification. Next to many example recordings in Sibley Reference and on the Likely Matches screen, you will now see a button to view similar songs. This opens a page showing other example recordings that are sorted by similarity. You can play the recordings or easily enter Compare Mode for each. When you press play on a similar song, it starts playback at the similar vocalization within that recording for easy back and forth comparison. Only birds that are currently selected on the Species List will be included so you can study only the similar songs in your area or at any time of year.
+Updated the presence likelihood information.
+If you run ID on a previously made recording, the Likely Matches screen now shows the presence likelihood based on the date of recording.
+Breaks out California Scrub-Jay into the recently reclassified Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay from Western Scrub-Jay.
SPECTROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS
+Adds Audio Gain setting to adjust input volume on iPad microphones or external microphones (iPhone microphone does not allow adjustment).
RECORDING LIST IMPROVEMENTS
+The recordings are now visible in Apple’s Files app.
You can view these release notes later by selecting Version History from the Information screen. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. We are always looking for ways to improve the app for you. Happy birding!
1.1.2
2018-04-11
This 1.1.2 release adds access to the recordings through the Apple Files app. Recordings can be found at: On My iPhone/iPad-->Song Sleuth-->Recordings.
Many improvements coming soon in version 2.0!
Select Version History from the Information screen to view these release notes again. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
Many improvements coming soon in version 2.0!
Select Version History from the Information screen to view these release notes again. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
1.1.1
2017-12-29
This release fixes some issues with certain versions of iOS 10. We have many improvements coming early spring.
Select Version History from the Information screen to view these release notes again. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
Select Version History from the Information screen to view these release notes again. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
1.1
2017-11-29
This release adds compatibility with iPhone X and fixes an issue that causes crashing on iPads running the upcoming iOS 11.2. We have some great improvements planned for spring to help you get better identifications from the app. Stay tuned...
Select Version History from the Information screen to view these release notes again. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
Select Version History from the Information screen to view these release notes again. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
1.0.6
2017-10-05
NOTE: If you are having issues using the app or think the suggested species matches are not correct, please review the FAQ which is available from the Information Screen of the app. Also make sure you have viewed the above linked tutorial video. Both of these resources provide information on how to get the best identification results and how to use all the tools provided by the app to help you determine the correct species. Improvements to the flow of the app are forthcoming to assist you in getting better results. And a word of caution: the app selects species to use in the identification process based on your location and the time of year. If you are testing by playing recorded sounds you need to be sure the bird is selected on the Species List screen. Also, a recording might sound similar to a real bird to you, but depending on the speaker and volume it can be different enough in non-obvious ways to confuse the app and lower accuracy.
GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS
+Fixes a bug where the frequency scale would display incorrectly on the compare screen when going to next or previous recording.
+Compare mode will now remember "play all" or "play screen" selection.
Select Version History from the Information screen to view these release notes again. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS
+Fixes a bug where the frequency scale would display incorrectly on the compare screen when going to next or previous recording.
+Compare mode will now remember "play all" or "play screen" selection.
Select Version History from the Information screen to view these release notes again. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
1.0.5
2017-04-23
NOTE: If you are having issues using the app or think the suggested species matches are not correct, please review the FAQ which is available from the Information Screen of the app. Also make sure you have viewed the above linked tutorial video. Both of these resources provide information on how to get the best identification results and how to use all the tools provided by the app to help you determine the correct species. A word of caution: the app selects species to use in the identification process based on your location and the time of year. If you are testing by playing recorded sounds you need to be sure the bird is selected on the Species List screen. Also, a recording might sound similar to a real bird to you, but depending on the speaker and volume it can be different enough in non-obvious ways to confuse the app and lower accuracy.
GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS
+The app will now work with external microphones, both digital Lightning connector based microphones or analog microphones that use the headphone jack. The app will continue to ignore Bluetooth microphones so as to prevent unintended connection with automobiles and earpieces.
+Fixes many minor bugs and crash causes.
+Fixes a crash when entering Compare Mode which was happening frequently on some devices.
+Fixes an issue where certain display elements would be blank if the user select a non-English language in iOS settings. Je suis désolé.
SPECTROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS
+Changes many spectrogram elements to be much more visible when viewing the spectrogram with a gray color palette.
