If you’re like most people, you probably enjoy spending time outdoors listening to the various bird calls that fill the air. But how do you know which call to listen for? Well, if you have a smartphone, there’s an app for that! There are a number of apps available that will allow you to identify bird calls with ease. One app that is particularly helpful is “Birds of North America.” This app has recordings of over 1,500 different bird species and allows you to identify each call by tapping on it. Another app that is popular among bird enthusiasts is “Bird Sounds.” This app has recordings of over 10,000 different bird species and allows you to identify each call by tapping on it. Both of these apps are free and can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play store. ..


There’s a good chance you take your phone with you when you’re out for a nature walk. Did you know it can be a surprisingly accurate bird identification tool? There are a few handy apps that can turn you into a bird call expert.

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Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is one of the top resources for information about birds. The Merlin Bird ID app puts all of that great information at your fingertips. It’s available for Android and iPhone.

When you open the app, you have a few options. “Start Bird ID” and “Photo ID” are for identifying birds based on their appearance. The one we want to use is “Sound ID.”

A menu will appear with a few options. To immediately start listening for bird calls around you, tap the big microphone button.

The app will immediately start listening and populate the identified birds on the screen. The bird that is currently singing is highlighted in yellow.

Tap the red stop button when you’re done. You’ll get a list of all the birds identified, and you can select any of them to read more information. You’ll be asked to download a “Bird Pack” for your area before you can.

That’s really all there is to it. You can simply let the app listen to your surroundings and watch the identified birds pop up on the screen. The Merlin Bird ID app is chock full of great information if you’re curious about birds. It’s a great hiking companion.

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