Merlin Bird ID
merlin.allaboutbirds.org
merlin.allaboutbirds.org
For the last month, my morning routine has completely changed and instead of sitting inside. I now spend my mornings out back refilling and cleaning feeders, putting out some peanuts to appease the squirrels, and then plopping down on the deck with some coffee/breakfast and MerlinID running on my phone.
I'm no good at learning a new human language but after a month of using this app regularly, I can consistently ID not just the different species, but also some individual birds by their distinct calls and voices.
The only thing I wish it had is a way to catalog individual birds and have recordings of their calls and pictures of them saved together.
Hats off to the devs of this app, hands down the best app I've used in a long time!
It is indeed a good app, but my beef is how bad it is at adding birds to your life list. After ID'ing a bird by sound or picture it'll ask you where/when you found it with the worst defaults -- it'll know where you are and what time it is, but it sometimes randomly picks some time/place you've been at months ago (even ignoring that you may have just entered several at your current location)!
(Pro tip, if you have 100 seagulls you don’t want to count individually, you can use X to say you don’t know. Also you can enter a general group like “gull sp.” if you can’t quite identify which kind of seagull they are)
I get occasional nudges to support their organization, but it's a clear and direct appeal, there are no dark patterns that I'm aware of.
The sound id in particular is just an amazing way to really extend what's possible for most people, and provides an on-ramp for people to identify more birds by ear alone (and in general to pay more attention to sound when in nature).
I might argue that Merlin — and especially eBird — lean a bit to heavily to the competitive "high scores" view of birding; given the impact of climate change on bird populations, encouraging people to travel the world and see as many species as possible is clearly problematic.
But that's a minor quibble, and Merlin remains one of the few apps I'd unconditionally recommend to anyone with the faintest chance they'd use it.
Under the hood, Sound ID is a great example of how "domain-expert-driven" careful research can give more reliable results than just feeding in data and hoping for the best.
We had a brown thrasher stringing together a long series of mimicked calls that got labeled correctly as a brown thrasher.
I don’t even know how you’d approach the ML for that seeing how unique each song is to each bird
The waveform was too thick and looked funky which is why I tracked down the bird doing it. (I Was at the Ohio bird sanctuary)
Consistently assigning names to different blackbirds might be tricky, but, for other birds, I am sure that some AI algorithm could do this.
Please Let your friends know that roosters are birds too and deserve their recognition as the world's wake up call! Lol
https://birdnet.cornell.edu/api/
Merlin is trained on the same source as BirdNet.
You can also use the iNaturalist API for visual ids, for what it's worth.
The iOS app did seem to lock up when trying to download the region packs though. I should find out where to file a bug!
The sound ID works very well, especially in the jungles/forests of Colombia with zero network availability.
The rest of the app needs a lot of love, though. Buttons don’t work often, screens are inconsistent, results get lost, and more issues.
Features: I’d love an iNaturalist bridge. Going back into a previous recording shows “No matches” when the original capture did. Many times we’re with groups in nature, and we ID something, but it’s gone by the time we show it to someone.
A quick starting point would be to add a quick feedback button vs opening a web form, so issues can be reported conveniently.
And a resounding thank you to everyone making this app possible!
What device are you using, out of curiosity? I use this app almost daily for months at a time across several generations of the Google Pixel, I haven't had any of these issues even one time. I'm not even sure what you mean by "we ID something, but it’s gone by the time we show it to someone". Like, it shows a match while you're recording, but the ID disappears after you've stopped the recording?
I've found the app starts hiccuping when I'm making a very long recording, but I've learned to just cut it off and start a new one after about 10 minutes.
When I was in Aruba there was no bird pack which covered the island, but the one for Venezuela seemed to work for most birds that I heard.
What phone are you using? I record ten hours a day and never get any issues whatsoever, so I'm not even sure what you mean by "hiccups".
But it crashes for me every 255 seconds after start-up on Android. Yes, I timed it.
Is there a way to submit bug reports?
Definitely submit full OS and hardware details, and adb logcat crash logs if you can. There's a million possibilities of the cause of the problem, with all the different android hardware out there.
Interesting. I find that the sound ID works well if:
- I have my phone out of my pocket and exposed to the air (obviously, if the microphone is muffled, it may cause problems).
- I'm not moving (my footsteps seem to interfere no matter how loud the bird is)
- The Merlin App is running with "focus" (i.e., if Merlin sound ID is running in the background, it seems less likely to detect songs and calls). I don't know if this is really true or if I have a subconscious bias.
- There are also weird effects where it will sometimes fail to notice really loud obvious birds nearby (e.g., baltimore orioles directly above me) but it will nail a faint and distant song.
It would also be nice if it could show the part of the sonogram that forms the basis of its ID call. It is especially difficult for me to examine a sonogram when there are multiple birds singing at once.
> The rest of the app needs a lot of love, though. Buttons don’t work often, screens are inconsistent, results get lost, and more issues.