+Increases the recording level on iPhone, which was previously lower than iPad. This will result in louder recordings.
+Removes increased noise at the start of recording on some devices.
+Fixes a persistent issue where recordings would occasionally not start back in time, instead starting at the present.
SPECIES IDENTIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS
+The audio is now much louder during playback of user recording on the Likely Matches screen. It is also louder when played from the recording list.
+Your recording now starts over when paused and restarted on the Likely Matches screen so you don’t need to listen to the entire recording during repeat listens.
RECORDING LIST IMPROVEMENTS
+Updates the layout of the recording list for better legibility.
Select Version History from the Information screen to view these release notes again. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS
+The app will now work with external microphones, both digital Lightning connector based microphones or analog microphones that use the headphone jack. The app will continue to ignore Bluetooth microphones so as to prevent unintended connection with automobiles and earpieces.
+Fixes many minor bugs and crash causes.
+Fixes a crash when entering Compare Mode which was happening frequently on some devices.
+Fixes an issue where certain display elements would be blank if the user select a non-English language in iOS settings. Je suis désolé.
SPECTROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS
+Changes many spectrogram elements to be much more visible when viewing the spectrogram with a gray color palette.
+Increases the recording level on iPhone, which was previously lower than iPad. This will result in louder recordings.
+Removes increased noise at the start of recording on some devices.
+Fixes a persistent issue where recordings would occasionally not start back in time, instead starting at the present.
SPECIES IDENTIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS
+The audio is now much louder during playback of user recording on the Likely Matches screen. It is also louder when played from the recording list.
+Your recording now starts over when paused and restarted on the Likely Matches screen so you don’t need to listen to the entire recording during repeat listens.
RECORDING LIST IMPROVEMENTS
+Updates the layout of the recording list for better legibility.
Select Version History from the Information screen to view these release notes again. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
1.0.4
2017-03-20
This 1.0.4 release has the fixes and improvements outlined below in addition to several minor bug fixes. If you are having issues using the app or think the suggested species matches are not correct, please review the new FAQ which is available from the Information Screen of the app. Also make sure you have viewed the above linked tutorial video. Both of these resources provide information on how to get the best identification results and how to use all the tools provided by the app to help you determine the correct species. A word of caution: the app selects species to use in the identification process based on your location and the time of year. If you are testing by playing recorded sounds you need to be sure the bird is selected on the Species List screen. Also, a recording might sound similar to a real bird to you, but depending on the speaker and volume it can be different enough in non-obvious ways to confuse the app and lower accuracy.
APP IMPROVEMENTS
-Changes the minimum iOS requirement to iOS 10 to prevent users from trying to use Song Sleuth on older iOS devices which lack sufficient RAM. If you are running an older version please update iOS before trying to install Song Sleuth:
1) Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2) Navigate to "General" and then "Software Update".
3) Tap Download and Install.
SPECTROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS
-The zoom level of the spectrogram will now be set to 0-12 kHz every time it is opened to avoid users forgetting they are zoomed in and thus missing birds that are out of that frequency range.
-Fixed an issue with occasional increased background noise on the first 1/2 second of the audio stream which could adversely affect the identification algorithms.
-Changed default brightness to 50%.
BIRD IDENTIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS
-Changed playback of example recordings on the Likely Matches screen so that playback now starts with the most similar vocalization rather than starting with the first one.
-Improved ordering of example recordings on the Likely Matches screen.
-Fixed odd behavior of playback and pause buttons when playing the last example recording for a bird on the Likely Matches screen.
-Added "Likelihood right now" text in the Species List screen. Users were getting confused about the likelihood levels (i.e. common”,“scarce”,”never”). Some users thought that we are suggesting likelihood year-round, when really it is describing likelihood at the current date.
You can view these release notes later by selecting Version History from the Information screen. We are always looking for ways to improve the app for you. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
APP IMPROVEMENTS
-Changes the minimum iOS requirement to iOS 10 to prevent users from trying to use Song Sleuth on older iOS devices which lack sufficient RAM. If you are running an older version please update iOS before trying to install Song Sleuth:
1) Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2) Navigate to "General" and then "Software Update".
3) Tap Download and Install.
SPECTROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS
-The zoom level of the spectrogram will now be set to 0-12 kHz every time it is opened to avoid users forgetting they are zoomed in and thus missing birds that are out of that frequency range.
