Merlin Bird ID By Cornell Lab Positive Reviews

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab App User Positive Comments 2024

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab app received 182 positive comments and reviews by users. Can you share your positive thoughts about merlin bird id by cornell lab?

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab for Positive User Reviews

✓ This has opened up a whole new world!I love this app! For so long I’ve heard birdsong on my daily walks but, beyond the obvious ones, have had no idea which birds were around me. Now I know, and have realised just what a wealth of wildlife there is in my local area and, for that matter, just in our garden. I’ve mainly used the ‘Sound ID’ function, and have been hugely impressed with its quality; it can pick up even relatively quiet bird calls and can deal with a reasonable level of other background noise (eg traffic). The bird packs contain a huge amount of information too and I’m sure that, over time, I’ll use them - so far, though, I’ve only really dipped into them. Overall, a great app that has helped me to appreciate more fully the diversity of bird life around me. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about what’s around them..Western StarsVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Amazing appI downloaded this a couple of days ago and it has enhanced every walk since. Today we spotted a great spotted woodpecker and a willow warbler because it told us they were near. I absolutely love it. It just needs a direction finder and it would be perfect 😀 Thankyou so much for making this available - I have told all my friends and many have downloaded it already..Pommie_JohnVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Excellent appThis app works very well, and has helped me learn bird calls. The ability to easily look at various pictures of one species helps a lot too, many ID books are lacking in providing images of basic/alternate plumage, male/female/juvenal birds, and various levels of feather wear, but this app usually has plenty of pictures to find examples of most conditions in which you would commonly find a bird. On issue I have is that the MacOS version window cannot be adjusted for size, I would really like to be able to extend the window vertically to be able to see more birds at once, this would greatly improve the app for a sort of passive learning of bird calls, and a feature where you couuld put several species into a quiz to allow yourself to try and improve identification between several tricky similar birds would be extremely helpful (I would gladly fork over 5-10$ for such a feature) for ID. The interfacing with EBird is also a really awesome feature..Poonmaster66Version: 3.0

✓ A must have if it covers your areaThis app is fantastic - with AI-driven bird identification from an uploaded image (even taking a photo of the camera or computer screen) and it is very accurate. There are 2 data packs for Australia, but only east coast so far. The explore component is the equivalent of your field guide, but provides real world images uploaded by other users - which I find are usually more useful than the typical illustrations as it more often shows the differences seen across times of year, maturity etc..CRANBR23Version: 1.6.3

✓ Cannot fault this app. BrilliantChanged the bird watching game. I love my physical bird guides but it’s great to have one always on me with the Merlin Bird ID app..Mik 🌕Version: 2.1.2

✓ Best bird AppIve had this a few months and its brilliant. I particularly like being able to put in a phone and get the match straight back. Highly recommended for amateur bird watchers..BgytrdcvhVersion: 1.8.2

✓ Woohoo!! This app is great!!I’m as new a birder as one can be, so it’s been...overwhelming, to say the least! I moved onto the farm where I work and have 27acres backing a river to trudge through. I have seen so many birds I’ve never seen before and thanks to this app, I can easily and accurately (I can only assume, since I obviously don’t know, but the pictures they show with their guesses are always numerous and clear, I’m quickly able to tell if that’s the bird I saw or not). The more I learn, the more I’m beaming with excitement and I have to thank this app and the creators for giving me that ability to connect the dots, even as a hobbyist who doesn’t have access to all the information. The app is clean, easy to use and understand, jam-packed with maps and gps and photos and information. You can look up any bird in multiple ways, from the bird or the region. I’m sure there’s more I’m missing, because, again, NEWB, but so far this app is everything and more!!.DinoFloofVersion: 1.8.2

✓ Things I wish forMostly love it. But I want to be able to add birds from the explore section to the life list without struggling pointlessly through the ID. Black chinned honeyeater refuses to come up under any circumstances. So these limitations are a toleration..ThisLisaVersion: 2.0.2

✓ Great app! Learn a lotThis is great, does everything I wished for and identifying the birds I hear on my walks. I do wish it had a photo of a male and female birds because one photo is not enough , I am missing where to see that.SarahsongVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Amazing tool, but a few minuscule issuesThis app is amazing. I use it every time I go bird watching, and it is far more efficient than most of the manuals I own. However, it is not without its minor faults. The first and most blaring is the fact that Isee many birds with many more than only 3 colors, and when I see birds with only 3 or less colors they might be different colors than I have the options I have to pick from! I understand that there are limitations that make it difficult, but the app would be that closer to perfect if you added more colors and the option to pick more than three colors. The other issue is that on a very slim chance I cant find the bird im looking for! This is for the most part my fault, but I think that sometimes it is because the bird isn’t on the list of birds registered on the app. It could also be because of the pictures of the birds do not include all or most variations of the bird I see, so I cannot confirm my sighting. If the roster of birds was filled up more, and there was more pictures, then all of those problems would be solved! It is such a great app with such great features and it almost never fails me. The only issues it has are so minor, or could be fixed in an update soon, that it makes them nearly irrelevant. Because of all of this the app is virtually perfect, and i recommend all bird watchers newbies and veterans alike to download this app..Jimmyjummy69Version: 1.4.2

✓ Merlin BirdLove this app so much. Easy to use, full of pictures, sounds and information. Thanks.ColdrainandsnowVersion: 2.1.1

✓ Very pleased!I’m happy with the accuracy of the sound recording identification. I watch birds daily that visit my bird feeders and perch in the shrubs/trees I planted for them. It’s my meditation time to sit outside and watch the name of the bird highlighted I’m hearing while watching them. Perfect for familiarizing yourself with different bird sounds. The accuracy is insane close by 98% accuracy over 10 hours of time personally doing a trial myself. Studies show therapeutic results lifting depression 8 hours after hearing bird calls. For fun you can end the recording and it shows and drop down of all the recordings of sounds each bird can sing. You can play back each one. Today I played the blue jays different songs on my phone and the blue jays outside joined in a chorus. My moms face lit up with a smile and the joy of birds signing along when I showed her. Get this app now it’s worth every relaxing and joyful moment spent using it. Cheers!.HotfulcrumVersion: 3.0

✓ Awesome appGreat app, I always have it open with E-bird when I’m out for a walk. The sound ID is accurate and fast as long as you’re in a quiet spot without too much wind. If you want to ID a bird or figure out what’s chirping, this is the app for you..CavCorVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Easily learn about birds!The magic of Merlin is how it quickly narrows down the most likely bird. Great for beginners. 5 basic multiple choice questions (where, when, size, main colors, and what was the bird doing) will give a short list of birds that almost always has the bird in front of you. Or use photo id if you are close enough to get a good picture. Sound id can identify multiple birds simultaneously and then you can listen to recordings of each to learn what song goes with which bird. Great pictures, descriptions, multiple sound recordings of each species and maps make it easy to learn all about each bird. All this info does make the bird pack file sizes rather large, but start with at least your regional bird pack and you will see how great it is. Add bird packs of other regions if you are traveling there. This app can quickly and easily open you up to the world of birds around you and get you smiling about adding another bird to your life list of all the birds you have identified..J.H.iP6Version: 2.1.5

✓ Great App with some fixesGreat App in most sections. Just some inconsistencies to fix which I think is the intention of reporting when your bird isn’t found. E.g. The Start Bird ID doesn’t find a bird in my area e.g. brolga in Mt Isa. Photo Id found it. Explore birds doesn’t find any search results for Sarus Crane but it comes up under Photo Id. Thanks..LisaMAnnaVersion: 1.7.4

✓ AmazingI have tried a couple of different bird apps before and this is by far the best. The song ID is just brilliant (for reference I live in Scotland) and I am having so much fun with it. I have already seen so many more birds than usual, just because I can now tell that they are there so much easier and I can’t believe it is all for free! I highly highly recommend!.Stephy171072Version: 2.1.5

✓ Top bird identifying appThis app makes it enjoyable and fun to find different species of birds. Great for kids and adults. Highly recommend.Little V NZVersion: 2.1.8

✓ IncredibleThis app is outstanding. Educational and fascinating. It’s fantastic to be able to identify the birds you can hear. We have had some real surprises while our walking. I love that you can jump to a specific bird call you’ve in a long recording to avoid having to listen to it all. I use it every day and also with my young daughter who has an interest in birds..KaytealsVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Brilliant app for identifying birds 👌I never write reviews but I just had to for this app. I decided to start to try and identify bird calls in my local area and this free app is just brilliant. It’s amazingly accurate in recognising bird calls even from a distance away. I love how it lists all the birds it’s identified in one recording, allowing you to skip to the part in the recording where it identified the bird and compare with pre recorded calls of the bird so you can even work out which specific call or song that bird was singing! It’s really surpassed my expectations as a free app and I’ll be using it all the time. I’ve not explored the other features yet but I’m sure I’ll be equally as impressed. Thank you for developing such a comprehensive and usable app..Kat25643Version: 3.0.5

✓ Perfect for a novice birderI’ve had this app for a couple of years now and I use it a lot! It’s helpful when I’m out walking in my local area and when I go further afield. I particularly like the region-specific bird packs which means, unlike my plant ID app, it’s relevant to my region and isn’t USA-centric. If I’m travelling can download a bird pack for that area. I’m one happy birder🦆.Bidadari213Version: 2.1.1

✓ Lasqueti Island bcI use this app every morning and throughout the day. They don’t have the northwest crow which we have along the BC coastal zones? Not sure how to inform the site that they have missed that bird. Looking forward to using Merlin again in Mexico this winter. So grateful and thankful 😉.Carinus manVersion: 3.0.3

✓ Love itIt’s made me much more aware of birdsong. My grandchildren love it. Only criticism so far is that when taking photo ID it’s annoying opening camera and then being asked if you want to take photo - often the bird has flown away by the time I’ve gone through the steps! Also occasionally disappointing that birdsong audible to the ear is not always picked up by the phone. But still 5 star. Have recommended it to lots of people.CLM404828Version: 3.0.4

✓ Best birding app!This app is superior to the alternatives, many of which are expensive. Also the data is shared with a research organisation rather than a company..JghainesVersion: 3.0

