Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab
4.8star
130K reviewsinfo
5M+
Downloads
PEGI 3
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About this app
What's that bird? Ask Merlin—the world’s leading app for birds. Just like magic, Merlin Bird ID will help you solve the mystery.
Merlin Bird ID helps you identify birds you see and hear. Merlin is unlike any other bird app—it's powered by eBird, the world’s largest database of bird sightings, sounds, and photos.
Merlin offers four fun ways to identify birds. Answer a few simple questions, upload a photo, record a singing bird, or explore birds in a region.
Whether you’re curious about a bird you’ve seen once or you’re hoping to identify every bird you can find, the answers are waiting for you with this free app from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE MERLIN
• Expert ID tips, range maps, photos, and sounds help you learn about the birds you spot and build birding skills.
• Discover a new bird species each day with your own personalized Bird of the Day
• Get customized lists of birds you can find where you live or travel - anywhere in the world!
• Keep track of your sightings—build your personal list of the birds you find
MACHINE LEARNING MAGIC
• Powered by Visipedia, Merlin Sound ID and Photo ID uses machine learning to identify birds in photos and sounds. Merlin learns to recognize bird species based on training sets of millions of photos and sounds collected by birders at eBird.org, archived in the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
• Merlin delivers the most accurate results thanks to experienced birders, who curate and annotate sightings, photos, and sounds, who are the true magic behind Merlin.
AMAZING CONTENT
• Choose bird packs that contain photos, songs, and calls, and identification help for anywhere in the world, including Mexico, Costa Rica, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, Australia, Korea, Japan, China, and more.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s mission is to interpret and conserve the Earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds and nature. We are able to offer Merlin for free thanks to the generosity of Cornell Lab members, supporters, and citizen-science contributors.
Merlin Bird ID helps you identify birds you see and hear. Merlin is unlike any other bird app—it's powered by eBird, the world’s largest database of bird sightings, sounds, and photos.
Merlin offers four fun ways to identify birds. Answer a few simple questions, upload a photo, record a singing bird, or explore birds in a region.
Whether you’re curious about a bird you’ve seen once or you’re hoping to identify every bird you can find, the answers are waiting for you with this free app from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE MERLIN
• Expert ID tips, range maps, photos, and sounds help you learn about the birds you spot and build birding skills.
• Discover a new bird species each day with your own personalized Bird of the Day
• Get customized lists of birds you can find where you live or travel - anywhere in the world!
• Keep track of your sightings—build your personal list of the birds you find
MACHINE LEARNING MAGIC
• Powered by Visipedia, Merlin Sound ID and Photo ID uses machine learning to identify birds in photos and sounds. Merlin learns to recognize bird species based on training sets of millions of photos and sounds collected by birders at eBird.org, archived in the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
• Merlin delivers the most accurate results thanks to experienced birders, who curate and annotate sightings, photos, and sounds, who are the true magic behind Merlin.
AMAZING CONTENT
• Choose bird packs that contain photos, songs, and calls, and identification help for anywhere in the world, including Mexico, Costa Rica, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, Australia, Korea, Japan, China, and more.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s mission is to interpret and conserve the Earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds and nature. We are able to offer Merlin for free thanks to the generosity of Cornell Lab members, supporters, and citizen-science contributors.
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Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. The developer provided this information and may update it over time.
No data shared with third parties
Learn more about how developers declare sharing
This app may collect these data types
Personal info, App activity and 2 others
Data is encrypted in transit
You can request that data be deleted
Ratings and reviews
4.8
129K reviews
Daniel Bernard
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June 11, 2025
The constant barrage of "ID Tip" videos make the app frustratingly unusable. My understanding is that a feature is in the works to make those toggleable, to which I say roll that feature out immediately because these videos are without a doubt the worst feature Cornell has ever included in one of their apps. Otherwise an incredible tool for learning bird sounds when used properly, and I would without hesitation rate it 5/5. The videos are that bad.
6 people found this review helpful
Nana B.
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June 8, 2025
I like the app overall, very useful. However, the recently added auto-playing of video clips when identifying birds is VERY distracting -- PLEASE make it optional! Also, navigation needs improvement. It's often impossible to return to the main "Identify" page from "My Recordings" without quitting and restarting the app (back button only goes to previous recordings). I also wish Lifelist entries could 1) be sorted by location and 2) show every time/place you've IDed a bird.
5 people found this review helpful
Deirdre Nickel
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June 5, 2025
I have had to re-download it several times, causing me to lose all my history every time. I was able to add birds manually before, now ɓI can't even add the birds manually. It is refusing to add when they come up on the scan. Now it just closed itself while I was writing this letter! This is so incredibly frustrating for an avid bird watcher! This would be an absolutely wonderful app if it would just work!
10 people found this review helpful
What’s new
- ID Tips: Enjoy bite-sized bits of birding joy as you listen! While running Sound ID, keep an eye out for short videos and photos that will help you identify and learn more about the birds you are hearing.
- Improved Search on Explore Species: Discover bird species near you, at different times of the year, and in any other location in the world with a new, expanded search feature!
- Sound ID now includes hundreds of new species in Central and South America, India, Taiwan, and Australia!
- Improved Search on Explore Species: Discover bird species near you, at different times of the year, and in any other location in the world with a new, expanded search feature!
- Sound ID now includes hundreds of new species in Central and South America, India, Taiwan, and Australia!
App support
About the developer
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
341 Pine Tree Rd
Ithaca, NY 14850
United States
+1 607-254-2865