-Fixed an issue with occasional increased background noise on the first 1/2 second of the audio stream which could adversely affect the identification algorithms.
-Changed default brightness to 50%.
BIRD IDENTIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS
-Changed playback of example recordings on the Likely Matches screen so that playback now starts with the most similar vocalization rather than starting with the first one.
-Improved ordering of example recordings on the Likely Matches screen.
-Fixed odd behavior of playback and pause buttons when playing the last example recording for a bird on the Likely Matches screen.
-Added "Likelihood right now" text in the Species List screen. Users were getting confused about the likelihood levels (i.e. common”,“scarce”,”never”). Some users thought that we are suggesting likelihood year-round, when really it is describing likelihood at the current date.
You can view these release notes later by selecting Version History from the Information screen. We are always looking for ways to improve the app for you. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
1.0.3
2017-03-08
This 1.0.3 release has the fixes and improvements outlined below. If you are having issues using the app or think the matches are not correct, please view the new FAQ on the Information Screen of the app and make sure you have viewed the above linked tutorial video. Both of these resources provide information on how to get the best identification results and how to use all the tools provided by the app to help you determine the correct species. And a word of caution, the app selects birds to try and identify based on your location and the time of year. If you are testing by playing recorded sounds, you need to be sure the bird is selected on the Species list screen. Also, a recording might sound similar to us, but depending on the speaker and volume, it can be different enough to confuse the app, and accuracy is generally lower.
APP IMPROVEMENTS
-Added Frequently Asked Questions to the Information screen. Please read!
-Support for iOS devices with non-retina displays, such as iPad mini first generation.
-Fix for no species being selected in the Species List when the iOS langaueg is set to a non-English language.
-Fix to better handle bluetooth speakers with microphones. Now, the app will playback through the bluetooth speaker, but will continue to use the iOS built in microphone for recording.
-Fixed some UI anomalies on iPod Touch and small iPhone sized screens.
SPECTROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS
-Popup alert when you run the identification if have filtered some sounds in the recording by zooming in on the frequency axis of the spectrogram
You can view these release notes later by selecting Version History from the Information screen. We are always looking for ways to improve the app for you. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. And if you like the app, please leave a positive review, or refresh a prior review, it is deeply appreciated. Happy birding!
APP IMPROVEMENTS
-Added Frequently Asked Questions to the Information screen. Please read!
-Support for iOS devices with non-retina displays, such as iPad mini first generation.
-Fix for no species being selected in the Species List when the iOS langaueg is set to a non-English language.
-Fix to better handle bluetooth speakers with microphones. Now, the app will playback through the bluetooth speaker, but will continue to use the iOS built in microphone for recording.
-Fixed some UI anomalies on iPod Touch and small iPhone sized screens.
SPECTROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS
-Popup alert when you run the identification if have filtered some sounds in the recording by zooming in on the frequency axis of the spectrogram
You can view these release notes later by selecting Version History from the Information screen. We are always looking for ways to improve the app for you. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. And if you like the app, please leave a positive review, or refresh a prior review, it is deeply appreciated. Happy birding!
1.0.2
2017-02-23
This 1.0.2 release has the following changes:
APP IMPROVEMENTS
-Better implementation of tutorial video.
-Fixes broken app store review link on the Information screen.
-Bug fixes that should cure all known crashes.
RECORDING IMPROVEMENTS
-Fix for erroneous meta-data in recordings.
You can view these release notes later by selecting Version History from the Information screen. We are always looking for ways to improve the app for you. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
APP IMPROVEMENTS
-Better implementation of tutorial video.
-Fixes broken app store review link on the Information screen.
-Bug fixes that should cure all known crashes.
RECORDING IMPROVEMENTS
-Fix for erroneous meta-data in recordings.
You can view these release notes later by selecting Version History from the Information screen. We are always looking for ways to improve the app for you. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
1.0.1
2017-02-15
This 1.0.1 release has the following changes:
APP IMPROVEMENTS
-Fixed a bug which could cause an app crash after the user gives permission for iOS to use the built-in microphone on first run of the app.
BIRD IDENTIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS
-On the Likely Matches screen, the order of example recordings for each bird was not working correctly, so pressing the small orange play button sometimes played an example recording that was not necessarily similar. This is now improved and will again play the most similar example recording.
