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.
• 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.
Let me begin by stating I never use the original function of describing the bird I see. If I can see it that we’ll, chances are I can identify it without Merlin. The same goes with the photo ID feature—if I can get close enough and get a good enough look , I can ID the bird as well as Merlin can. I have tested out the photo ID, and I believe it would be a useful tool for beginners. Be aware that it’s not perfect: it has just as hard a time distinguishing between sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks as I do. Where the app really shines is in the sound ID. At first I was a little skeptical. One of the first times I used it it thought that one bird was both a common raven and an American crow. Same thing with some gulls. It thought there was both a California and Herring gull. I eventually found one I could call a California, the Herring gull never materialized. It also thought there was a tundra swan, but upon reviewing the recording, there was nothing there, and definitely no swan within my sight. The more I have used it, however, the more confident I become in its ID power. Generally, if Merlin disagrees with what I thought the sound was, I’ll try to track it down and find it. And more often than not, I find what Merlin told me was there. But the most fun I have had with this app was watching a northern mockingbird singing while Merlin picked out thirteen different bird songs that one mockingbird had learned and incorporated into its repertoire.
Great for a beginner like me
Scuba Nonna
I love birds and want to learn more about them. I have been hesitant to join birdwatchers as I’ve heard via birder email lists the experienced birders can be impatient and critical of newbies and also make it hard for newbies to join any groups. It’s like breaking into a click. That said, I felt I needed to learn before I even got started so I tried Merlin ID. I have used all 3 tools and find each one useful. I’m most excited about the sound ID though. This app is not perfect and you should question a match that seems questionable, like if it gives you a “rare” match. Do some research by listening to the call options to see if the match is authentic. This app also doesn’t recognize every bird. But, when there isn’t a match just submit the recording to Merlin so they can further improve the app. It is constantly improving and can only do that if we all help out. One day, I heard a bird but couldn’t see it. The sound tool identified the bird so then I knew what to look for and sure enough, I was able to visually identify said bird! I was super excited and encouraged. I also enjoy reading about each bird, the various photos and learning the different calls and songs. I’ve begun to share this with my daughter and grandkids when we take walks. My grandson lights up when he is able to see photos of the birds he is hearing and he’s only 2.5. Fun for the whole family!
Changed my life. Seriously.
Papaboy the Birder
This app opened my eyes to the world around me. I was never into birds before. I started using it after moving to a more wooded neighborhood in Nashville because I’d never heard so many birds and just wanted to see what was making all these sounds. I was shocked at the numbers of birds around me that I’d never taken the time to see or hear. Thanks to Merlin, I can now identify at least 20 birds by their songs and calls alone and I never knew how happy that would make me. More importantly, and totally unexpectedly, it helped me develop a daily mindfulness routine that was missing in my life before. I have a high stress job in healthcare. Merlin taught me to completely quiet my mind before and after work by being still, listening, and watching. I’d gotten so bogged down by life and stress that many of the little joys and wonders around me had become invisible. That’s no longer the case. Merlin has enriched my life and contributed to my well being and health in a way that sounds incredibly corny and fluffy to describe but it’s absolutely true. Now I’m proudly that weirdo who stops in the parking lot, looks up, and says “there’s a red shouldered hawk somewhere around here.” And it makes me smile before I keep walking to do whatever I need to do that day, a little more amazed by something beautiful in the world. Thank you Cornell and everyone who made this possible.
Very good app and room to continue to improve
NickRobert
I love so many functionalities in Merlin Bird ID from the Sound (record and automatic sound identification), to the Photo (identify from photos), to the Explore options. The incremental improvements over time have been much appreciated.Unfortunately, with the new version that had a major redesign of the home screen, I ran into a few problems, so I rate this as a solid 4 Stars. Honestly, I preferred the layout of the prior version by far and not just because I was used to it. Anyway, I ran into two problems with the new version that was automatically installed. First, the Explore function wasn't loading, and I tried closing it and reopening with no success. So, I deleted the app from my iPhone. It didn't provide me a notice that all my sound recordings would not be reloaded when I re-installed the app, so it appears that I no longer have access to them. Unlike other apps that reload files, it appears that Merlin does not offer that which is very disappointing. Second, I wish users had the option to choose the placement of the Sound (start recording) and Cancel (stop recording) buttons. I don't like the new location of the Cancel button especially being next to the Sound farther away from its prior location. I don't save most recordings, and I would prefer to not accidentally save the recordings.One problem with each version is recordings failed to be saved properly. For some unknown reason, they fail to save the birds identified and the recording itself.Overall, I still love this tool though!
What’s new in 3.8.4:
Sound ID is better at listening for birds, and now includes hundreds of new species in Central and South America, Australia, Hawai’i, the Caribbean, Taiwan, and India!
A smarter Explore experience. As you travel to new locations, Merlin will keep you updated on birds found in that new spot
Improvements and new species added to Photo ID
Nearby Places: Get ready to explore! Get seasonal suggestions for nearby places where you can find your Bird of the Day, and other birds you want to see
Version 3.8.4
The developer, Cornell University, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Linked to You
The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
Identifiers
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Location
Contact Info
Usage Data
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
Cornell University
Size
378.4 MB
Category
Reference
Compatibility
Requires iOS 18.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 18.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 15.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
