I’m using an iPhone X and I get an error every single time that says “Sorry we were not able to confidently identify any bird species” with an option to view “wild guess.” The wild guess is always a Western Tanager. My husband has a Google Pixel and records at the same time and he receives instant results of a completely different bird, not a Western Tanager. No wild guess. What’s up with that?
I never review apps, but this one is so great, it deserves 5 stars. I live in a highly forested area and we have tons of birds we never see. This app has been great for figuring out who our bird friends are. I love that once you find out what the bird is you can research it right in the app. Really well done.
The app needs to be simplified.
You should be able to press Record, press Stop, and automatically get a bird identification.
After that, press Record again, and it would start a new recording and get a new identification.
But that's not how it works. Instead, you have go through a multi-step, convoluted process involving different tabs, drag selection, pressing different buttons. etc.
There is no Stop button. Only a Pause button. Everything you record is tacked onto to the previous recording — creating a long string of recordings. The Playback button is grayed out until you drag and select a portion of the recording to analyze. But you don't know what to select without hearing it first!
It's all too fiddly.
Ideally, one should be able to press Record and have the app automatically identity possible birds on the fly.
We should always be able to play back what we've recorded, without selecting anything first.
There should be a “New Recording” button that clears out past recordings. (Or, optionally, creates another recording track.)
A new user expects a straight-forward interface. Press the Record button, press Stop, and get a bird ID.
OTHER ISSUES
One shouldn't need to turn on Location Services or be prompted for it every time. Let us enter our actual or approximate location ONE TIME and be done with it. That’s the way astronomy apps work and they need to know users' exact location. But, once they've learned it, they don't pester you each time for your location!
Seeing a tab labeled Record gets confusing. One is in the Analyze mode and presses Record and expects recording to start. But, instead, that takes one to the Record area and, then, one has to press the Microphone icon.
The app is quick to launch, but sits there with all the organizational logos on the screen. Nothing happens. Finally, it prompts you to turn on Location Services. By that time, the bird may have flown away or another started singing.
After identifying a bird, the app asks if it is correct! What? We're using the app to help us identify a bird. If we knew what it was, we wouldn't need the app! One of my first attempts, it said the bird was a Yellow Rail. Never heard of it. Is the app correct? Have no idea. That query should relegated to an Expert mode or for expert birders to give the developers and Cornell feedback.
Don't get me wrong. Love the idea of the app and it's nifty seeing birds identified. It even identified some birds I know visit our yard. But, in its present form, it's not user-friendly and needlessly convoluted.
Shazam for birds, it's not!
Can’t believe this is a free resource!! Thank you to all that are making this app possible. Love the simplicity of the recording, selection portions of song, the “liklihood rating” (uncertain is still super accurate!), and the easy links to hear the other songs from a species.
This is an absolute game changer! I’ve been able to look for birds I had no idea about after being clued in by their song. I’m in birding heaven. Thank you to the researchers & developers of this app!
That said, I do have a few feature requests/suggestions, in case they help:
• It would be more efficient if the ‘record’ and ‘pause’ button were one and the same. As it is, I keep finding myself attempting to re-press the recording button to pause. One-button functionality is more common these days (see the iPhone voice memo app, for example), and is much easier when in the field.
• When multiple bird results are given, I don’t see an option to submit feedback. This would be a nice addition, given how often multiple birds are singing at once.
• It would be great to be able to upload pre-recorded audio for those times we record with another app.
This app is amazing. As an experienced birder I still puzzle over the trills of several species. The app provides virtually instant identification that has helped to reinforce (or correct!) my personal ID. And when I hear an unusual version of a song or only a partial song it has been quite reliable.
It’s also great that it records for later analysis if I’m out of cell range.
I’m not sure if this can be addressed, but it is sometimes difficult to get a good result when there are several birds vocalizing at the same time. My ear recognizes the separate songs while BirdNET seems “confused.” Any suggestions?
Loving this. Hoped song sleuth would do what this app does. Can you add the feature request to keep observation but delete audio file so we don't use up limited phone storage? Thanks
I have an IPhone 12 Pro Max with iOS 14.6! When I press the record button nothing seems to record and I see no movement on the sonograph like I have seen on other people’s devices. Not sure what the problem is and would love some help! Thank you!
Shazam for birds! Love it. Identification return timing varies with data speed, but they have proven always accurate for me. If anything returns a “wild guess”, I double check it in Audubon to confirm.
Recorded bird sounds and the app goes into endless searches with no results
LisaN08
melllie
AstroPaul
fetch8
ravensaraha
yogibirder
seattleguitarman
Joydeba
Jim Lafferty
Kawbuoy