✓ Great free app.This is a fun and easy to use bird ID app. Generally I know the birds in my area but I don’t know all their calls and some birds are similar. Once you’ve recorded and stop, you can click on the green arrows and there are examples of all their calls (though some alarm calls are missing). On a early spring morning when birds are chatty and finding mates, I’ve picked up 17 birds. However, I think two of them were really a Mockingbird imitating a Purple Martin and Kildeer on the shoreline and I hadn’t seen either. So, it’s good to listen to a Mockingbird’s own sounds and if a bird you haven’t seen comes up quickly with the Mockingbird, it may not be Merlin’s fault. It did pick up the sound of my door opening as a Loon but we don’t have any. When signing up, when you choose the pack it’s good to choose your area so there are less mistakes. The photo ID works pretty well so far. When you explore birds in the app, some birds say rare that really aren’t, e.g. Mergansers have become common in the winters here mostly in brackish waters. It’s possible that it might mix up juvenile hawks that all have white breasts with brown drippy markings. You can go to Cornell Lab’s website and learn how to recognize their differences, the length of their tail feathers being one way. It’s helpful and fun and surprisingly picks up bird sounds even when there’s traffic noise..Kristen266Version: 2.1.8

✓ Best app on my iPhone BUTLost a star due to excessive battery usage. The app is great, but it uses about 1% a minute while I’m running it. I need to force it shut and reopen it to use it again to conserve battery. I’m not exaggerating. It literally will go down 10% in 10 minutes. Can you please fix this? If I’m out on a nature walk, I can’t use it the entire time or I will drive my phone dead. Yes, I’ve rebooted. I’ve deleted my sound recordings. This seems to be a recent glitch..AndreTheGeekVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Reporting rare birds can be difficult/impossibleMerlin is a very useful, easy to use app. I do have difficulty reporting rare birds on occasion, which is frustrating. I’m an experienced biologist who can identify birds by sound and sight, and to not have the correct bird come up as an option is frustrating. (Yes, I have the appropriate uploads for my region, and the birds fall within that region.) I had a barred owl calling three nights in a row, and could not report it using the app..PrairieEarth1Version: 3.0.1

✓ Shazam for Birds!Finally! The Shazam for birds I’ve been asking for! ❤️.MiheeheeVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Amazing, and free! Does a fantastic job of bird ID.I've used this app around the world - brilliant..SJP-NZVersion: 2.1.5

✓ Love itIt’s grown up Pokémon. I’m so thrilled when I see a new species pop up!.Lain02Version: 3.0.1

✓ Love this appThis app is absolutely amazing and i highly recommend it!.Tacocat12384Version: 3.0

✓ Excellent app for birdwatchers!!!Hi guys I am a young birdwatcher and my biology teacher is teaching me how to be a great birdwatcher. So she told me to install this app and I got to learn how to use in 2 minutes!!! I wouldn’t be able to be a birdwatcher without this app!!! It is a marvellous app and I hope you enjoy it as well. I just wanted to say that could you make an update in which we can save the birds we saw before??? Also could you please update that if I don’t use this app for 5 days it will still be on??? Because one time I didn’t use the app for 5 days and I had to submit my gmail address..Comment_4423Version: 1.8.2

✓ Great app!The app has definitely improved over the years. As with any app like this, it is important to confirm by listening to what was recorded and comparing to matches while also excluding other noises. My one wish for this app is that there would be an option to save or discard or something like that once you hit stop recording. If you amass a lot of recordings, it takes up a lot of space and you have to scroll to the bottom of the list to delete, since every recording is saved. Along the same theme - it would be awesome to identify some common non-bird species that sound like birds. It would also be great to be able to save specific clips in the app without having to export and edit. Being able to create one’s own library from identified bird clips would be awesome. Although I can appreciate that the app is more about identification, these features would improve the user experience. Great app! Looking forward to seeing how it develops in the future! Thank you!.Bird watcher1Version: 3.0

✓ Still My Go-To!Merlin has always been the first ID app I open and the sound ID is absolutely indispensable. While I’m now able to bird by ear, I like the extra help with uncommon migrants that pop in for a few days each year. It’s also nice to have Merlin back up my IDs on lifers or when I submit rarities. With that said, it’s not infallible so some common sense needs to be used: if it’s telling you you’re hearing a bird that’s wildly out of range, it’s probably wrong. I don’t trust it unless it IDs the same species in two different recordings. But I absolutely recommend this app to birders off all skill levels. [Previous Review circa 2015] I've been using Merlin for almost a year and I love it. It has almost never failed to give me the correct ID. I have some of the expensive birding apps and Merlin outshines them. The search returns the birds that are most likely based on eBird data, so you don't get hypothetical birds that you'll never see. I really appreciate the fact that Merlin recognizes both male and female field marks because so many apps focus only on the male. I highly recommend this app to anyone who needs to ID birds--beginner or expert..KunsthureVersion: 2.1.7

✓ Always peaceful and calming to use this appMerlin bird id has not only helped me identify birds but has also helped me bring comfort and calmness to my mornings without me even intending to. I downloaded this out of sheer boredom and I now have such gratitude and admiration for all that worked to create this app and help others easily learn about birds. I feel more connected with nature now that I’m able to hear a bird and know exactly what it is. I know this review seems a little much but for a long time I had no interest in doing anything and this along with some other things was the start to my appreciation of the earth and nature which has seriously helped bring me out of a deep darkness and I sincerely thank the creators of this app. I hope that children will use this and be educated with the importance of birds and how they improve our ecosystem so that maybe they won’t be as destructive as we are now. I believe the ignorance of the role wildlife and how it benefits us contributes a lot to its destruction. Anyways have a good day and thank you for reading :).CharlatéVersion: 2.0.2

✓ Nothing Short of AmazingThe speed and sensitivity of the Sound ID function is startling. It appears to be able to process several birds at nearly the same time. I can’t speak to it’s accuracy yet, because I haven’t had that many opportunities to visually confirm the sound IDs. But even if accuracy is only ok (and I suspect it’s much, much better than that), the app has already been invaluable to me as a novice birder. It has sped up my learning tremendously. Hearing the actual call as the app gives the bird’s name, and then seeing pictures of that type of bird on the app - this is exactly what I need to build those associations in my memory. And then being able to read a bit about it’s behavior and listen to the variety of its calls and songs provides context, and hones in on consistencies and variations of that bird’s call. Watching the app sort out the calls of over half a dozen birds as they call and respond in the morning, again and again, is really helping me learn how to tell them apart and name them. I’ve taken two birding classes and I use two different field guides, but none of those have helped me learn birds as much as this app. This is exactly what I needed!.Passage MakerVersion: 2.1.1

✓ Merlin reviewWouldn’t leave home without it! This is my second review and I can only echo my first, Merlin is an invaluable learning and identification resource..Watcher at homeVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Really good and easy to useI’m no birder, I can spell ornithologist but can’t identify one in a lineup, however I’ve moved to a house that has made the bush and birds an integral part of my day. It’s been a bit a bit of a surprise. Cornell’s app is easy to use and scratches my itch to know ‘what bird is that?’ - and has multiple ways to get to that answer. I’m going to give it 5 stars because it does it’s primary function so well. But it misses a bonus trick I reckon. Even though I was pretty open to the next level and actually logging bird sightings… because it gives an internal (Internal to this app. Easy? Not as useful to others?) and an external (Different app. Clunky? But the ‘best’ and most useful to others?) options to do that, I’ve ended up doing neither, which is a shame. Nevertheless - A+ well done..J_Random_Internet_ReviewerVersion: 3.0

✓ Great toolI love using this when I go for walks or am sitting on my balcony. It accurately identifies birds around me and highlights which bird is making which sound. It’s surprising how many species of birds are around us- I would never know some are there without the app. 10/10 would (and have) recommend this app for anyone interested in birds..MordorrynneVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Fantastic app, but still needs some workI love this app, but I still require the internet and the General bird search to find my bird. For example I just put in a black and white bird and it came up with a galah, sulphur crested cockatoo, Australian king parrot and a rainbow bee-eater among other black and white birds. My bird wasn’t listed and I accidentally ID’ed the wrong bird. I ended up finding with the help of google and their bird list, but I can’t see any way of retracting my bird nor can I ID it through a general search. It has a lot of potential, it’s helping to keep an eye on bird populations.m and it’s free so I give it 5 stars..YeehaCreationsVersion: 1.7

✓ Amazing appIf you are interested in birds at all this app is perfect for you it runs smooth and can instantly tell you what species you are looking at either through picture or sound it’s awesome It defiantly helped kick start my life for birding.Stick1997Version: 3.0.3

✓ FantasticThis is a fantastic app. I would go as far to say one of the best I’ve used to date. Not only does it give you real time ID whilst the birds are singing it broadens your ID as it makes you more aware of the birds around you. It is also possible to record the songs and play them back to compare against the App Library or using other apps such as Collins. I cannot recommend this enough and look forward to testing it overseas later this year..JonwildvetVersion: 2.1

✓ Great app.. butHave used Merlin for several years.. love it. Recently when I go into settings it freezes ( locks up) my phone. I have updated the app and my phone software. Still an issue..LeevuewVersion: 3.0.3

✓ Absolutely brilliantThis app saves hours of going through field guides to Identify a bird. I can’t imagine life without it.AussiepoohVersion: 2.0

✓ Excellent appI love this app, it gives great information and it is exciting to be able to contribute to the knowledge base..Cal 💃Version: 2.0.1

✓ ValuableSuch a useful app. Narrowing the list of possible birds for your location & having excellent audio recordings to help identification, even when you can’t see the bird..UserSaysVersion: 2.0.2

✓ Really Helpful 👍👍This app is really amazing and easy to navigate. As someone who only recently got into birds, I find it cool to see what birds I can find near my house. I only wish that sound ID was a little more helpful, at least on Australian birds. I recorded a clear sound of a sulphur crested cockatoo (I already knew what it was) and it can up with no answers. One more thing- (I know I’m being annoying now) I wish that I could add a bird to my list already knowing what it is. This would make it easier to add birds. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍.Lio537368354Version: 3.0

✓ Wholesome fun!Let's be honest, I don't do reviews unless something is that awful or that great! Luckily it's the latter! Incredibly functional (and fun) features! Moved into the mountains and put up a window feeder. When I started seeing some cool looking birds I looked them up on Google, quickly found the app to ID them and I was sold! It's amazing at giving you the correct bird result. And don't even get me started on the sound ID! Omg we heard the weirdest freaking sound one night, I opened it up.. Instantly popped up whip-poor-will! And the sound ID is also an incredibly satisfying tool when you're somewhere where several kinds of birds are. My 2 year old begs me to open it so she can see the picture of the bird when it catches it's calls and it lights up with 5-7 different ones! And for the technically interested it will pinpoint which bird is making which call! I'm not a bird watcher.. just a nature lover and I have a whole new appreciation and curiosity for birds!.A.BostwickVersion: 2.1.6

