Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Merlin Bird ID
A free bird identification app powered by sound and visual recognition
62 people recommend this
Recommended by
Emily TeagueFirst to rec“Instantly identify the birds you hear. Merlin’s ability to identify birds seems like magic, but is powered by science. The more you use it, the more the world around you starts to feel alive and that is pretty wonderful.”
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Paige Stewart Enslow“the greatest app of all time. listens for birds around you and helps you identify them. brings life’s greatest mini game (birding) to the people.”
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Meaghan“This is a game changer that has brought so much joy to me and my family. New traditions include popsicles on the front steps with my son while we use this app, and weekend post-bedtime drinks with husband unwinding and bird-listening. We are a bird family now. 10/10 rec!”
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Jim Sterling“I recommend this app quite possibly more than any other thing. It’s absolutely amazing and has become a part of many special conversations.”
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Samantha“Firstly, birds are cool ok? Super fun to figure out what birds are around no matter where you are. Get all your people addicted and all the sudden you are bragging about what cool bird you captured. App is free, just let it listen and it will tell you what’s around. Even more fun when you travel, round out your international collection. No binoculars required.”
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Kathryn Kelly“The Merlin Bird ID app is one of the coolest things I’ve downloaded lately. It was created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology with researchers from California Institute of Technology and identifies bird calls in real time.. showing which birds you’re hearing and how many different types are around you. I recorded 12 different birds from my front porch yesterday morning. My dad found this app and now I’m obsessed. My daughter is also completely fascinated by it. My aunt was explaining how much work and research goes into identifying bird calls and it honestly feels kind of insane that this app even exists. This is the positive side of technology to me.”
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chiarabelle“Hear a bird? Is it a boring lil sparrow or a gentlemanly old Swainson’s Thrush? A southern lady Magnolia Warbler? Hilariously named Dickcissel (rhymes with popsicle)? Open this app and it will magically tell you what you are hearing.”
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Louise Buckley“My dad put me on to this big time. Wonderful to identify the birds I hear from my bedroom window. Hi guys!”
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Michael Bolognino“Hands down my favorite app on my phone. It listens to the birds around you, identifies them with a little photo, shares info and fun facts about them, calls out when you have an unexpected or unusual visitor, and helps you identify chirps on your own. It’s a total delight.”
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Meg“This app is wicked cool”
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James Kylstra“We went through a big Merlin phase a few years ago until our bird feeder broke. Learned a bunch of birds, Dark Eyed Juncos and whatnot.”
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madison may“Your phone, as a birdwatching guide! Yes, the same phone that causes so much strife and drama! The same phone that you are constantly picking up putting down picking up and telling others to stop picking up and put down!! Merlin is from the Big Brains at Cornell, which is I think how it can tell a Fish Crow from a Grackle at 175 yards. Joy meter: 100/10”
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Joe“Always delightful, even when the bird you’re trying to identify is actually a squirrel scolding you from a high branch”
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Grace31
Rebecca“I'm a Merlin evangelist. Fastest way to fall in love with the world around you.”
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Emilie Bienvenew“The best meditation I found lately : listening to birds and catching their names with Merlin Bird ID and start your bird collection ! It’s so easy to use, is available in many languages (I use French, so was able to recommend it to all my friends and family) and lovely to go back to your « Bird Pokedex » to remember good times”
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Maryn“Anyone can bird, and Merlin makes it easy and fun!!! Best app discovery of the past few years.”
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Emily“Slowly turning into my father with my hobbies. Spending the weekends going on walks and trying to identify bird calls is my kind of fun.”
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Diana McGrail“I have loved this app. Excellent rec more people need to get acquainted with their natural neighbors.”
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gerund“this is my pokemon”
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Andrea““Joy meter: 100/10” - could not agree more!”
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Sarah Beck“Great to get to know your bird neighbors and also very fun on vacation.”
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Kirstin VanSkiver“Next to Gmail this is probably the most used app on my phone (k not really, it’s probably instagram but let’s pretend) It allows you to record bird sounds and then will identify which bird it is and gives you information on them. Made by the ornithology lab at Cornell which is basically in my backyard. People love their birds up here. I totally get it.”
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Lauren“New summer hobby: Sit on my patio and try to guess all the birds around my house”
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General Store“Love this app! Also IDs from photos! This weekend I saw a black oyster catcher and a hudsonian whimbrel. Yay!”
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Claire G“I was introduced to this app after going to a nature walk in the Bronx with the Urban Park Rangers. It's the best.”
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Londyn Harris“😍”
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Anisha2
Shahzaib Umer“Download this app to track every bird you see for the rest of your life. It’s like real life Pokémon”
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Shimen“Adding new birds to your life list!!!!”
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Jess“best birdwatching app- basically real-life pokemon go”
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Rachael Gadoury“My husband got hooked on using this app when we first moved into our new house. He wanted to know all the birds that frequented our back yard. He had such child like wonder about them it was amazing. This is a stinking cool app.”
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Elizabeth Walker“A delight for users of all ages”
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Spencer“This is one of my favorite apps for when I’m feeling like an unc and want to ID a bird by its song. It uses spectrograms and ML to identify sounds and you can leave it running while on a walk or whatever.”
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Courtney G1
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Jessica“Like PokemonGO for birds. Changes how you see and hear new places you visit, as well as your own backyard. There was an owl in mine last winter.”
quinn“i love the merlin bird app it makes me feel like i know things when i recognize local birds”
John Leo“One of the best phone apps out there period”
Anya“My favorite app”
Zoe Det““Be quiet I am identifying a bird using Merlin Bird ID!!” -me everyday. Also helps you to learn birdsongs!”
Nea“We use this app, that my daughter brought home from a bird nature camp, on walks through the neighborhood, hikes in the mountains and everywhere in between. We are constantly amazed by the number of different birds and the variety of their songs.”
Michaela“Ever wonder what bird is singing? Or what species is native to your area? This app will tell you! I swear, it's magic. I've learned so much about the birds in my neighbourhood, and it's made me want to pause, listen, and, overall, just pay more attention to the nature around me, even in a big city.”
Lauren“Hearing some birds and wondering what kind they are? With this app you can find out! It’s free and kind of magical. Just let it listen to your surroundings and it shows you all your possible bird neighbors. Love pulling this out whenever I’m somewhere new and wanna know what bird friends are nearby.”
Laura Dunlap“The perfect companion for new birders. Identify birds by sound and track you life list in the app.”
Lily“taking short walks in the park with no music and merlin bird id. bliss.”
sarah a“one of my fave things”
Danielle Jude“Really fun to figure out what all the birds in my yard are.”
Lee Frances Leroux“This bird identification app is fun”
AM“Tap into your inner birder. It’s in there. You know it is.”
Andrei Pogany“I’m putting this in music?!? Not quite a Daily. I get oddly self competitive sometimes and see how many birds I can get on a recording. 🤦🏻♂ ️”
Mak“This app is witchcraft. You open it when you're in the vicinity of birds (always?) and this thing can pinpoint what type of birds they are within seconds. Plus it saves the recordings! Like a voice note from Gaia”
Sam“An app to help you listen to something all around you that you will never fully understand.”
Heidi“Not just for the bird nerds out there! I was reminded of this app when I saw the rec for LISTERS. Installed it on my phone recently where it quickly became one of my top three favorite (and THE most delightful). From CornellLab, it listens for birds near you and shows you what species. 🦜🐦⬛🦉”
Mya Felix
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