I have the opposite experience, but that may be a phone-specific issue??
Nevertheless, it's a fantastic app.
I’m afraid that I scared them away from an active nest by accident just playing around with the app. :(
If I were a bird, and another mysterious bird sound came that was speaking a certain feeling or phrase I could understand, and I come to see it's a giant monkey man playing the sounds from himself, I would probably move my family, too.
Yes, Cardinals are pretty territorial and chase each other out. Esp during nesting.
Whether it's whistling close to their tones, "Pishing" to get their attention, or playing sounds from phones, all of it interrupts their normal behavior. Cars, trucks, lawnmowers, motorcycles all mess with them too.
https://www.sibleyguides.com/2011/04/the-proper-use-of-playb...
>When song is played in a bird’s territory, that bird’s response to the “intruder” is watched attentively by neighboring males and by females. In one study (Mennill et al 2002) high-ranking male Black-capped Chickadees exposed to aggressive playback lost status as their mates and neighbors apparently perceived them as losers, unable to drive away the phantom intruder.
It's clear we're capable of mimicking their language with our devices and playing it back to them has potential consequences to breaking up a family of birds.
Each time, I think to myself ... That bird is CLOSE! Let me take my phone out of my pocket and see if Merlin knows what it is ... DAMMNIT!
> Sound ID is trained on audio recordings that are first converted to visual representations (spectrograms), then analyzed using computer vision tools similar to those that power Photo ID.
Yeah, the spectrogram scrolling by at the top isn't just a cute gimmick, that's actually how the recognition works...
When working in a linguistics lab as an undergraduate long ago, we looked at spectrograms to identify sounds (specifically places of articulation) as much as listened to recordings.
So it makes some sense to build a model on them rather than some other representation of the sound.
It really has opened up a whole new venue of enjoying this hobby. At least here, machine learning/AI has a clear, positive impact.
There’s only a couple of times i’ve been sceptical of it’s id and thats where there’s similar species in the area. Eg. I’m not convinced there really is a purple finch where i live when all i see is house finches all day. But i could be wrong too! It’s proven itself enough that i’m not ready to call it wrong on that one.
The two are visually distinctive but, in Merlin's defence, I can't tell them apart by ear either!
Now, I know it's technically possible it was a real id, but Im pretty sure the bald eagle it detected was actually one of the kids down the street running around screaming lol
Machine identification can still need some manual confirmation, even though this app does a really good job. It’s not a confirmed sighting until you have a visual confirmation.
In this case, while I couldn't see it directly while he was making the call, I had watched him fly to and land in a nearby tree before the call and then shortly after watched it take off. So I can't be 100% sure, but I'd be willing to bet that it was the Jay.
But I do have a complaint, that you can't upload an image via the web from your PC. For those of us who use a DSLR for our birding photos, the UX to have to transfer images to our phone to send them through the app is really painful.
It isn't the end of the world. It just makes me ID my birds in other ways. But it would be nice to provide non-mobile UX options.
If you're interested in trying a web-based alternative, I have a demo space at https://huggingface.co/spaces/birder-project/birder-image-cl... where you can upload images directly from your browser. Fair warning though - it's primarily designed to showcase the models rather than provide any kind of user experience, so you'll need to manually select the appropriate regional model (look for suffixes like eu-common, arabian-peninsula, etc. based on where your photos were taken).
The coverage is still very limited... More regions will follow in the coming months.
my use case is adding tags to my Lightroom library with identified species.
They also have an app called Seek that I think is more aimed at kids, but it comes with trophies and streaks and stuff like that.
- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ebird-by-cornell-lab-ornitho...
- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.cornell.bi...
Even merlin does some of it:
On the other hand, people playing Pokemon GO trespassed private property and protected spaces, so I wonder how far would the players of this game go just to make a pic of a "legendary" animal at the border of extinction.
Explanation: https://clickhouse.com/blog/birds
I've used Merlin for years and it works great most of the time. Agree with others that it's a great example of something we should all have on the tiny computers in our pockets.
Until this thread I didn't realise it did photo ID! I took a photo of a black redstart last year and at the time was able to identify it via photos uploaded to social media. But I just tried the app and it got it straight away. It also added it as a new 'lifer' because I hadn't previously logged it via audio ID. Cool!
I never thought I would ever actively watch for birds when I hear them. Or that I would be able to say "this is clearly a Wren". Or that I have a my favourite bird (Wren as well btw).
The app, at least on my Pixel 6, struggles with very high frequency calls - e.g. long-tailed tits.
My best spot yet? A nightingale in Wimbledon.
I tried using it in New Zealand last year, and it wasn't as effective as in the US: I think it hasn't been trained as well on the native New Zealand birds, many of which aren't found anywhere else.
Amusingly, it identified turkeys when we were in New Zealand, which I was irritated with because there clearly weren't any turkeys in New Zealand. It turned out I was wrong when we came across a flock of them in the Waikato area running around in a sheep field. A local told me that they were brought there around a hundred years ago and are mostly left alone because nobody eats turkey in New Zealand.