✓ Very handy tool to help with the identification of birds and bird song.Identifying Birds are not always easy you forget their names and their looks and also this their song ,having pictures and recordings of birdsong to refer back to is invaluable. In addition keeping a record and working with others for conservation is great. Thanks..BirdburgVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Informative and entertaining app that opens the world of birds with such ease!I would highly recommend this app to anyone!.Meatman123Version: 3.0.1

✓ I really like this appI am a beginning bird watcher since moving to the country and it’s helped me to identify species that I just don’t see in the city, like the acorn woodpecker, the California scrub jay and even the turkey vulture. The only disadvantage is that one must be very specific about where the birds are seen. If you have a birdbath and you put in “swimming or bathing “ the search will yield mostly aquatic species and you probably won’t find what you are looking for. Best to put in “on a tree or fence “ unless you are at a lake or something, and you know that it’s an aquatic species. Just FYI. Use the companion app eBird to report and record your results. It’s got a link to Merlin so you can search as you’re out birding or just on a hike somewhere. Birds are so cute even though they can be dicks like raiding other birds nests and stuff (something I’ve seen and it’s quite upsetting). But it’s nature! It’s not really kind. I don’t see nearly as many starlings as I did in the city which is gratifying. In case y’all don’t know they’re an invasive species that should be removed with extreme prejudice wherever they are found in America. Anyway, thanks for putting the app out to the general public! Love it!.OwenGilVersion: 1.8.2

✓ Amazing AI TechnologyVery cool to take a photo and identify a bird. Then I can also listen to the bird calls to confirm it’s the bird I saw. If you are an avid border or just occasionally run into a bird you aren’t familiar with, use this app!.RjemmettVersion: 1.7.3

✓ Love this!As an emergent bird lover, I am very much enjoying the ability to identity my backyard birds with their song. Along with my bird identification book, I am learning a lot about our feathered relations..Proulx hopeVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Excellent AppThis app is reliable and accurate in quickly Identifying birds. It fills you with confidence. It has been a terrific asset to this newly interested birder..AlbadaranVersion: 2.1.5

✓ So good!The Merlin Bird ID app has increased my knowledge and ultimately my interest in birdwatching. I had no idea there was such a variety of birds in my own backyard. Thank you Cornell for expanding my mind..VoxlassVersion: 3.0.1

✓ RejoinI love this app. Brilliant and after a while it teaches you to recognise bird song for yourself. I had one problem. I accidentally left the app for over the 5 initial days without signing in and found myself locked out. The app kept asking me to sign in via email but wouldn’t accept it - no matter how many times I resent the ema. I seem to have got back in by quickly avoiding the re/ send ..GeoddghVersion: 3.0

✓ Essential for birdingAmazing app essential for birding. The ID by sound we use all the time in the field to identify what we were looking at. The photo ID we use mainly at home. The ref section we use in both places..Relaxed-and-retiredVersion: 3.0.3

✓ Nice but occasional inaccuraciesOverall great app, recently updated my western Canada pack and now cannot ID a mute swan because western Canada isn’t even included on its map..GujfukfrhbdyjbhjesVersion: 3.0.3

✓ Absolutely love this app!Every morning I wake up before everyone else, make a cup of coffee and sit on the front porch listening to and watching the birds. I love using the sound ID feature and then ‘talking’ to the birds using the sounds. They sing back to me! I’ve discovered loads of different species that I had never even realised lived around me. I really feel like this app has bought me closer to the world around me..EastenderInnitVersion: 2.1.4

✓ Unbelievably good app!If the aim of this app is to encourage the general public to be interested in bird life, it achieves that aim with five gold stars. It has opened up a whole new world for me, identifying the range of bird species that live in my area, some of which I had never even heard of let alone knew were present locally! For someone who previously only had a passing interest in local bird life, this app has really stimulated my interest and has given me great pleasure in knowing more about my local environment..CNeilEdVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Birdy and NerdyThis app is fantastic. You get to see the audio spectrograph as it’s been analysed and then once you’ve captured your birdsong you can scroll through it and see the patterns yourself. It would be good to be able to zoom in on the spectrograph, maybe a future feature. We lay in our tent this morning recording the Dawn chorus and there were so many more birds out there than we normally take for granted..JimmyburnworldVersion: 2.1.2

✓ BrilliantThis is clever (sound IDs based on c. 500 sonograms per species, amazing) and it is very easy to download and use! I am using Merlin to learn bird songs and calls and am almost addicted to it. I think and hope that I am making progress to a fairly advanced level when I haven’t managed this before. Merlin has also improved my listening skills greatly. The app uses a lot of battery power but no wonder given the size of its data base. On a long walk, I would carry a power pack with me. I guess that the red half-circle (for sound recognition) indicates ID uncertainty; my phone doesn’t go back a page to the main menu, wish it did so that I could find out what the details mean. I love the way that the dominant call highlights in yellow, very helpful. Well done Cornell, this app is exactly what I needed to learn and hopefully remember (that not is up to me). Brilliant app..Mariah PassVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Download for Loads of Birding Fun!I started this app about a week and a half ago, and I’m loving it! I can identify any singing bird, and almost any picture of a bird! It identifies your description of a bird, too! You can also search for birds in your area, and play the calls. I’ve been able to play White Breasted Nuthatch, Cardinal, Robin, House Sparrow, House Finch, and Ruby-Throated Hummingbird sounds, and all with a reaction! The biggest reaction I got from a bird was a hummingbird, that was my first time playing the sounds. After a few times, she flew 2 feet away from my face! She looked really stunned, wondering what was going on. After a few seconds, she flew back to her perch in a tree and answered my call all the times after that. Just two problems. 1: When I was having fun with the app and trying to get a Mourning dove, no matter what I tried it wouldn’t give me it. 2: Sometimes there are sound bugs, which I completely understand. One time there was a sound in my house and it thought it was a Brown-Headed Cowbird. Anyway, I think I just heard a hummingbird’s mating call! Better go see them, Bye! Also, download this app for 100% guaranteed bird identification!.KittyPrincess1207Version: 2.1.2

✓ Excellent birding by ear accuracy!I learned bird songs many years ago, and birding by ear is now second nature. I have used the sound portion of this app for a few days now, and it’s very accurate. It’s sensitive to faint sounds at a great distance. It helps me focus on calls and songs I might otherwise have overlooked, for example during dawn chorus in spring! Some calls (not songs) it can’t yet ID - for example, pine siskin - and once it mis-ID’d a brief sound as a green heron (no water for 1/4 mile). But generally, even its ID of warbler and flycatcher short chips is correct. But, so far, for approximately 40 different species - probably 300 birds total - in various locations, the accuracy is astounding. The fact that when the bird sings a second and third etc time, the bird’s ID photo lights up yellow is a great educational feature for people new to matching sounds with the ID. Highly recommend the app..Canada WarblerVersion: 2.1.1

✓ Awesome app.The app is great for ID-ing birds and saving their locations. The only issue is that if you don’t have the app with you when you see a bird, you can’t search for it in the explore section and save it to a location from there. You always have ti go through the ID steps, which sometimes can be difficult to find what you saw even if you knew what it was. If you could save birds from the explore pages it would get 5 stars from me..KizzangoVersion: 2.0

✓ Very useful.Have only had the app for a few days. Have used it several times already and it has been most accurate. Recommended..Trickyt25Version: 1.7.4

✓ Amazing app!Personally I love this app! The technology is amazing and I can now identify birds practically everywhere I go and get so much info on birds any time. I really enjoy bird watching and this app really helps and it's incredible how it picks up even the quietest of bird sounds from far away. Again, amazing app!.Wilfie90Version: 3.0.1

✓ Absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-GI was recommended this app by another avid birdwatcher who I bumped into in the wild, it has been so helpful, so informative and above all EASY. Simply a must have for people who are curious about Birds, photography, or tracking. Keep it up 10/10.J.Schreuder PhotographyVersion: 1.6

✓ Great beginner app and has advanced featuresThis app is great for the beginner with how it is configured with five inputs the birder is asked to supply(color, location, behavior, date, and size). It gives likely birds to the user can select that match the bird they saw. The sound feature is great for an advanced birder as it allows identification based on the sounds being heard, that it matches with bird calls. This feature has allowed me to identify birds that I may not have been aware of. The down side to the app is it often will not show a rare or uncommon bird which is highly frustrating. It would be nice to have other or expanded inputs such a fourth color and beak type or other identifiers. The life list is really nice but if you can’t add a bird you know you’ve seen because it’s rare and the app won’t show it is irritating. It would also be nice to allow someone to add a bird thru the Explore Birds feature when you don’t get a match…..RWP82Version: 2.1.5

✓ Huge encouragementI started using Merlin about a month ago and it has greatly enhanced my birdwatching experience. Due to circumstances, I’ve been birdwatching on my own for years and not doing a huge amount so my skills are rusty and weak at best. My confidence in my abilities was low, but Merlin has shown me that I’m actually a better birdwatcher then I thought I was, which is so encouraging! Plus it’s helping me to learn ones that I don’t know or was very uncertain of. I’ve seen people complain that it makes outrageous suggestions, but I haven’t had that problem at all. Really good app in my opinion..Jules@139Version: 2.1.8

✓ At last, an app that is clever, useful and worksThanks for this. It works and I can see there’s some room for improvement, but not much. It’s actually fun to see what birds you can “collect”. Great for keeping kids quiet, not because they walk around it but they actually have to keep quiet whilst birds are being identified. Thank you for not bombarding me with adverts, or annoying me when I use it, it’s a breath of fresh air. This is like apps back from 2008 that you still have on your phone to this day - not many mind you, but it’s one of those apps. I think I’ll fire over a donation once I get paid this month. Thanks!.NicknameJimVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Love it but recording lifers is intermittentI absolutely love this app and my bird knowledge is definitely getting better. Unless it is my user error however, quite often when you hear a new bird, it is not possible to then press the that’s my bird button to record a lifer, the button just doesn’t appear when you stop the recording. Other than that I use this app most days and take great enjoyment from it..Kernow ladyVersion: 3.0.5