You can view these release notes later by selecting Version History from the Information screen. We are always looking for ways to improve the app for you. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
APP IMPROVEMENTS
-Fixed a bug which could cause an app crash after the user gives permission for iOS to use the built-in microphone on first run of the app.
BIRD IDENTIFICATION IMPROVEMENTS
-On the Likely Matches screen, the order of example recordings for each bird was not working correctly, so pressing the small orange play button sometimes played an example recording that was not necessarily similar. This is now improved and will again play the most similar example recording.
You can view these release notes later by selecting Version History from the Information screen. We are always looking for ways to improve the app for you. Please email us by selecting "Contact Us" from the Information screen of the app with any suggestions, issues or questions. Happy birding!
1.0
2017-02-15
Ways to hack Song Sleuth Bird Song Analyzer
- Redeem codes (Get the Redeem codes)
Download hacked APK
Download Song Sleuth Bird Song Analyzer MOD APK
Request a Hack
Ratings
3.2 out of 5
313 Ratings
Reviews
Amy A123,
Great features, but birdsong ID more miss than hit
I actually like the app a lot—for its catalog of birds common to my area, for the compilation of bird songs/calls, and for the illustrations of the birds. The ID is flaky though. Often the app will suggest three birds to match my recording and, to my ear, those birds sound nothing like what I just heard. It is a convenient feature though to be able to toggle back and forth between one’s own recording and the suggested bird songs. What I’ve been doing a lot is recording a bird, then just going down the list of common birds in my area to locate the one I find that sounds similar. That’s how I matched a song to the Carolina wren for which the app suggested three other (and to me distinctly different- sounding) birds. In that way, I’m becoming more familiar with the various bird songs. So the app helps me in that way.
queen of jackass hill,
Very much appreciated
I begin painting watercolors of birds about a year ago and because of that I became an avid birderand I’m learning all I can about birds and now I’m learning to identify birds by their songs. I’ve only tried the half out for one day so far but within the first four times of using it I got two correct birds from their songs. I really appreciate having the spectra grams to look at and compare with other bird songs. It helps me remember the songs because I am very visual. From my experience using other apps to record Birdsong‘s this is by far the best one. The bird songs are more clear and concise and you have the option of clarifying them further. If I think it’s a different bird then the three birds suggested I would like to be able to input that and keep the recording but I don’t know how to do that yet or if it’s even possible. I also appreciate that you can change the state that you’re in and thereby receive indications of the most common birds in that area. I’m going on vacation soon to several different states and I will be using this to help me identify Birdsong‘s. Nothing is perfect but I tend to disregard the negative impressions I read about regarding this app because to me it’s a godsend!
Shadow9cat,
Helpful, but not flawless
This app is fascinating. The accuracy on identifying the birds is hit or miss, which is to be expected especially when there is background noise. Isolating the call doesn’t always work, but it does help.
The most interesting part to me about this app is seeing the spectrograms. The I’m starting to see patterns for the individual species. I’m a visual learner so this is going to help me see and hear the calls to aid in identification. Also, saving calls for my local birds is a godsend. Birds seem to have a different dialect depending on region. Now I can save recordings of my local birds to compare. Don’t know if the ability is in the app yet as I am only just exploring this, but it would be nice if my calls could be added to the information page for individual species maybe on a separate tab, so I could quickly reference my local recordings.
My only complaint is that the rarity of the birds is inaccurate. For example, in my area eastern wood peewees are considered scarce by the app, but they are quite common in the woods. Perhaps the app will get smarter as more people record bird calls. But it’s a good start. I’ve already spent hours and hours playing around with it and I absolutely love it!
The most interesting part to me about this app is seeing the spectrograms. The I’m starting to see patterns for the individual species. I’m a visual learner so this is going to help me see and hear the calls to aid in identification. Also, saving calls for my local birds is a godsend. Birds seem to have a different dialect depending on region. Now I can save recordings of my local birds to compare. Don’t know if the ability is in the app yet as I am only just exploring this, but it would be nice if my calls could be added to the information page for individual species maybe on a separate tab, so I could quickly reference my local recordings.
My only complaint is that the rarity of the birds is inaccurate. For example, in my area eastern wood peewees are considered scarce by the app, but they are quite common in the woods. Perhaps the app will get smarter as more people record bird calls. But it’s a good start. I’ve already spent hours and hours playing around with it and I absolutely love it!
