Last Updated on May 24, 2024 by Jhonni Jets
Bird watching is a fun and rewarding hobby that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. With the amazing variety of bird species around the world, it’s easy to become fascinated by their beautiful feathers, varied behaviors, and melodic songs. While binoculars and field guides are essential birding equipment, smartphone apps have revolutionized the hobby by putting a wealth of identification resources right in your pocket. Here are 9 of the best Android apps for beginning and experienced bird watchers alike.
eBird
As the world’s largest community of birders, eBird from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is arguably the most powerful birding app available. With over 100 million bird sightings submitted by users in over 200 countries, eBird allows you to compile lists of birds you’ve seen and share them with the global birding network. You can also get real-time reports of bird activity in your area, learn about any rare or interesting birds that have recently been spotted locally, and connect with other birders near you. eBird’s identification feature lets you snap a photo of an unknown bird and possibly get an ID within seconds by comparing attributes to their extensive database. For serious birders, eBird is an indispensable tool for tracking your life list and learning more about bird distribution and migration patterns on a massive scale.
Merlin Bird ID
Developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology like eBird, Merlin Bird ID is focused specifically on helping users identify unknown birds. Through a simple step-by-step queries about size, shape, coloration, habitat and behavior, Merlin narrows down the possibilities and displays photos of likely candidates side by side for easy comparison. It covers over 1000 bird species found across North America and does an excellent job of ruling out possibilities to help inexperienced birders get on the right track for identification. Even seasoned birders rely on Merlin to confirm IDs or test their skills, making it one of the best bird identification apps available. Best of all, it’s completely free!
Sibley eGuide to Birds
Developed in partnership with renowned ornithologist Dr. David Sibley, the Sibley eGuide to Birds app brings his exquisitely detailed field guide to your mobile device. With over 1,000 professionally photographed bird species accounts containing information on marks, similar species, songs and calls, this app is indispensable for visually confirming IDs in the field. Its powerful search and filtering capabilities allow you to explore by various attributes like size, habitat or color patterns. You can even search for unknown birds by just describing their appearance. The guide pages are beautifully laid out for easy viewing on a phone screen. While a paid subscription is required to access all content, Sibley remains the gold standard reference for serious birders.
Audubon Bird Guide
The National Audubon Society’s free bird identification app puts key details for over 800 North American species right at your fingertips. With just a tap, you can browse birds by color, size, shape or habitat to help narrow down possibilities. Descriptive texts highlight trademark field marks like plumage, bill color and patterns. What sets this app apart though, are the beautiful and detailed artwork illustrations that capture the essence of each bird better than basic photos alone. Additionally, range maps clearly show where species can be found across the continent. Whether you need a quick visual reference or full species profiles, the Audubon Bird Guide is a handy companion for accessing essential ornithological data while in the field or backyard.
BirdNET
Crowdsourced bird song identification gets upgraded with BirdNET, an app developed by the Cornell Lab. Simply record a 10-second clip of an unknown bird vocalization and BirdNET utilizes deep neural networks trained on over 100,000 North American bird songs to analyze acoustic features and automatically identify the species. While not perfect, it provides excellent initial suggestions to point users in the right direction. Research tools allow contributors to review disagreements between automated results and human IDs to further improve the database over time. Due to its use of artificial intelligence, BirdNET represents an exciting new way to recognize avian voices and expand our knowledge of bird vocalizations.
BirdSounds
Focusing exclusively on bird songs and calls, BirdSounds provides audio clips for over 700 North American species. Recordings cover variations in vocals according to sex, age, seasonality and location to expose birders to the range of natural variability. Sample calls can be played directly through the app, downloaded for offline listening, or imported from your own recordings for comparison and analysis. Key features include search filters by traits, a wish list to track target species, and an intuitive playlist builder. While many sight-identification apps offer mostly visual cues, BirdSounds is indispensable for learning and confirming avian identities through their most distinctive characteristic – their voices.
What Bird
If you see an unknown bird and want to identify it fast, What Bird cuts right to the chase with streamlined profiling and matching tools. Simply select from basic attributes like size, coloration, habitat and behaviors, then compare possible candidates side by side. Each profile highlights key field marks and provides an audio clip for confirmation through song or call. This barebones interface reduces identification down to quick tapping rather than scrolling lengthy species texts. What Bird works well for getting a prompt answer on unknown birds without a lot of extra layers. Combined with a more comprehensive app for later validation, it serves as a handy first response identifier.
BirdLog
Serious birders looking to rigorously track their life and year lists will appreciate BirdLog. As a full-featured birding logbook and database, it allows easy data entry of sightings with attributes like location, date, observers, and custom comments. Lists can be filtered and exported in various formats. Additional features include an integrated photo gallery with ID support, integrated eBird checklist submissions, and statistics on your most/least seen species over time. Advanced sorting and filtering allow power users to analyze their birding data in many configurable views. While less intuitive than simpler IDs apps, BirdLog offers serious birders the most robust platform for long-term records and big picture analysis of their birding exploits.
BirdsEye
Designed for casual and beginning birders, BirdsEye provides an engaging introduction through its simple and visually appealing interface. Colorful sketches and photographs showcase over 600 North American species. Key details are highlighted through identifier traits like size, shape and markings for laying the groundwork of essential fieldmarks. In-app quizzes test your learning progress while offering helpful feedback. Additionally, it provides range maps at-a-glance to check where species can be seen nationally. While light on technical details, BirdsEye cultivates the initial interest of new birders through inspirational imagery and gamified interactions in an enjoyable learning experience.
From simple identification helpers to powerful data loggers, these top Android apps truly enhance the birding experience by making important reference materials accessible right in the field. Whether beginning to build your life list or seeking expert tools for serious study, there is an app tailored for any level of bird watcher looking to explore the amazing avian world around them.