✓ Simply the best app everI have never found an app that is this useful in my life! My only complaint is that I now have a half dozen bird books that have been rendered superfluous. I especially like the sound ID feature, which obviously is not a possibility with books. Thus far I have found it to be accurate and strong enough to pick up even distant calls. Another great feature is the list of likely birds based on date and location. One question I have regarding the bird packs: Why is the Midwest pack nearly five times as data intensive as the pack for the entire US? I’m only now beginning to compile my life list, and this feature too looks to be very useful. I’m a baby boomer who was a late adopter of cell technology, and I must admit, this app convinces me of the potential value. I recently identified a song I’d been hearing for years, a black-capped chickadee. I was long familiar with most of its sounds, but I never knew that the mournful, two note descending song was also part of its repertoire! Terrific, thanks so much..Gianni ChiaveVersion: 2.1.1

✓ App in daily useAbsolutely love the app and use it everyday. I’ve learnt to identify many more birds than I previously knew and now I know to look for them, so see them too! Fantastic. I love that the names flash up real time and the accompanying sonogram is really helpful in picking out one bird from another when you’ve got 3 or 4 singing at once. My only nighle is that I’d like to be able to download the sonogram so that I can see a larger chunk of it. I can’t see how to do this. Even turning the phone sideways and having the screen flip would help a bit. Otherwise, thank-you! This has literally changed my life..LucyBrowneVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Brilliant!I use Merlin pretty much everyday to validate what birds in hearing around me and log the birds I’ve seen. I love how quickly you can start a recording to pick something up - really useful for the fleeting owl calls at night. Love being able to leave a sound recording on and seeing the beautiful array of birds that it picks up and also love that you can jump to a specific bird on the recording - really useful for learning! The only feature I would add is the ability to search for a bird and then immediately add it to my life list without having to do a step by step, photo or sound ID. Finally I can confidently tell the difference between the calls of different corvids!.HakfislhnVersion: 3.0.1

✓ This app is amazingI’m a backyard birdwatcher. I grew up learning about birds in our backyard that my father invited with his faithful provision of feeders for the duration of his lifetime. I’ve done the same over my decades of adulthood, but until I started using this app I never realized how many birds were around me all along but not necessarily showing up at feeders. By using this app, my backyard has been revealed as vibrantly alive, rich in a multitude of nature’s beauty that I never imagined. By using the Sound ID feature and decent-enough binoculars, I’ve identified birds I’d never seen before and have come to learn the songs and calls of some birds that alerts me to their presence even if they are not within my sight. Recently the app has identified the presence of cedar waxwing, which I still have never put eyes on and I’m excited to see if I can make the visual match if they continue to be identified at my yard. I feel so much more connected to nature from using this app, which is addictive in a wonderful and fulfilling way!.BreatheLikeVersion: 3.0.2

✓ Outstanding app very easy to use, intuitive! Thank you Cornell!This is an outstanding app! I rank this app #1 for information, ease-of-use, intuitiveness, fun! When I see a new bird, I can quickly identify it by typing just it’s color before it flies away! I’ve identify birds, my there song. The app is so sensitive. I didn’t even realize how many other birds were in the area and it told me their names too. Then, I can play their song back to them because there are hundreds of pre-recorded songs available on the app. If I want to test my knowledge up, Orthology, I can listen to songs and try again if I the birds myself. Due to the rise of rocks and predatory birds in my area, the app helps me to log the birds are in my backyard. I was using Cornell’s website then they switched to this app. Since developing the app, they’re having constant improvement. Thank you Cornell. I’ve had many many surgeries due to two car accidents. Watching my birds brings me such joy. This app makes it even better. I donate monthly to Cornell to save the birds and contribute to their research..10moonsVersion: 2.1.5

✓ Amazing App for easy Bird IDThis app is wonderful! I knew next to nothing about birds until a Eastern Goldfinch landed in my bird bath one day spurring interest into exactly what the name of this beautiful bird was. I searched inline but characteristics I described didn’t help me find what I was looking for so I checked in the App Store for a bird identification app finding many games but only a couple of identification apps I downloaded 3 but found this to be the best for me. Since then I have become an avid bird watcher! The app is easy to use even for me. I was disabled by a drunk driver in 05’ & fed up with tv so great to find a hobby I can enjoy outdoors. Even my parents joined in & my daddy after suffering a head injury himself in 2011 took up the hobby along with wood working. Together we would make feeders & houses to help attract more birds. He would build & I would paint different types of houses I researched on the website to help attract birds of all types. Unfortunately We lost him to cancer in February of this year (2018) but the time we spent birding together these past 7 years is something I’ll always hold near & dear to my heart. Thanks so much to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Birds in the Hand, & the developers of the Merlin Bird ID for providing us with this wonderful app that has given me some very sweet memories & a wonderful hobby..Cconner79Version: 1.3.9

✓ Sound ID has been amazingI kinda rolled my eyes when this feature was added, expecting it to be wildly inaccurate. This has not been the case. I’m blown away by how well it’s worked. I’ve been able, on several occasions, to actually call birds in using the provided, documented recordings to get a better look and confirm the ID. I would give this a 4.5 if possible. My only complaint is something I believe can and will be fixed in the future. When using sound ID, after the app has offered a suggestion, it would be great if you could tap on and link directly to that bird for specific identification. Right now, you basically have to back out and start the traditional ID process from scratch when you already know what bird you’re looking at. On occasion, you’re not lead to the bird you are already certain you’ve seen and heard. A quick link between the sound ID and the actual individual species page where you can confirm “this is my bird!” would be an amazing improvement. In general, thank you for an amazing app!.UnclesneechVersion: 2.0.1

✓ Most innovative app in awhile!Would be great if there was a way to sort by number of bird for the sound ID audio recordings, a way to filter recording by rarely of birds, a way to keep track of birds detected and associated records, a way to delete empty recordings..GroundstateVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Jack wisemanThis app is amazing for identifying bird calls. It is so sensitive that it can Id distant Val’s and seperate multiple calls. I love it. Big thanks to the developers..WisejackmanVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Amazing appVery helpful for bird photographers and it’s free.Justin George 1984Version: 2.1.5

✓ Adore it but some problemsI have been using Merlin since I started birding a couple years ago and I absolutely love it! My only complaint is that after one of the updates some of the bird profiles are not showing up for me. By that I mean when I click on it the bird the app refuses to show me the pictures that go along for ID so when I want to ID a bird that I know is a warbler in fall plumage I don’t have a reference and it can be really frustrating. Apart from that I love the set up and bird packs. One suggestion I might have for the bird ID is to maybe give an option to specify if you knew it was a waterfowl or not because or something along those lines because guesstimating what will make the app understand you can be a bit difficult especially when you see the bird from a distance. And lastly just a funny story I guess. I was in my back yard using the sound ID and it claimed there was a trumpeter swan in my area (which let me tell you there are not) I go back to play the recording and lo and behold the app interpreted a car horn as a trumpeter swan 😂..BaliMynaVersion: 2.1.2

✓ Great for the slightly hard of hearing!I have been using this app for a few months now and it has expanded my knowledge of birdsong. I’m not that great at hearing now, so this has been a wonderful aid. Some people say it’s not accurate, but I accept that it may not always be perfect, however it’s a good indicator and platform to further research, into birds present in your local area, and I guess if Merlin picks up something more than once or twice, it has to be fairly accurate. I’ve noticed that it doesn’t pick up some bird song, ie. The Red Kites which are common around many part of the UK now. My location is always set. Well done Merlin though, for developing such a life enhancing tool!.PeshellVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Brilliant!Easy to use, great for beginners and more experienced birders. The sound identification is amazing. I’ve been able to confirm my birdsong guesses, and have learned some new calls. This function has alerted me to other birds being around that I hadn’t heard or didn’t know, and with a bit of patience I’ve been able to spot them. The accuracy of the app in my home country gives me confidence that it will help me identify birds correctly when I travel further afield..JSlin462Version: 3.0

✓ Highly recommended!Correctly found the species in less than half a minute!.Paul.OgdenVersion: 1.7.4

✓ Fun easy way to learn about birdsI love this app! I’ve learned so much in a short time a lot more than if I had to research the bird & so forth. I can now identify birds by there calls..Frannix5Version: 3.0.3

✓ An astounding app.I had searched for some time to find and app that would easily and quickly identify birds by their song alone without having to give a description etc also. This was the third app I tried and I have been blown away. I particularly like the feature when you are doing a Sound ID the birds which are present are listed and then are highlighted when their song is dominant to ensure that you can positively link the song to a particular bird..Pepperpot1665Version: 2.1

✓ Amazing Features - Hours of FunThis app has brought so much joy to my life as a beginning birder. It is so well designed. The Sound ID is one of my favorite features, as is the ability to see Likely Birds, which I can customize according to time and location. I love being able to see what birds are my in area and watching that change day to day and week to week. I can also see what birds I might see when I travel, and can plug in my travel dates for better accuracy. I am truly grateful for this app. The one area of identification I currently struggle with is hawks. I have found some great resources online that have been helpful, but it would be great if Merlin could incorporate some more information into their various hawks and raptors. I would love to be able to see a scale of sizes, for instance. I do think the Bird ID is excellent but could be improved for greater accuracy..KristinTistinVersion: 2.1.8

✓ A definite game changer for a beginner birderI almost want to say life-changing for a beginner birder. The sound ID is really fun and useful, but the most useful for me is the list of most likely birds in the area - when I see a new bird, I whip out the list and quickly scroll through the photos to ID. Before I was flipping through my pocket bird guide books and now I can’t imagine going birdwatching without Merlin. Thank you 🙏.EisenleuVersion: 3.0

✓ Very useful app. Can be improved.I’ve been using this app for a couple of years and have really enjoyed identifying birds in my backyard. The good: The picture ID function works quite well, IF you can get a decent picture of the bird. Snapping a photo from far away and then zooming in with a photo app usually does not suffice. The recent addition of the sound ID is phenomenal! I can sit in my patio, start the recording and find all the birds making music. I recently recorded a summer tanager, a bird I’ve yet to see but know they’re around. Saving birds to the bird for Life list is a convenient and easy way to save what birds I’ve observed. My list is small compared to experienced birders but I find this is a fun way to save my experiences. The could be better parts In the Exploring birds section, I can type in the name and find my bird. I just did this with a Baltimore Oriole which I hadn’t seen at my feeders until now. Unfortunate, from this part of the app, I cannot save to my Life List! Very frustrating! Even more frustrating is the bird ID section would not bring up the Baltimore Oriole at all! If it had, I could add to my life list but unfortunately, this section of the app fails often. I changed the parameters in many different ways but to no avail. I’m not quite sure why the app won’t bring up the Baltimore Oriole since this is a very distinct black and Orange bird. No doubt about. Fixing these two issues would up the rating to a solid 5..Flyin_hoochVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Great potentialThis app is on the right track for IDing birds but being in Australia it has a long way to go for a good repertoire of birds to ID with. The song ID is not so good at recognising birdsong and it’s not easy to search for a bird if the proposed IDs are not correct. However it’s the best app we have so far for identifying birds and I use it all the time..Nickie-62Version: 2.1.5

