Bird ID with Merlin
The most beloved free app you\'ve never heard of.
What Merlin does
A free app from Cornell\'s Lab of Ornithology. It identifies birds three ways:
- By photo — point your camera, get the bird\'s name.
- By song — even more amazing. Hold up the phone in your backyard. As birds sing, the app names each one in real time. Like Shazam for birds.
- By questions — "what color was it?" "where were you?" — narrows it down.
Many people who try the song-ID feature say it\'s the best free thing they\'ve installed in years.
Setup (2 minutes)
- Install Merlin Bird ID from the App Store or Play Store. Free, no ads, no signup.
- Open it. Tap "Get Bird Pack" — choose "US: Eastern", "US: Western", or your specific state. ~150-300 MB download. (Once downloaded, works offline.)
- That\'s it. You\'re ready.
How to use it
Sound ID:
- Tap "Sound ID" on the home screen.
- Tap the microphone — phone listens.
- As birds sing, names pop up in a list. Tap any one to see a photo, info, and the song you just heard.
- Works in your backyard, on a walk, even from the car (windows down).
Photo ID:
- Tap "Photo ID".
- Take a photo or pick one from your camera roll.
- Frame the bird. Submit. Top guesses appear in seconds.
Companion apps from Cornell
- eBird — log every bird you see. Cornell uses these reports for real research. Free.
- Birds of the World — the encyclopedia. Free with eBird login.
- BirdNET — competing free song-ID app from researchers. Often catches songs Merlin misses.
Why Cornell makes this free
It\'s one of the world\'s top bird research institutions. Merlin lets normal people enjoy birds AND helps train the AI that powers their research. A win-win — you get to know your backyard birds, they get research data.