Firefinch
For Southern African birds
Only for iPhone
Free · In-App Purchases · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.
Firefinch is a beautifully designed, fun and easy-to-use birding app that will ignite an appreciation of birds and a celebration of the wild landscapes of Southern Africa. Explore illustrations, photos, sounds, maps, seasonal stats and helpful tips for almost 1000 bird species. And stay up to date with regular articles by expert birders, birding hotspot write-ups and info on the latest sightings and birding events. Join author and artist Faansie Peacock and the Firefinch community and embark on your birding adventure...whether you’re a fledgling or top twitcher.
more New species! Grey Pratincole
Whistlr:
- Easy Mode: Practice bird calls without losing points — perfect for learning new habitats
- Learning Dashboard: Track your progress with play time stats, streaks, and high scores
- Review Mode: Revisit tricky birds across habitats to strengthen your knowledge
- Streaks: Build a daily streak with an optional freeze to protect your progress
- Quiz length selection: Choose how many rounds you want to play
Other:
- Scientific and Zulu name options: Display bird names in your preferred language
- Bug fixes and performance improvements
5.5.0 10 Mar
Added Scientific and Zulu name display options
Bug fixes for Whistlr feedback points, Quiz length saving, search fixes.
5.4.1 7 Mar
Whistlr - Learn Bird Calls
Master bird calls with our new Whistlr game! Features include:
- Multiple habitats to explore (Bushveld, Fynbos, Highveld, Wetland, Night
birds, and Lesotho)
- Adaptive difficulty that adjusts to your skill level
- Expert Mode for advanced birders
- Track your mastery progress with visual badges
- Free access to your first habitat
Afrikaans Support
- Added language preference for Afrikaans bird names
- Afrikaans family and group names now available
Content Updates
- New bird photos, sounds, sonograms, and distribution maps
- Updated bird database
Improvements & Fixes
- Fixed iOS 18 navigation bar display issues
- Fixed language preference not saving between sessions
- Fixed sighting location picker reverting to wrong location
- Improved photo gallery performance
- Related Articles section added to bird profiles
- Dawn Chorus section improvements
5.4.0 11 Feb
What's New in v5.1.9
Introducing Whistlr - Learn Bird Sounds by Ear
Can you identify birds just by their calls? Now you can learn with Whistlr, our new bird sound learning game!
How it works:
- Listen to a bird call and guess which bird it is
- Start easy with multiple choice, then progress to typing the answer as you improve
- Master birds across 4 difficulty levels - from beginner to expert
- Track your progress with spaced repetition (the game remembers which birds you struggle with)
Getting started:
- Find Whistlr in the side menu or on the bottom of the home page
- Forest habitat is free for everyone - no subscription needed
- See your mastery progress on each habitat card
---
Bird View Related Dawn Chorus Articles
The new Related Articles section on bird pages shows you Dawn Chorus articles written about that species. Swipe through cards to discover fascinating stories about your favourite birds.
Have knowledge to share? Tap "Write for Dawn Chorus" to contribute your own article ideas.
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Improvements & Fixes
- Location picker fixed - Setting a custom sighting location now works correctly
- Smoother photo browsing - Improved gallery performance and full-screen viewing
- Better link handling - External links in articles now open properly
- Various UI polish - Cleaner buttons, better spacing, and improved accessibility
---
Enjoy exploring bird sounds with Whistlr!
5.3.0 1 Feb
What's New in v5.1.9
Introducing Whistlr - Learn Bird Sounds by Ear
Can you identify birds just by their calls? Now you can learn with Whistlr, our new bird sound learning game!
How it works:
- Listen to a bird call and guess which bird it is
- Start easy with multiple choice, then progress to typing the answer as you improve
- Master birds across 4 difficulty levels - from beginner to expert
- Track your progress with spaced repetition (the game remembers which birds you struggle with)
Getting started:
- Find Whistlr in the side menu or on the bottom of the home page
- Forest habitat is free for everyone - no subscription needed
- See your mastery progress on each habitat card
---
Bird View Related Dawn Chorus Articles
The new Related Articles section on bird pages shows you Dawn Chorus articles written about that species. Swipe through cards to discover fascinating stories about your favourite birds.
Have knowledge to share? Tap "Write for Dawn Chorus" to contribute your own article ideas.
---
Improvements & Fixes
- Location picker fixed - Setting a custom sighting location now works correctly
- Smoother photo browsing - Improved gallery performance and full-screen viewing
- Better link handling - External links in articles now open properly
- Various UI polish - Cleaner buttons, better spacing, and improved accessibility
---
Enjoy exploring bird sounds with Whistlr!
5.1.9 18 Jan
What's New in v5.1.8
Introducing Whistlr - Learn Bird Sounds by Ear
Can you identify birds just by their calls? Now you can learn with Whistlr, our new bird sound learning game!
How it works:
- Listen to a bird call and guess which bird it is
- Start easy with multiple choice, then progress to typing the answer as you improve
- Master birds across 4 difficulty levels - from beginner to expert
- Track your progress with spaced repetition (the game remembers which birds you struggle with)
Getting started:
- Find Whistlr in the side menu
- Forest habitat is free for everyone - no subscription needed
- See your mastery progress on each habitat card
---
Bird View Related Dawn Chorus Articles
The new Related Articles section on bird pages shows you Dawn Chorus articles written about that species. Swipe through cards to discover fascinating stories about your favourite birds.
