What’s that bird? What bird is that calling? The Merlin app will help you identify this bird as a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, by sight, by sound, and by photo – and Merlin is free (photo by Daniel Jauvin).
Learning and remembering bird songs can be a difficult aspect of spring birding activities, but now there is the ultimate bird identification app for your cellphone – the free Merlin Bird ID app that now has sound identification. Just hold your phone facing the mic in the direction of the song in question; press record, and Merlin will help you identify which bird is singing in real time. It’s like having a birding ID wizard in your pocket! And that’s not all; Merlin provides an impressive list of state-of-the-art help for birders in the field – and the Merlin app is FREE!
Merlin, named after the small falcon, is a bird guide that provides color photos of each bird species, sound recordings, range maps, and quick identification aid for all levels of birders to help you learn about the birds you encounter. In fact, you can also take a photo of a bird, or use one in from your camera’s photo file, and Merlin’s Photo ID will provide possible matches. Photo ID works completely off-line, so you can identify birds in the photos you take wherever you are birding. Even if you travel beyond our borders, Merlin provides global bird identification options.
