Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab 4+

Identify Every Bird You See

Cornell University

Designed for iPhone

    • Free

iPhone 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.

What’s New

Version 3.0.5

Two minor bug fixes:
- Bluetooth access will now only be requested when enabling Swarovski devices
- Bird names are now available in Simplified Chinese again

We periodically release fixes and tweaks to improve Merlin Bird ID and help you identify more birds. Your feedback and support drive our ongoing efforts to create a better birding experience for everyone. Stay tuned for more updates, improvements, and exciting features!

Ratings and Reviews

4.8 out of 5
87 Ratings

87 Ratings

BigPumpkin ,

Excellent App

Perfect companion to eBird when out in the field birding. Helps with ID of birds heard but not seen, distinguishes between similar species vocalisations. Compare your photo with the database to confirm ID. Recommended app for all birders.

ezeakl ,

Excellent

Learned of this on Meat Eater podcast. Such a great companion while hiking. Fast and accurate. Super for kids

SJP-NZ ,

Amazing, and free! Does a fantastic job of bird ID.

I've used this app around the world - brilliant.

App Privacy

The developer, Cornell University, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer's privacy policy.

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

  • Identifiers

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

  • Location
  • Contact Info
  • Usage Data

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

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