Have knowledge to share? Tap "Write for Dawn Chorus" to contribute your own article ideas.
---
Improvements & Fixes
- Location picker fixed - Setting a custom sighting location now works correctly
- Smoother photo browsing - Improved gallery performance and full-screen viewing
- Better link handling - External links in articles now open properly
- Various UI polish - Cleaner buttons, better spacing, and improved accessibility
---
Enjoy exploring bird sounds with Whistlr!
5.1.8 16 Jan
Scroll down on the bird view to find a trove of valuable information about all the birds!
When scrolling down on a bird, you can now find related Dawn Chorus articles to that bird right on the bird's view
Fixed the broken photo button
Fixed the issue that prevented people from adjusting the location of their sightings
Added the photo locations again
5.1.0 6 Jan
Upland Sandpiper
Sabine's Spinetail
A whole new look for details on the birds and a lot of extra info on that screen... Enjoy!
5.0.0 18/12/2025
Added the ability to restore purchases without the need to see the paywall.
4.5.1 28/11/2025
Added Sabine's Spinetail
Replaced plates of larks, some pipits and common swift
Updated a few sounds
4.5.0 22/11/2025
Fixed a critical bug where editing an existing sighting would create a duplicate entry in the list instead of updating the original
Fixed an issue where edited sighting data (notes, dates, etc.) wouldn't refresh immediately in the list view after saving
Fixed a bug where saving a sighting while offline would leave users stuck on the edit screen
4.4.0 24/10/2025
Location filter now works for all Southern African countries using SABAP2 data.
We squashed a few bugs.
4.3.2 16/10/2025
Complete Location-Based Bird Filtering System: Are you overwhelmed by 1000 species staring at you and you wished you could narrow it down to just those you might probably see? Are you planning a trip and want to know which lifers you might get? Then this is for you!
Improved search accuracy. (You can now find those Rüppels Parrots much easier)
Fixed a bug that prevented updated info showing on the sightings after one has been saved.
4.2.2 03/10/2025
• Added Warwick Tarboton’s incredible egg images, for all local breeding species. Fascinating and beautiful!
• All new swallow plates, with new in-flight illustrations and updated thumbnails.
• We’ve split Rock Martin into two species. Ditto for Red-rumped Swallow. Maybe you can gain an armchair tick?
• Vanessa Stephen sent us a whole bunch of sounds of rare seabirds from Marion Island.
• We still need recordings of about 150 species, but now you can at least read what they sound like.
• As always, we did lots of bug fixes and performance improvements.
• And here’s a fun Easter Egg: If you meet us in person, show us your subscribed app to get a hidden feature unlocked!
4.0.1 03/09/2025
Egg images for all Southern African breeding species
Updated swallow plates and thumbnails with improved image quality.
Added new bird sounds and sonograms including Marion Island species.
Introduced Red-throated Rock Martin with complete media assets.
Improved map displays for Rock Martin with vector graphics support.
Bug fixes and performance improvements.
Enhanced bird viewing experience with new information page for birds without audio recordings.
Easter egg: If you meet us in person, show us your subscribed app to get a hidden feature unlocked.
4.0.0 01/09/2025
Fixed two crashes that happened when looking at a bird with no tags or searching for a bird with an empty notes field.
3.5.2 18/08/2025
You can now share a list:
1) With another Firefinch or Kruger Birding user
2) Between your own Firefinch and Kruger Birding apps
3) Export as a CSV in Birdlasser format
Some bug fixes
3.5.1 02/08/2025
You can now share a list:
1) With another Firefinch or Kruger Birding user
2) Between your own Firefinch and Kruger Birding apps
3) Export as a CSV in Birdlasser format
3.5.0 31/07/2025
Subscription Fix: Resolved a critical issue with subscription management that could affect access to premium features
Database Improvements: Fixed data inconsistencies to ensure your bird records and lists are always accurate
Performance Enhancements: Faster data loading and improved app responsiveness
Code Optimisation: Behind-the-scenes improvements for better app stability
3.4.1 08/07/2025
Stability improvements
3.4.0 30/06/2025
Fixed sorting issue
Fixed missing assets of Red Rumped Swallow split
3.3.2 23/06/2025
Fix for bug that caused users to continually have to restore purchases or loose access when offline over their renewal period
Added Red Rumped Swallow split
3.3.1 20/06/2025
Newest names for the birds
3.3.0 19/06/2025
• Improved importing of sightings from Roberts, Sasol, BirdLasser, and eBird
• Added the Dimorphic Egret to the species list
• Fixed several blurred map issues on iOS for better clarity
• Updated menu items with minor fixes and enhancements
3.2.9 13/06/2025
Fixed a bug that prevented some new users from subscribing.
3.2.6 09/04/2025
New species! Grey Pratincole
Whistlr:
- Easy Mode: Practice bird calls without losing points — perfect for learning new habitats
- Learning Dashboard: Track your progress with play time stats, streaks, and high scores
- Review Mode: Revisit tricky birds across habitats to strengthen your knowledge
- Streaks: Build a daily streak with an optional freeze to protect your progress
- Quiz length selection: Choose how many rounds you want to play
Other:
- Scientific and Zulu name options: Display bird names in your preferred language
- Bug fixes and performance improvements
more Version 5.5.0 10 Mar
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