✓ IncredibleI’ve been using the Sound ID feature for just a couple of days. I’m blown away by how brilliant it is. I’m learning bird calls and songs in real time. It’s magic. I love how it identifies which bird is currently calling by highlighting it in yellow. I have a feature request: please can you do that during playback too. Merlin sometimes identifies birds that I didn’t even hear at the time. I’m sure it’s right, but it would be good to know when to listen out for it on the recording..CaldiniVersion: 2.1.5

✓ Great, but could be smoother and quicker for sound identificationThis app has helped me learn and pay attention to sound qualities I didn’t used to discern, vastly increasing the accuracy of my birding by ear. My most frequent frustration is when I lose the chance to record an infrequent sound, because it can take so many clicks and scrolls to get to the Start new recording activator. I wish as soon as I open the screen, no matter whether I last looked at data for a bird with twenty song and call variations, or if there was no match, or if there were 8 species heard, that I could see and touch the Record function in one step. Instead, the passing bird is gone out of range too often, or stopped calling or singing. My second frustration is that there’s no quick way (at least that I have found) to delete a recording in which the target wasn’t registered. I wish there was a Delete last recording button right on the screen with the No match report, and also on ones where a plane or truck noise took over the recording. All that said, I often recommend this app to birders who haven’t tried it yet. Thanks.Tina B VTVersion: 2.1.5

✓ Best bird app I’ve usedI really love this bird app. I use it everywhere; home, work (I work in woodlands) and on holidays. I’m just love how well and accurately it helps me access and learn about the birds around me. It struggled a bit at work where it either didn’t come up with many species although many species could be heard and it also offered lots of American species which I’ve not seen the app do anywhere else so not sure why… Overall I recommend it to everyone. Ad free, accurate, loads of fun and super easy to use! I’m like the idea of data being used by researchers to monitor state of our birds’ world too..CharlotteelizabetheleriVersion: 3.0.5

✓ Nice!It’s really good for young birders! If you add a sound identifier, that would be awesome!.JeLauraVersion: 1.7.4

✓ Brilliant AppA truly wonderful App, so helpful to the amateur Twitcher like myself..even better now we can Shazam bird calls for a positive ID.. Probably the nicest App I have on my IPhone.. Thanks folks, keep up the good work...Jezza55555Version: 2.0.2

✓ Amazing appBest part is the bird songs..Notabotanist1234567890Version: 3.0.1

✓ Fantastic for sound IDI have learnt so much from using this app. It works well with voice-over allowing visually impaired people who rely on sound rather than looks to identify a bird. The sound ID picks up many surrounding birds even if you're not extremely close allowing you to stand in a park and get a soundscape of what's around. With so many packs of choose from you can learn about birds all around the world. Easy to operate and saving your own recordings is great. In one year I've learned how to identify over 30 birds in my area using sound alone. Brilliant!.Blatz BeeVersion: 3.0.5

✓ Spectacular AppThis app is so amazing its a must for any bird enthusiast. Did a Bird tour with an expert and this app did a better job of identifying birds than the expert. Totally recomended.PotosimantaVersion: 3.0.3

✓ Brilliant AppIf I could give it 10 stars I wouldn’t hesitate in doing so. Being an admin of an Australian Native Bird group I often have to get an ID of a bird. Since I own no field guide books or anything I use Merlin with the Australian pack only to filter out similar species from overseas. I have had a 99.9% success rate finding out the positive ID with their calls & distribution also. I would say 100% success rate as it’s never been wrong but you never know it might be wrong once. Also being a free app they usually have limitations but I have found none that impact the information I need. Great work from The Cornell Lab in producing such an amazing & helpful app ...RockoVersion: 2.1.5

✓ Utterly obsessed with this wonderful appI’m so happy I discovered this wonderful app, I use it first thing in the morning to see which birds are visiting the garden. On my daily walk in the woods and even when visiting the cemetery to see who is keeping my dear departed loved ones company! Next a visit to our local reservoir and nature reserve. It’s solved so many questions I had, including which shouty owls keep up up at night…barn owls if you’re wondering. I can now identify several new birds by their call and by sight. Thank you… it’s so much fun and educational.FlorenceandthebluebellsVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Best free birdwatchingIncredibly helpful for amateur birdwatcher like me, I now know every bird I see where live and can identify them in other countries with this app..HowcomecatattackistakenVersion: 2.1.2

✓ Extraordinarily GoodI’m a keen birdwatcher and downloaded this app on the recommendation of friends. I’m delighted I did ! I particularly wanted something to help with recognising songs and calls. I have been learning these for some time and wanted to improve. Merlin is extraordinarily good at this. Just set it running and watch the birds appear in the display. On rare occasions I hear somit misses but that’s probably down to the Mike on my phone. I’ve never felt it has misidentified anything. It is particularly good at coping with background noise. The thingy I find really helpful is that it displays a list of all the birds it can hear and at the instant they’re singing or calling it highlights them so you can tune your ear to a bird you’re trying to learn. I bet birders who are really skilled at birdsong hate this app - it completely de-skills this ability ! Absolutely outstanding..ICandeeVersion: 3.0

✓ Vastly Improved - A Splendid Tool for Aging EarsI use Merlin Audio ID as a field tool nearly every outing. Having accrued 70 years, my ears are not as sharp and are particularly when there is background noise. My MO is to activate Merlin recording when I arrive at a site. I give Merlin a minute to listen when I and other city/car noise are minimized. Then I have a look what Merlin believes he has heard. Often he will catch a fragment or a high pitch I might have missed. Sometimes he is confused by the confluence of five or more species simultaneously occurring but more recently he has become more effective in unraveling these perhaps by voice map recognition which can isolate a single image from a melange. Admittedly, Merlin makes mistakes but the red dot warning alerts remind us to double-check. On the other hand, Merlin is also helpful when he identifies a rare bird which is in the “packs” you have downloaded but a species you have never heard (or seen before) helping you find an unexpected RARITY, or a LIFER! Another scenario is a common bird that is present but ignored because it is common but is, in fact, rare on the early or late date you are seeing it. Merlin IDs it and when you make your observation report their is the Robin or House Sparrow you hadn’t noticed but Merlin documented! MERLIN AUDIO IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THE PHOTO ID and I CONTRIBUTE TO eBIRD REGULARLY TO SUPPORT “MERLIN AUDIO”.MWH Goshawk - PrincetonVersion: 3.0.3

✓ Amazing!This app is very easy to use and it never has a problem identifying a bird. I even had one hidden behind a branch and it identified it correctly. Highly recommended. I love it and use it all the time..FawntreeVersion: 1.6.3

✓ Awesome app!Love this app so much. Love how it listens to bird calls and songs and then identifies which bird it is. So wonderful! Love using it while having a cup of coffee outside - put it on while listening to birds and then find out which birds you’re listening to!.PackawallopVersion: 2.1.5

✓ Great app! Really wish they had a widget!I can’t count how many times I’m scrambling opening the Merlin app for sound ID when I hear a new bird. Would love a widget that takes me directly from the lockscreen to the sound ID of the app. PLEASE GUYS MAKE IT HAPPEN IT WOULD BE SO CONVENIENT.Emma branVersion: 3.0.2

✓ I love this app!I recommend Merlin to everyone I know who love birds. I love how easy it is to identify a bit that you can see with 5 easy questions and I think it’s amazing to be able to identify birds you can hear too. Many a time I’ve been sat in woodland with my phone on identify bird sound and watch the app tell me how many birds it can hear and what they are. It’s just brilliant!.B-Roll MandyVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Great appSuch a great app, even discounting that it is free. I use it all the time. My only issues are: I think some of the range maps need updating. I’m 100% sure I’ve been looking at birds which the app doesn’t think should be there; I birdwatch in a number of places where there’s no signal. it’s slightly frustrating that some of the functionality is lost, although I understand that is inevitable to some degree. But I’d love to be able to make a bird list on an outing that could then be synchronized when back in range….JezcarrVersion: 2.1.5

✓ What a brilliant app this is!!!I have recently moved to an area of OSB and have begun taking an interest in the many bird songs I hear on my walks. Since using the Merlin app my walks have become so incredibly interesting as I have heard so many bird songs that I now know which bird they come from. I have always loved the countryside,but this app has taken it to another level. Thank you !!.Cerney birdsVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Excellent resource!I can’t believe that this is a free resource. I have paid for bird apps that are less polished and contain less information about birds than this app. Very grateful to the team who develops and maintains it!.MstrathmoreVersion: 2.0.3

✓ Love this app❗️❣️I love being able to identify birds anywhere. It’s a great resource ❣️.Whisper2usVersion: 3.0.2

✓ Amazing travel companionFun at home to identify birds at the feeders but an amazing travel companion! Identify birds surrounding you (downloadable database, no connection needed on location) by sounds or photo or description, get a list of likely birds, build a life list and an album of sounds. Amazing! It was sometimes inaccurate in Costa Rica and a local guide told us it was difficult to propose changes in the database, so might not resolve in the near future..GeneBeeVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Algorithm problemIt has come to my attention that the algorithm used to show likely birds in a region is flawed. The algorithm occasionally causes rare birds to appear common at certain hotspots. My guess to how this happens is likely due to the birding community discovering a rare bird and sharing that info with their community. Then people from all over show up and enter the bird into eBird. This causes a large number of people to report the same single bird. As a result the algorithm will occasionally tell you birds like a scissor-tailed flycatcher is common at Arcadia Marsh, MI. When as far as I can tell it was only seen on one day by many people. Or it could tell you that a lazuli bunting or a painted bunting are common at Whitefish Point, MI when in fact there are very few historic reporting a of either of those birds statewide. An improvement could be made by changing the algorithm to factor in the number of birds reported per checklist for example (10 trumpeter swans) along with the number of days the bird has been seen over a period of time. This would prevent anomalous inaccurate results for a single bird that was seen up to hundreds of times on only 1 day. Aside from that the app is excellent at what it was made to do. As a predictive tool of what birds you may find in a given region, extra research is required to double check Merlin’s findings..Paulite31Version: 1.7.4