Aydin991,
Quality Time well spent
I ve learned so much about birds in my community. I agree w others some songs u recorded may not sound like the bird the app identifies,But then again when I do listen to numerous songs a specie may produce, I am baffled that they sound nothing like each other.I’ve spent many hours watching the birds taking pictures of them with my zoom lens. I am now reading books about birds and still using this app to identify birds. Especially in other neighborhoods when I see nee species helps me ID them. It’s great for learning or a first step into Birding.
I Purchased a four prong birdfeeder for my backyard which is squirrel proof. I’ve gotten anywhere from the common Cardinals, Blue Jays to numerous finches, Orioles and unfortunately several hawks.
I live on Long Island NY..I will be visiting Caumsett park with its 1700 species of birds and spend the day w Song Sleuth.
Another great feature is if you do play a certain song there’s a good chance that if that bird is near by they to respond and most of them come very near to listen. Enjoy!!
I Purchased a four prong birdfeeder for my backyard which is squirrel proof. I’ve gotten anywhere from the common Cardinals, Blue Jays to numerous finches, Orioles and unfortunately several hawks.
I live on Long Island NY..I will be visiting Caumsett park with its 1700 species of birds and spend the day w Song Sleuth.
Another great feature is if you do play a certain song there’s a good chance that if that bird is near by they to respond and most of them come very near to listen. Enjoy!!
onyonet photo studios,
Finding birds I couldn’t hear
While it may not be perfect it’s no worse than many birding ID by sight apps. It will at least get you going down a path to identify birds by their songs and calls. When it hears more than one animal it will give a few suggestions based on all of the sounds it picks up. It heard a gray squirrel, a toad and a chipmunk along with several birds on one recording.
As the Brits might say, I was gobsmacked this morning when the only sounds from our deck was animals (no lawn mowers, traffic or other background noise). It identified a Pileated woodpecker. I’ve only seen a few pileated woodpeckers and had never heard one, as far as I knew before running the app. I was unable to confirm the pileated by sight, but have no doubt it was there after I was able to isolate its call from the other animals several times.
Song Sleuth opens up a new avenue for finding birds and making an ID when you are clueless (or just have a brain fart like this old man has frequently 😁).
As the Brits might say, I was gobsmacked this morning when the only sounds from our deck was animals (no lawn mowers, traffic or other background noise). It identified a Pileated woodpecker. I’ve only seen a few pileated woodpeckers and had never heard one, as far as I knew before running the app. I was unable to confirm the pileated by sight, but have no doubt it was there after I was able to isolate its call from the other animals several times.
Song Sleuth opens up a new avenue for finding birds and making an ID when you are clueless (or just have a brain fart like this old man has frequently 😁).
old_grouse_herder,
poor support - has only ID'd 2 birds correctly in the hundreds of recordings I have made
first the app functionality- if your purchasing this to ID birds by song save your $. In the hundreds of recordings Ive made since 2017 the app has ID'd two birds correctly. As such this app is only used to record songs and upload to eBird for my birdsong life list.
second- app support. there is none. i purchased this app in 2017 for 9.99. when i purchased my new phone the app didn't come across and showed that I had to purchase it again. i contacted Wildlife Acoustics who referred me back to the app store. after two hours on the phone and repeating the issue multiple times to multiple representatives at Apple Support I was told to just purchase and download it again. When I did this it said you already own a copy and would I like to download it for free (tell me something I don't know). So if you make this purchase realize you will be wasting time trying to maintain your 9$ purchase on an app that doesn't do what it says it does. Once you realize that good luck with support!
second- app support. there is none. i purchased this app in 2017 for 9.99. when i purchased my new phone the app didn't come across and showed that I had to purchase it again. i contacted Wildlife Acoustics who referred me back to the app store. after two hours on the phone and repeating the issue multiple times to multiple representatives at Apple Support I was told to just purchase and download it again. When I did this it said you already own a copy and would I like to download it for free (tell me something I don't know). So if you make this purchase realize you will be wasting time trying to maintain your 9$ purchase on an app that doesn't do what it says it does. Once you realize that good luck with support!
Duff Brew,
This Is Exactly What I was Looking For!
