Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab

Identify birds by photo, sound or description AI summary
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Jörg Schieb
To me, Merlin is the best proof that AI can do more than just write text. I hold my iPhone out into the garden, and the app shows me in real time who’s singing: a blackbird, a chiffchaff, a robin. It seems like magic, but it’s actually sophisticated pattern recognition based on a massive collection of audio recordings from the Cornell Lab. Ever since then, I’ve been listening with a whole new perspective on every bike ride. It’s free, ad-free, and an app that connects me to nature instead of a screen.
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Summary
Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab is a bird identification app built on eBird, the world's largest database of bird sightings, sounds and photos. It identifies birds through four methods, including answering simple questions, uploading a photo, recording a singing bird, or browsing birds found in a chosen region. Photo and sound identification rely on machine learning trained on millions of photos and recordings contributed by birders. The app offers expert identification tips, range maps, photos and sounds covering regions worldwide, along with customized bird lists for any location and tools to track personal sightings linked to eBird.
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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 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. • Discover a new bird species each day with your own personalized Bird of the Day • Get customized lists of birds you can find where you live or travel - anywhere in the world! • Keep track of your sightings—build your personal list of the birds you find MACHINE LEARNING MAGIC • Powered by Visipedia, Merlin Sound ID and Photo ID uses machine 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 • Merlin has bird 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. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s mission is to interpret and conserve the Earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds and nature. We are able to offer Merlin for free thanks to the generosity of Cornell Lab members, supporters, and citizen-science contributors.
Technical details about Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab
Category
Age Rating
Price
Size
319 MB
App Store version, last updated
4.3 · 2026-11-09
App Store Rating
4.9 ★
Devices
Languages supported by Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab
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