Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab
4.9star
81.4K reviews
1M+
Downloads
Everyone
info
About this app
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, 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, 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.
Updated on
Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. The developer provided this information and may update it over time.
No data shared with third parties
Learn more about how developers declare sharing
This app may collect these data types
Personal info, App activity and 2 others
Data is encrypted in transit
You can request that data be deleted
Ratings and reviews
4.9
79.9K reviews
Keeli B.
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May 20, 2024
I have loved using this app. However, I dont find the new interface easy to navigate after the most recent update. This could be due to my phone (galaxy z fold 4); I just prefer the older interface. Half of the ID/recording button is blocked by another button and I am unable to scroll down on the opening screen. I can just click the top if I'm careful to start recording, but it's just irritating if Im trying to quickly identify birds, hit the wrong thing, hit back, and the entire app closes lol
Maddie J.
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May 19, 2024
Obsessed with this app during my little backyard birding adventures. Pretty accurate at identifying birds-- I get so excited to see/hear "rare" or "uncommon" birds. I've made it my goal to collect them all :) I preferred the previous app design though-- everything feels a little bit smaller/ more sterile with the redesign. I wish the locations of where the Merlin recordings came from still appeared after using the sound ID. But! Still a great app.
23 people found this review helpful
Juli Thompson
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May 19, 2024
Usually pretty good at identifying birds. Bird packs do take up a decent chunk of memory. Sound and photo ID functions are very handy. Searching for birds by name is a little clunky, though, which is really strange. My biggest annoyance is that if I see a bird I recognize, I can't just search for "blue jay" and record the sighting. I have to use one of the ID methods and click around till I convince the app to suggest blue jay. eBird is better for reporting known birds.
1 person found this review helpful
What's new
Merlin has a new look!
The layout of Merlin has been updated to make the app more intuitive, faster to use, and easier to learn about the birds around you.
Introducing Your Bird of the Day
Get ready to discover a new bird every day with a personalized Bird of the Day picked just for you.
Explore Species While You Listen
Hear a new bird with Sound ID? Now you can read more about the species without stopping recording, so you don’t miss out on other IDs.
The layout of Merlin has been updated to make the app more intuitive, faster to use, and easier to learn about the birds around you.
Introducing Your Bird of the Day
Get ready to discover a new bird every day with a personalized Bird of the Day picked just for you.
Explore Species While You Listen
Hear a new bird with Sound ID? Now you can read more about the species without stopping recording, so you don’t miss out on other IDs.
