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
• Merlin has bird 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.
Honestly it’s just amazing, Im glad I found it. So easy to use and it’s accurate!! They give pictures, descriptions, even sounds and calls from identified birds AND birds overall. Haha every time I hear birds I HAVE to open the app. So fun, and it’s FREE!!
Good app!
sharaslovas
This app is the best, regarding for bird identification and exploration i had ever used. I absolutely love the way it recognises birds with the sound recordings, makes walks in the forests so much more fun knowing what kinds of birds are around you. However, i have experienced some issues that id like to comment.Firstly, deleting birds from the life list is something i still haven't figured it out. But even the fact that it sends you to a website makes me very confused and annoyed. It would be lovely if there was an option to delete a bird just like you delete recordings - simple and easy. Secondly, maybe this was my own set expectation, but i was disappointed to know that life list doesn't show an actual map of locations, showing where the location of seen birds are and were logged to be seen (if it does, i haven't found it). Thirdly, I wish there was an option where you could see all of the birds that are in the app. There could be filters to perhaps pick a country or a region and then see what kinds of birds live there. This is also coming from the idea that you could type in “explore” any type of bird and it would show up. This app is still the best one out there, but i hope these issues could be considered. Thank you for reading this:)
Super app!
Hasticus
Great app not only for birds watchers, but for casual use too- for anynody who wants to know who is singing. And completely free!
Simply the best
Jonas php
The best app of its kind. You can go ahead and monetize it, i will pay for it.
What's new in 4.0:
Enhanced account authentication - Added a more secure method for logging in.
Improved flow for saving birds - Streamlined the process for saving birds to your life list.
Added support for iOS 26.
Bug fixes and improvements.
Important Update Notice: You'll be automatically logged out when this version launches due to the new authentication system. Simply log back in using any login screen. Forgot your password? Use the reset option to get back in quickly.
Version 4.0
The developer, Cornell University, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Linked to You
The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
Identifiers
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Location
Contact Info
Usage Data
Privacy practices may vary based, for example, on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Size
379.2 MB
Category
Reference
Compatibility
Requires iOS 18.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 18.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 15.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