Now I am not an avid birder really, but I enjoy the wildlife drives at various refuge areas. I also enjoy attempting to ID birds when I see them. Right outside my window this dark morning, I can hear the bird well, but I cannot see the bird even a little bit.
This ap is perfect for an enthusiast with my level of birding skill and is a whole lot of fun. I love the sharing and map features and plan on having my birding friends family download and install this ap so I can share my sound bytes. I was reading some of the other reviews about “not perfect” or some other such negativity. I would disregard these thoughts and reply with something like, “get a grip, this is an awesome tool and a fun ap”.
This ap is perfect for an enthusiast with my level of birding skill and is a whole lot of fun. I love the sharing and map features and plan on having my birding friends family download and install this ap so I can share my sound bytes. I was reading some of the other reviews about “not perfect” or some other such negativity. I would disregard these thoughts and reply with something like, “get a grip, this is an awesome tool and a fun ap”.
timmyg2kx,
Think Big Picture
As a lot of other reviews have pointed out, the ID feature of this app is hit or miss. I’ve been using it for over a year now and have figured out how to isolate the songs I’m trying to record a little better. Even so, it’s accurate less than 50% of the time.
However, this is still the best app I’ve found for recording birds. And has a lot of great features!
- It records an a loop so that when you hit record, it includes the previous three seconds in your recording. This is huge! I’ve nailed so many more recordings that I never would have gotten without letting the recorder run for a minute or more waiting for the bird to song again.
- It provides you a visualization of song to help remember it.
- It geotags all your recordings
- It organizes your recordings with file names including date/time and species name (if known).
I know everyone is looking for a Shazam for bird songs. This is not it, but it allows you to make great recordings and keep them organized and sometimes it helps you identify the songs. That’s pretty good!
However, this is still the best app I’ve found for recording birds. And has a lot of great features!
- It records an a loop so that when you hit record, it includes the previous three seconds in your recording. This is huge! I’ve nailed so many more recordings that I never would have gotten without letting the recorder run for a minute or more waiting for the bird to song again.
- It provides you a visualization of song to help remember it.
- It geotags all your recordings
- It organizes your recordings with file names including date/time and species name (if known).
I know everyone is looking for a Shazam for bird songs. This is not it, but it allows you to make great recordings and keep them organized and sometimes it helps you identify the songs. That’s pretty good!
DAC-L,
Used to be excellent
This used to be my go-to app to identify bird songs/calls. It was, for the most part, quite accurate. Apparently, a recent update makes it unusable in that it wants you to select the bird first. The whole point is to figure out what sounds I am hearing from which bird(s). If I can’t search for that sound, I won’t know which bird it is. Deleting the app. It doesn’t work the way it used to.
Update: I was told the app glitch had been fixed. So I decided to give it another chance.
We are sitting in our back porch listening g to all the birds. There is a mockingbird in one of our trees. We turned on sing sleuth to identify the other birds around. The mockingbird is loud and clear to use. The app is picking up every other bird but the mockingbird. So, we wonder why we should continue with this app at all, again. 🤷🏽♀️
Update: I was told the app glitch had been fixed. So I decided to give it another chance.
We are sitting in our back porch listening g to all the birds. There is a mockingbird in one of our trees. We turned on sing sleuth to identify the other birds around. The mockingbird is loud and clear to use. The app is picking up every other bird but the mockingbird. So, we wonder why we should continue with this app at all, again. 🤷🏽♀️
Tech-NoGeek,
Tech-No Geek
One of the best programs I’ve ever used. Ok, I’m not getting 100% id or even close. I get that it’s a tool and I’m just learning. However, the functionality is superb, the operation flawless and the Help section has a clarity and thoroughness seldom seen anymore.
But the best part- going Geek now - is ‘seeing’ sounds, any and all. Anything you can hear, or feel, you can also see. The spectrogram helps see the patterns, frequencies and overtones from any vibrating source, from running water to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in Dm on a pipe organ (I was having issues with an extraneous note being played). Thanks for the tool guys!
But the best part- going Geek now - is ‘seeing’ sounds, any and all. Anything you can hear, or feel, you can also see. The spectrogram helps see the patterns, frequencies and overtones from any vibrating source, from running water to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in Dm on a pipe organ (I was having issues with an extraneous note being played). Thanks for the tool guys!