✓ AmazingThis app is absolutely amazing such a wonderful source of information and I don’t understand how it’s completely free! I have just recently started bird photography and this app is a must have!!.PhotosbysVersion: 1.8.2

✓ Game changer for bird photographyI’ve been getting into bird photography the past three months and not always found it easy to identify what I’m photographing... until now. This app helps lots! My only gripe is that it doesn’t let me submit birds on my iPad (where my photos are downloaded to) - I can ID them there but not save to my list. Have worked around this by photographing the picture on my pad using my phone. Opportunity to improve things there but otherwise great. As others have said, would love a Shazam type option for bird calls as cannot always see the feathered friends but can often hear them..@SparkySparklerVersion: 1.8.4

✓ Love it!!!🦅🕊🦉🐦This app is really cool, and I think it will be helpful! I haven’t really gotten a chance to try it out much but I live in Iowa and I am going on a camping trip near the Canadian border in Minnesota soon and can’t wait to try it out. I’ve been browsing through the stuff and testing the app out, like trying to get the app to think of European starling, And a while ago I think I saw a great egret but I wasn’t exactly sure, I tried to look on here but it wasn’t able to show me it might have been how I was trying to identify it and where I put the marker I don’t exactly know where saw it. Something I would like to see added to the app is skipping a category, like the location or the date because sometimes you don’t exactly know when you saw the bird, or where it was, just an option to skip would be nice. otherwise I absolutely love this app! I like how you can listen to the birds sounds, and just browse through bird categories! Another fun option to the app would be to interact with other burgers and share what you have seen!🦆! I will definitely be recommending it to my bird friends! thanks!!!😁.American kestrel ladyVersion: 1.4.1

✓ Photo IDs briliant!Just got Merlin with its local (Australian) bird pack. The ‘bird ID’ wasn’t that helpful, but wow the Photo ID system is incredible. Returns accurate IDs from even badly taken photos. Very impressed..Robbie Robot OzVersion: 1.5.3

✓ An absolutely wonderful app!My husband was a bird watcher and I used to go on trips with him where he would refer to LBJ’s - little brown jobs - being the multitude of small brown birds that flit too quickly by for normal eyesight to identify. He would have loved this app. I now work in my garden, using the sound app to listen to and identify the visitors to my domain. It’s teaching me their birdsong and their apparent conversations, highlighting each call by colour in some animated version of a musical score. What an achievement is this app. It is stupendously easy to use and opens one’s eyes and ears to nature. I can’t overstate the joy it brings. Thank you to the developers- and for keeping it free so that all can enjoy and learn from it..Gai222Version: 2.1.5

✓ Most exciting appI've only just discovered the app and used it for short local evening walks - not only did it help me to slow down and really pay attentive to sounds, it was so exciting to discuss all the birds around me, many of them I couldn't even see. It's great to help learning different bird songs but also to appreciate the abundance of bird life around me including a Tawny Owl and Great Spotted Woodpecker today..Petra PeaVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Brings me so much joyThis app enriches my life is such a huge way. It has made birding feel very accessible and fun/easy to learn. A little less than a year ago, I started using Merlin knowing next to nothing about birds on the recommendation of a friend. I’m now using it daily and able to identify so many birds on my own, which I learned thanks to the incredible sound and picture ID available on here. Birding really helps me to be present and enjoy my surroundings while getting a ton of exercise, and I would definitely not be this into birding had it not been for Merlin. I have an evening routine using Merlin and sister app eBird, where I play a little game of seeing how many birds I can identify on my big neighborhood walk. As a UX nerd I’ll also say the UX design is incredible - the app is so intuitive, easy to use, and minimalistic in a way that reduces distractions while you’re enjoying the outdoors..BitcatsVersion: 3.0

✓ DIn the UK I can recognise most of the regular birds by song/call. This app is remarkable at picking up 90-95% of vocalisations but does occasionally produce some weird results e. g Fish Crow and others. This may be partially due to inability to define location. Many years of learning bird vocalisations have been made accessible to novices or anyone suffering from hearing loss to alert them to nearby birds. When travelling to areas where one is unfamiliar with the local avifauna it is a valuable resource steering you to help find and identify birds. As AI continues to improve the ap, in the meantime a sense check on some of the results is advised but overall a go-to app for less experienced birders, those who are more sight-biased, or into new environments/ geographic locations. Highly recommended..AtheOwVersion: 3.0.3

✓ Absolutely AmazingIdentify by sound, description, photo…. It works great… and you don’t need wifi for it to work. Love it!!!.Dirty SwaggerVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Best bird app!Love the sound ID, maps, and photos. Thanks Cornell Lab❤️.MarcD2Version: 3.0.1

✓ Works greatThis is really impressive. Hear a bunch of birds? Hit the Sound ID Button and it listens and figures out what birds they are. Works with photos as well. Great app!.Old Mac AlVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Great for a beginner like meI 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!.Scuba NonnaVersion: 3.0

✓ Wish this and Audubon would mixFor the most part I like this app (though I’m not a fan of the new update that makes it so you can’t search all birds, but only by areas), but I wish it and the Audubon app would combine to have the best of both. Merlin has picture and sound ID, which is great. Audubon makes it easy to see if there have been any reported sightings in your area of a specific bird or just the general sightings. With Audubon you can also search birds easier and add one if you already know what it is, where Merlin makes that difficult. Just this morning, I saw a blue jay (which aren’t really supposed to be in my area, but have been for the last few years) and Merlin wouldn’t give it as a possibility (only giving stellers jays which are actually supposed to be here) but I couldn’t mark it as seen in this app because it wouldn’t give me blue jay as a possible bird, and I couldn’t just add it like in Audubon. You also can’t edit your sightings in this app, so make sure you get your date, location and bird right or it’ll be stuck incorrect in your sightings forever..ComposingComposerVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Useful with a major flawThe app is overall quite useful for identifying birds and the audio references are great. What needs to change is your ability to add birds to your life list. There are times when I spot a bird, and I already know what bird it is, and I get excited to add it to my life list which is a great feature to have, but I *can’t*, which is super frustrating. You *have* to use the bird identifier to add a bird to your list, and there are times when I can’t for the life of me figure out what combination of answers I’m supposed to give the identifier to get it to suggest the bird I’ve already identified, so I just can’t add it. Then I search by name and there’s my bird, but no way to report my sighting. How crazy is that? Today it was a group of 6 cedar waxwings in the tree outside my window. I tried every combination of brown, gray, white, and even yellow and black with sizes of robin sized between a robin and a sparrow, and I never could get it to suggest waxwing, so it will not go on my list. This has happened multiple times now and at this point I’m going to give up on my life list because it defeats the purpose to not be able to track all my sightings..TreecitynighVersion: 2.0.3

✓ ExcellentMerlin is fabulous and helps me learn bird calls and songs so I know what’s around even if I can’t see them. It’s very accurate. If Merlin identifies a bird from sound and I see it then it’s always right..EaglepointLPVersion: 3.0.2

✓ This newbie loves it.Love this app. Recently retired, I now have time to take walks and observe my natural surroundings, a pleasure I lacked time to do for decades. In my suburban area I started hearing symphonies, courtesy of our feathered friends, but actually saw only a small percentage of these avian musicians. Who is making all this sound? I can almost always get a correct answer now, even if there’s some noise from car, truck, or plane traffic. When I’m lucky enough to get a photo of one of these folks sitting still for a moment, I can almost always count on identifying that way too. I never was a real birdwatcher, but I’m headed in that direction now. True, the app isn’t perfect and maybe never can be - I have a local mockingbird that I suspect is fooling it sometimes, and once in a while it just can’t identify what it’s hearing - but this has brought a lot of joy to me, and maybe a new hobby..Rockland AlVersion: 2.1.1

✓ Best resource for the novice birder.I’ve had this app for a few years now and just wanted to test it out. It’s probably not very helpful that I’m just now getting around to it. I was initially pretty disappointed at first because the number of species specific to Alaska was fairly limited. It took a little time, but they rolled out regional specific bird packs. It just blew up from there and became my go-to app for identifying birds. The photo ID feature is pretty great, but limited only by the quality of my phone camera. It’s usually pretty accurate though. I’ve just gotten way more interested in birds I really didn’t pay attention to before! The app is great and if you enjoy birds of all sizes in your area, chances are this app will be instrumental in identifying them. I think I use it more than any other app I have. Oh yeah, I also really love the bird sounds feature. This is also very useful when you can’t necessarily see the bird, but you might have a close idea of what it could be. Do check it out, this is well put together app overall. I wonder if they’ll have a feature where you could identify simply by recording a song or a call? I’m excited for any new developments in the future!.Afree76Version: 1.4.2

✓ A Big help!!!Getting used to this app but it is a great help in identifying birds!.April.sonVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Fantastic Field GuideI wish this app had been around sooner. As a relatively experienced birdwatcher, I find very helpful in identifying bird photos even to the extent of taking pictures off my laptop and identifying them in Merlin. I am wading through my photos from Costa Rica taken last month and it’s invaluable. I also very much like the ability to load the photos for the region you are visiting as opposed to everywhere. Cannot recommend it highly enough. I have been using it now for a couple of months..MdwTDVersion: 2.1.5

✓ Amazing gets it correct!Every bird I have identified yet has been correct. When you take a photo or do the test thing Five stars I totally recommend this!.HfsjjchtsbcbtnskdkcVersion: 1.7.3

✓ Especially love the Sound IDI've been using this app to help identify birds by their song. The Sound ID feature is incredibly powerful and has helped me recognise many new birds where I've struggled before. The way it highlights which bird is singing means it is easy for anyone to learn more about our feathered friends. Top marks to Cornell University for creating such a wonderful app and making it available for free 🙏..LookySeymourVersion: 2.1.2

✓ THE App for BirdersI love Merlin. As a former beginner birder, it was and still is an excellent tool. The sound ID is helpful for double checking ID’s and sometimes alerting me to what is in the area, but out of sight. If there was one thing I could change about the app (to which my birder friends have also complained about), it would be to allow manual markings on birds sighted without going through the ID. For data collection purposes, I can understand the need to be thorough, but personal merlin sightings do not go towards ebird data to begin with. I’d really like the ability to just check off a bird - especially because I was manually keeping track of my list before Merlin. There are many basic birds I would like to add, but I am far from remembering where or when I saw them. (Such as the coot, western bluebird, summer tanager, ect.) A simple list to add or remove sightings would be phenomenal. Otherwise, 5/5 app, I cannot recommend it more to new and veteran birders alike..EarthtailVersion: 3.0