We configured it so it send me real time alerts when uncommon birds are detected.
Also a shout out here to Bird Song Hero: https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/bird-song-hero/
I do wish it could also identify other insects/animals. I originally got the app to identify whatever bird sounded like a squeaky door or wooden swing, and eventually saw that it was a squirrel.
1. Are recordings shared with Cornell? By default?
2. Is it "recommended" or "expected" that I try to get a visual id on the birds, too?
Q1: To my knowledge for the merlin app, no. Just local storage to your phone as a WAV file.
Q2: If you've started down the path of using Merlin, there is a companion app from the Cornell group called ebird. It used GPS to list birding Hotspot near your location. You can keep track of what you've seen. If you want to get extra verification on your sightings you can upload pictures and audio files at a later time on the ebird website. Real live humans, volunteer birding experts, will verify your sightings. I've gotten to meet some very knowledgeable birders through this process. All of this data goes into scientific research. On the ebird website the have specific protocols on what make for a good observation. It is my understanding that submitted and vetted photos and audio files will make it into the NN models used by the Merlin app.
Happy birding to everyone!
I wish they'd add some non-bird noises to it as a courtesy since there are often whips and calls that are non birds, like insects or mammals. I think it would add some depth and the overhead shouldn't be too high.
The photo id function correctly and quickly identified the house finch hatchlings in my backyard spider plant nest when ChatGPT or Claude could not.
I opened it up in a natural research area once and it lit up with so many more species than I’d ever heard near my house.
https://becausebirds.com/bird-auto-id-showdown-comparing-bio...
I do wonder how accurate Merlin is. I certainly can't tell the bird calls apart, and I don't usually spot the bird in question, so it could just be lying to me half the time, and I'd probably never notice. But I sure do love the app as an amateur bird-liker.
Needless to say, don't do this too much, but it can be useful for getting a visual on certain birds (like warblers).
I’ve heard from more experienced birdwatchers that it can false identify in some cases, so I always try to confirm visually, but anyway, for my casual use it’s more than accurate enough.
I have wondered if perhaps with 3 microphones positioned a specific distance apart from one another, an app could compare their relative volumes and show the user the exact location of a bird. Any smart HNers know if something like this is possible?
I am no expert, but I do know that this is possible. It's called acoustic location [1].
> Civilian uses include locating wildlife and locating the shooting position of a firearm.
As to how spaced out the microphones would have to be and to what accuracy the location can be determined, I cannot say (but my guess would be "pretty accurate").
Another interesting challenge would be to determine the location of multiple birds in different locations. Perhaps isolating specific bird calls with some ML model and then acoustic-locating that specific call. I can imagine the application showing which bird is calling from where in 3D.
https://www.museumfuernaturkunde.berlin/en/research/naturbli...
The photo ID feature is okay, but I assume that's because the photos I take on my phone of far away birds is too pixelated.
I actually want a similar ID feature frog species; i hear a lot of croaking
Its ID'd a Peregrine Falcon twice, I've still not seen it.
It does list Red Kites as Common Buzzards, I am not sure how to provide feedback to update this.
I tend to use Merlin, and Seek as I walk around Essex. Seek doesn't seem to know about Sessile Oaks.
I realize this is a fault of my phones mic and not the app, btw!
I think the bird was one of the snipes (dvärgbeckasin?) because I met them before.
Usual disclaimer IANABL (I am not a bird lawyer)
We don't have a huge load of animals making weird sounds around here, so one learns to recognize most of the strange ones after some years in the woods.
The only one I've seen it misidentify is a starling but apparently those are excellent mimics so I don't blame the app.
Strongly recommend it (though admittedly, I don't use it often in suburbia)
I do find myself wishing Sound ID would identify additional wildlife beyond birds. Anyone heard of such a project?
Another app I enjoy is Seek by iNaturalist!
I've actually started setting my AC to keep the temp a little higher in the early mornings so it doesn't run as much while I'm outside.
The guy you replied to probably was talking about the BirdNet Android/iOS app, which also identifies birds by sound, similar to Merlin.
It is surprising that this app can mistake the human voice/whistles for some birds (try hooting like an owl or whistling like a sparrow/starling)!
I think a lot of serious bird enthusiasts use this in the UK.
(iSeek mentioned in another comment doesn't seem to be available on iOS where I live)
It didn't take the full ten years, though Merlin has gone from "pretty good" to "amazing" in the last few.
In my experience, it works pretty well in Europe, but so so in East Asia (doesn't know many birds there).
The GPS location is used by the model to narrow search results.
Also so not sorry to throw off the algorithm at a local aviary identifying birds from tropical parts of the world.
Then I opened the app and my 'bird of the day' was a merlin.
I might check out Merlin specifically just for the ID wizard, for raptors which are pain to photograph and are best IDd by shilouette.