✓ ExcellentLearned of this on Meat Eater podcast. Such a great companion while hiking. Fast and accurate. Super for kids.EzeaklVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Great for ID help for newbies, but struggles with tough IDsThis app is a great resource and I use it every time I go birding. The ID Info section does away with extraneous details and gives a succinct summary of field marks, which is great when trying to ID on the fly. The numerous pictures for every bird -usually in all plumages and from many angles - are also so helpful. However, I find myself usually just using the explore birds feature rather than the ID program because I find it more effective to manually narrow down my options. Because the criteria are so limited it often leaves out birds it should not or if you are incorrect about one detail this can throw off the whole search. It also only suggests common species in your area, which is frustrating because it is the uncommon birds I need help identifying. If you are just starting out birding or are birding in an unfamiliar area this app is a must have, but even moderately skilled birders can outperform the app’s ability to come up with potential ID answers..LeftsnareVersion: 2.0.2

✓ Opened up a world of birds!I’ve always been so bad at recognising birdsong. The birdsong function of this app has been amazing for opening my eyes (ears?) to all the birds surrounding me every time I step outside the house. I’m finally starting to recognise the most common bird calls, while also enjoying the thrill of when the app tells me I’m hearing something a bit more unusual, so I know to peer into the treetops until I find that redstart or that yellowhammer 🙂. I genuinely love this app..Danny43579Version: 2.1.8

✓ Astoundingly brilliant Sound IDSound ID is amazing - even if there are multiple birds singing it will after a minute have identified them all. Popping up a picture as it does, then highlights the bird again if it sings once more. Wonderful for improving your bird sound ID skills even if you can’t at the time see the bird. The speed and accuracy with which it identifies birds that you know and recognise gives great confidence in the app's ability when identifying something new. Carry on and next listen to the audio examples of the birds it’s identified and you can confirm your sighting with a location and date thereby building up your records of birds in your area. I used to use a dedicated “bird mic” in the past (since 5yrs back) which was brilliant at the time but this app outstrips it. Using it with our junior school Forest School pupils and it has them engaged..Andy T8Version: 2.1.8

✓ A go to appI find myself looking up this app a great deal. It’s very easy to use, the maps can be enlarged, which is something I love. The information is succinct too. I love the range of photos of each bird in different plumages. Thanks for a great app..Patrick ScullyVersion: 1.4.2

✓ Brilliant app!I never realised how into birds I am until getting this app. What a great piece of technology, and for the free version too, I have no pop ups, no adverts etc. I must have shared the app with 30-40 people now, all who give the same feedback… that it’s amazing! Be sure to click your location to able to see the photos and calls of the birds too. I’ve had some friends travel to Canada, USA, Portugal etc. and they were able to use it there and see the info too which was very interesting..Mimi R H KVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Great app!One of the best apps to Id birds. It has helped me figure out so many new ones at my feeder. I am giving it one less star because it doesn’t save the birds you have seen. I want it to record a list of all of my birds.Agent6249Version: 1.7.3

✓ Best Bird identifierThis is the only bird identifier that can identify my cockatiel, Buddy. The others said he was a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo and one said he was a finch. The only downside is it takes up a lot of storage and it needs internet.Daisy Star3738Version: 2.1.2

✓ Great app w/ a couple bugsDifferent people have recommended this app to me, and I’m glad I finally got it! I’ve been learning about local birds for years now; the app is pretty easy to navigate, but I’m not sure how it would feel if I was brand new to birding. My favorite part has been adding birds to my life list and having access to many different bird calls. If you want to be able to identify birds by their sounds, this is a great place to start. My only frustration has been that it doesn’t always suggest the bird that you’re looking for after putting in the criteria. I sometimes have to go back and adjust the size of the bird or where I saw it in order for it to come up. This has happened mostly with scrub jays and acorn woodpeckers. I’m also not sure why it won’t let me add condors to my list. I’ve seen them several times soaring over southern California mountains but the app doesn’t generate the bird when I put in the criteria. Overall, I’ve definitely enjoyed using the app!.NotForNaughtVersion: 2.1.5

✓ Amazing appIt’s is really amazing what this app can do! If you at all interested in birds, this is the app to have..Seashell_eyVersion: 3.0.2

✓ Great Australian contentJust downloaded and having a play with this app, now that the Australian content has arrived. Thanks so much. I love it already!.Rw333Version: 1.5.3

✓ Sound IDNearly perfect but one big frustration is with sound id while in Brazil. The message telling me "only some birds in this region can be identified" takes up the space for at least 1 bird, plus the scrolling oscillograph, which is more background noise than meaningful recognisable patterns, is so deep that the final result is there is only room on my iPad for 3 birds, even held portrait! I am constantly scrolling up and down through the dozens of birds I am hearing in the dawn chorus every day!!! Please, please make that oscillograph narrower for all times/regions, and please, once a user has acknowledged the message of 'Sound ID' limitation, allow him or her to turn it off from the screen!.Agile itil princeVersion: 3.0.3

✓ Great!This is a great app and I’m so glad someone took the time to make it, especially for free! It’s exciting and interesting learning about all the different type of birds that live in the places I travel to. The only improvements I’d recommend are 1. Ability to add birds from “Explore Birds” into my “Life List”. I found it easier to ID some birds by browsing 2. When I share a bird with a friend (for example on WhatsApp) consider including the full description not just the image. This will make the recipient more interested and probably get the app for themselves. I’d these two things could be implemented to app would be a straight 5 stars.Karl.alan.robinsonVersion: 2.0.3

✓ Love this app!I love the multiple ways that you can identify a bird from sound picture or straight out of your silly memory..Jean_darkVersion: 3.0.3

✓ Great AppI would give this app 5 stars if Australia was included. I hope they add it soon.PaytonGirl34Version: 1.5.3

✓ It actually works!!I’ve had apps like this before and they were awful. This however is superb. There are lots of birds in our back garden we know well so it was easy to test. There are other birds nearby that we have seen or heard and it picked out those too. Unlike other apps it’s really sensitive so you don’t have to be ridiculously close to identify a call. The only bird it’s had trouble with is the Starlings and they are pretty good mimics so it’s not surprising if there’s a little confusion on that one..HoozadaddyVersion: 2.1.1

✓ Superbe applicationApplication référée par Radio-Canada, facile d’utilisation. Elle réveille nos sens pour détecter de nombreux nouveaux oiseaux. Photos de qualité pour mieux identifier. Bravo et merci!.Marcel AllardVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Just starting to explore the app.Great ID system. Just ID the great blue heron and listening to the sound provided I thought it was a poor choice. I am assuming that the bird recorded was in some kind of nesting area. 99% of the time when you see them and hear them is when they have been disturbed and take off in flight, squawking in annoyance. They sound like what I imagine a pterodactyl would sound like. Multiple recordings maybe? Listed from most common call to least..BAR0Version: 1.5.3

✓ Incredible appThis is an incredible app that 99% of the time identifies the correct bird by the sound it makes. I have found many more birds than I usually do using this app. However, some improvements are needed for the app and the documentation that goes with it. For example there is a “Report no matches” button but I have absolutely no idea what this means or what it does. There’s also no way to retract that report. Another example: “That’s my bird” - I’ve no idea what that’s for. Feature request: add a way to flag up suspicious matches. I don’t think there are that many Yellow Legged Gulls in the UK yet..Caldini01Version: 2.1.6

✓ Great for birdwatchers!We are really enjoying this app, and it lets us know about birds that are in the area that we never would’ve thought! Being able to identify them, learning about them has been a joy..123wendy4567Version: 3.0.3

✓ Excellent App. AustraliaWhat an amazing app and it's free! I find myself going outdoors looking for birds so I can play with this app! It gives all the information I need with several photos of each bird with a detailed description, photo ID, sound ID, map and an extensive list of bird species to explore..Sunrays!Version: 2.0.3

✓ Great app! And only getting betterHighly recommend Merlin to anyone to use. There are several ways to find birds and there is lots of different pictures and sounds for most birds, making ID much easier than with a guidebook. We love using this app at home in Australia. The bird sound ID needs a bit of work (which I am sure it is getting- as the developers seem very good at working on and updating this app). We also discovered a bird pack for Sulawesi, Indonesia for our trip there which is fantastic! We were struggling to find a guidebook for this area and we’re very grateful that Merlin added a pack for it. They seem to add packs and updates quite often..SushiNoraVersion: 2.1.4

✓ Seriously awesome appLove discovering new birds wherever I am. Very well made app with impressive recognition. THANK YOU CORNELL LAB!.Gen5898098654Version: 3.0.1

✓ Magnificent Tool!!I have a strong background in bird ID. I’m not exactly sure when in my youth that came about, but as a middle-aged fella, I got the urge to take a more systematic approach to bird ID. For example, my wife and I were walking back to the car after witnessing the Northern migration off the Washington coast when I saw a bird in a tree chattering at us. I looked at it through my binos, puzzled for a moment, and then said to my wife, “It’s not a black bird.” After a bit more puzzling, I said, “I think it’s a cow bird.” Did I have any clue what a cow bird was? Nope! Could I have described it to you? Nope! But somewhere in my earlier years (beyond memory) I became familiar w/ cow birds. Huh? Well, then I pulled up this fabulous app, found the cow bird and starting playing calls until I cam to one that was identical to the one that the bird above me was chattering on repeat. Cool experience w/ the app and w/ delving into some unknown recess of bird knowledge I never knew I had..Ben95620Version: 2.1.5

✓ Just what I was looking for.I was using another bird song app which had gone down in my estimation when my ecologist sister mentioned this one. I can quite frankly say this blasts the other app out of the water. I love the highlighting feature when it hears the bird call and the sensitivity is so much better than the other app. Thanks you so much Devs for making this and I hope it continues to be as good as it is..GirloutdoorsVersion: 2.1.1

✓ Great, but not prefect.I use use app all the time. It’s a huge tool in my birding adventures. A word of caution, when using the sound Id take it with a grain of salt. Always follow it up with a visual confirmation. The sound id feature identified my son a a long eared owl 4 different times this season. So… yeah not perfect! But very handy when it is right..CanadianAshleyVersion: 3.0.3

✓ Sound ID is a powerful tool, unfortunately it sometimes crashesAs other reviewers have said, the sound ID function is quite amazing and justifies using this otherwise mediocre birding app. Merlin can easily identify a dozen different species all singing in a dawn chorus, occasionally identifying a bird that I didn’t even hear myself. For example, the other morning Merlin identified a brown thrasher, which surprised me because I had neither seen nor heard any, but by tapping the bird’s name on the playback screen, Merlin played back the part of the recording that had the thrasher singing, and I was able to confirm for myself that it was a correct identification by then playing the pre-recorded calls in Merlin’s library (I’ve never had Merlin mis-identify a bird call, but I still listen to double check when I’m not sure) My only complaint is that the app inexplicably and unpredictably locks up, apparently in some kind of infinite loop because my phone will overheat when this happens, and it’s difficult to get the task manager up to terminate Merlin. Restarting the app always fixes the problem, and it only happens occasionally, but nonetheless I’m docking 1 star until this is fixed..I110OVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Excellent AppPerfect companion to eBird when out in the field birding. Helps with ID of birds heard but not seen, distinguishes between similar species vocalisations. Compare your photo with the database to confirm ID. Recommended app for all birders..BigPumpkinVersion: 3.0.5

✓ Very helpful app. Chris in AustraliaI have found this app to be very useful in identifying birds. My checklists are now more accurate. As well, it is quite accurate in identifying all but the rarer birds The rare bird identification issue will improve the more we use the app due to the artificial intelligence driving it. I just wish I could tell the app the correct species name after I have my bird identified by other means..CM2-2560Version: 1.8.2

✓ Fave app. Wish you could use it offline.I often go out camping or hiking where there is no reception. Shame you can’t ID and add birds while away from internet access 😟.D2kagwVersion: 2.1.5

✓ The Ideal App for LearningI am 38 & 120 months old and I can sadly admit I have no idea what wildlife we have near me. For the first time in my life I am wondering what “Bird” or “Tree” is that. I really can not tell the difference between an Oak Tree or Birch (I had to search the internet for another name, that’s how bad I am) I have no ideas what type of seagulls are pinching my chips (Not the swear name I give it). I would love to know what types of bird of prey I have near me. This app is Idiot Full proof. How do I know? I can use it! I take a photo or answer questions if I’m not close enough and it tells me what the possibilities are or by the photo, a match. It has encouraged me to buy a DSLR camera and a pair of Binoculars. I am off to Scotland this weekend to see what wildlife is near my son. I wish this was available when I was young!! Thank you and don’t hesitate to test my review. It really is that good..CCFC1987mjVersion: 2.0.2

✓ A fantastic bird ID AppWe are keen travellers and photographers all around the world and love photographing nature. I have captured many bird images and this App allowed me to identify every single one. It brought additional enjoyment reliving moments of the different birds in the different countries. Thank you. I look forward to you improving the site with more details..Petit choucVersion: 2.1.5

✓ Fantastic for wannabe twitchers and experienced ones alikeThis app is awesome. It has moved my twitching experience up several notches very rapidly. Great fun, and I love learning about birds.Rich the TwitchVersion: 1.8.2

✓ Best free birding appThis app got me started with birding. Last spring, I downloaded it to start identifying the common birds around me like American Robins, European Starlings, Common Grackles, and Northern Mockingbirds. Soon, I moved from merely identifying birds to counting them also, and soon after, I started recording full checklists with the EBird app (I think also a product of the Cornell School of Ornithology?), which is the best solution for those who wish this app would record their sightings. Now, less than a year later, I have 150 species on my list and have found a new lifelong hobby that I expect to bring me joy for decades to come. It’s all thanks to Merlin! Though I eventually found that a high quality illustrated field guide (I use Sibleys in the US and Collins in Europe) is more useful than any app, I still reference Merlin for sounds or any time I don’t have my guide on me. I was very excited when Merlin came out with bird packs for Europe right before I traveled to Greece this past fall, and I look forward to seeing more bird packs coming out for other parts of the world as time goes on. It’s fun to scroll through the foreign packs and dream about traveling to new places and seeing those birds. I’d glad that when I do go, I’ll have Merlin with me to help identify them!.SuperduperdoVersion: 1.3.7

✓ Great App, Small FlawMerlin is such a great app, and really fun to use and look for birds. It’s a great beginner app if you’re just starting out birding, but good for more experienced people too. The pictures are almost always extremely helpful, as are the maps, descriptions, and sounds. I haven’t tried photo or sound ID yet since I don’t have a good camera and usually don’t have the availability to record birds, but if I ever do I’m excited to try them. My only complaint is that when I want to add a bird to my life list, I have to go through Bird ID and have the bird I’ve identified as my bird appear as an option in order to select it. Usually this works fine, but often the bird I want to add doesn’t appear on the list, even if I fiddle with my selections. I can sign onto eBird and add it to my life list there, which will appear in the app and is fine, but as I’m more of an amateur birder I don’t find it necessary to have that much detail and it’s a pain to do. It would be helpful to have a place in the Merlin app to add to your life list without having to go through Bird ID..Libby-userVersion: 2.0.1

✓ Must useMust use for birding! Simple but trustworthy app on every ID situation. I just wish there were more birdpacks for East asia..BisqueManVersion: 2.1.2

✓ Love birdsI love to sit on my patio furniture and listen to the birds and record them they is so many to listens to in a day thank you for my relaxing place.Wier58Version: 3.0.1

✓ Perfect. I use it every day.I think this app is perfect but for one thing. Maybe two: 1. When you’re recording it would be ideal if you could point your microphone (at the bottom of the phone) at where the birds are (so your phone is upside down) and the display flips like other apps do so it’s the right way round. It accidentally did it one time after making a recording. Never to be seen since. (UPDATE it now seems to do this all the time so they’ve either fixed the bug or my phone has decided to be nice to me) 2. It would be good maybe if you don’t record things but it just listens. So your phone doesn’t get clogged with lots of recordings. But I get you might want to have these to check at a later date. Maybe the option to not record? Other than amazing! (UPDATE, it records it but if you click the cross in the corner it doesn’t save the recording). Absolutely superb app. Use it every day. 😍.Salmon818Version: 2.1.7

✓ Fabbo appThis is the best bird app I’ve ever used! I love that it has heaps of info about the birds in my remote area of Australia, and that I can make a life list of spotted birds. I LOVE how accurately the app identifies birds from my photos!! I took one star off because sometimes I have to search around in the app to identify the bird I have seen. For example, we have (non-native) peafowl in our area, and the app won’t identify the bird using the usual search process. Peafowl are within the app, and I could add them to my life list, but only because I knew what they are called and could search alphabetically. However, I understand the app is being updated all the time, and I still have a way to go to learn all the app’s great features. I am super grateful that such a fabulous resource is available for free. Thank you Cornell Uni!!!.VarditeVersion: 2.1.7

✓ One flawGreat app. Really cool. Very helpful in identifying birds, but they don’t give all the options when you do “Start Bird Id.” For example, I saw a chukar on a mountain that is sort of in the middle of a city. They’re not super common there but they’re definitely there and so when I went through the identification process that wasn’t an option to choose from in the end. The only way to identify the bird in that specific location was to pick a location that I know where they are in abundance and then once I find it and click “This is my bird” then I change the location to where I actually saw it. This works fine in this instance because I’m familiar with the bird and it’s usual habitat but the next rare bird I find may not be listed and if I’m not familiar with it then I’ll never know what it was. My recommendation is to allow all birds in the pack that fit the descriptions show up on the list. Or at least make it a possible setting. If there is already a setting that can do that then someone please let me know. I know you can change that setting on the “Explore Birds” tab so why not make it a possibility on the “Start Bird Id” tab?.Stockton's commentVersion: 2.1.2

✓ Great app but would like more infoI love the app. Great with 3 ways of identifying bird. However, would be nice with more info of the birds. Size in cm, nesting type, etc. Would also be nice to flag that more results are available when a bird is ‘unreported’ in an area..OlaGarpVersion: 1.8.2

✓ ObsessedI’m completely obsessed with this app. It has changed my bird watching experience for sure. I use it multiple times a day. First thing in the morning I stick it outside on the bedroom windowsill whilst I get ready for work. Last thing at dusk. I’ve used it for weird night time sounds - not always an owl, sometimes a nightjar! I highly recommend it !.LaneyparsleyVersion: 3.0.1

✓ Best Use of my TimeWhen the world is boiling, I go outside and listen to my neighbors greet the day. I’ve lived next to this river for over 6 years so I’m familiar with certain songs and calls, but didn’t know who they belong to. Now I can record the sound in real time and start to identify who’s who in my bird world. And of course during migratory seasons, I can hear a new song and quickly identify the traveler. And the spectrograms (visual representation of the sound frequencies) offer another layer to get to know the birds’ songs. Play special attention to the triple decker Swainson’s Thrush song if you are ever blessed to hear them and you can SEE the complexity of their song. You have to click share and then export spectrogram to see this. Bonus points for this app working without service too! All my backpacking buddies were stunned that I was identifying our feathered friends past 5,000 feet..Ethereal BeansVersion: 3.0

✓ Warning, this App is very addictive!I’m captivated by the ‘Merlin’ App. Identifying bird song on my walks has been my greatest pleasure. It’s very addictive. Everywhere I go I’m aware of birds singing. I used the App in my local Wood and it identified 24 different birds. It was amazing. And today, I used it walking along the canal. I have been showing the App to my friends and family and they are using it and find it delightful. Hopefully, this App will raise awareness about birds and the effects of intensive farming and climate change. I can’t imagine a world without birds..MoisareeVersion: 2.1.8

✓ Excellent even when offlineDon’t know how it happens but even when birding and offline, I can check a species in Merlin. Fantastic having my recording through eBird linked to species records though Merlin. Love it!.Hurlz64Version: 2.1.8

✓ Pretty good overallIt’s pretty good! Very helpful, but could be better. I shouldn’t have to drag the map every time I want to enter a bird I see in my backyard. It should default to my home or have a list of locations we can save and choose from instead of having random “this is where we think you saw it” on a map that is nowhere near my location. I’ve already saved my home as a place so why can’t it default? Weird. There should also be a function for me to enter the bird I see instead of going through all the IDing steps, it gets tedious and I can only imagine with the backyard bird count how less than pleasant tracking everything in the app will be. I’m happy to do so, but I feel like it’ll take a lot longer than necessary. We all know what juncos and scrub jays look like, we should be able to enter the birds we’re familiar with without ten steps of questions first. But! Glad this app exists, I’m by no means a bird expert, just a backyard bird enthusiast. Just wish it was a little more streamlined..MegabirderVersion: 2.1.5