Leave a Review iBird Pro Guide to Birds
Okay but limited
You can search for a bird if you know its name, but if you don’t already know what it is, this app may not help. Images are limited. The app provides identification features for flashy males, but not so much for females and juveniles. Although there is a feature that suggests similar birds, for actually comparing them you are on your own, going back-and-forth between entries to try to discern how one differs from the other. Once you figure out what your bird is, this app provides good basic information about the species. I have not purchased any of the add-ons, so I don’t know whether they are any good.Show lessBoole2
Photo Sleuth does not download.
Well, bought most of the features of IBird Pro. I went to use the Photo Sleuth portion and it immediately directs me to the features purchase screen. I have purchased it once... because it started showing UPDATE instead of OWNED it charged me twice....$4.99 to download again. It gets to 80% install then fails to finish or says failed. I have sent 2 emails to developer with no response as of this review. I have the iPhone 11 Max Pro with 512GB so space is not an issue for this app. This is probably the most important reason I wanted this app. The interface could use a better layout with less congestion. Even with the biggest iPhone screen it is jammed together on the menus. Would I buy it again...No. I don’t like apps that take your money then don’t work.Show lessFlinstone
what the flying bird?!#%
I’ve had this app for years. I’ve compiled a list of all of the birds I’ve identified in my “favorites”. Well the latest update obliterated that.... years of birds.... and curiously I can’t seem to generate a new list. Why did this happen???? Many years ago even though I had paid top dollar for the application with all the perks an update acted like I was new and needed to pay for features that I should have already had. It was like a shakedown...perpetrated by shoddy, inexperienced or predatory programmers. I can’t begin to express how disappointed I am with an app that had been by my side helping me identify birds by their looks and calls. I’ve lost years of data. Don’t trust it and store your lists elsewhere.Show lessBiologykid
Pop ups
I like the app a lot. But recently I have been getting frequent pop-ups that I have to click on, otherwise I cannot continue with the app. The pop ups sometimes occur about once a minute. I don’t know if these are virus portals or actual pop-ups by iBird. In any case, I have to delete the app and reinstall to get rid of the pop-ups. It is almost near impossible to submit a request through the contact form. It requires information at the end that a person would not have at their fingertips, so then you have to close down the contact form, get the information and re-open the contact form. I had to do this five times. I have a feeling they make the form so complex you cannot submit it.
UPDATE: The pop-up issue has been resolved. The only glitch is that I cannot delete the last bird I searched for using the “X” in the search line. I have to backspace to remove it. Fortunately, I am now entering band codes. Is there a way to fix this? I don’t have this problem on other apps.Show lessBombo Mama
Developer Response
You can disable the only popup ad in the app by going to Settings and turn off "Show Ads". The single popup should only show once so this is not a typical behavior and I'd like to help you fix it. The form for submitting a ticket is a standard Zendesk format and the only way we can help you with your issue is to know what device you are using, the OS version, etc. You can try going to the help.ibird.com on your desktop if you are having trouble filling it out on your phone or ipad.Mislabeled photos
I just downloaded this app and the first thing I did was look at the Rd-tailed Hawk info, a bird I have studied for over 50 years and I am very familiar with. Looking at the photos, there are some that are obviously mislabeled. The photo labeled “Red-tailed Hawk Juvenile 1” is actually an adult as evidenced by the dark chestnut colored iris and the varied colors on the bird instead of the light iris and more monotoned colors of a juvenile. Conversely, the photo labeled “Adult Red-tailed Hawk Adult 3-Flight” is actually a juvenile bird as evidenced by the light iris, the lack of a dark sub-terminal band on the secondary wing feathers, and the thinly banded tail feathers with no broad sub- terminal band and no red coloration. With almost a quarter (22.2%) of the photos mislabeled, this brings into question the validity of the labels on all of the other photos in the app. I am immediately feeling buyer’s remote after purchasing this app. I would recommend spending your hard earned money on Sibley’s app instead.Show lessWillieBT
New rating after developer explained issues
I’ve left my original review below for context. There were two things going on that relate more to Apple than iBird. First, in-app purchase are not part of family sharing. Thus, you have to repurchase on different devices. Second, any device using a family shared app but not using the purchaser’s Apple ID has to purchase the original app and the in-app items on its own. Thus, family sharing only works for the original app. In effect, it provides marketing for the developer to extend its sales.
To the substance of iBird Pro. It’s the best birding app available. Buy it and put up with the App Store hoops.
I had to buy in-app purchases a second time for my iPad after buying them for my iPhone. None of the in-app purchases are recognized on my wife’s iPhone and restoring purchases fails. Instead the app says she has to purchase the original iBird Pro on her phone (i.e., not really family shared)so she can purchase the in-app items — Again! The developer has not responded to my support email or to my post n the support forum. Neither did they respond to my original review. I appreciate the need to make money and how offering in-app purchases for enhancements to components that were once standard or for new components is a way to increase revenue but they need to be honest about family sharing and in-app purchases. It’s a good app and one I’ve used for years but the new version is buyer beware.Show lessRioNapo
Developer Response
The family sharing of in-app purchases is not something we control--its based on Apple's policy which is explained in detail here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203046. In part it says: What you can't share -Individual or student Apple Music subscriptions and other subscriptions. -In-App purchases. -Items that are no longer available on the App Store and iTunes Store.Disgusted with BAM
I’ve had iNird for 4 years, but didn’t purchase BAM until today. In New Mexico I didn’t need it. I’m moving to FL. There is an Intracoastal Waterway that separates beachside and landslide. I’ll be beachside. I’ll miss my New Mexico backyard birds enormously and wanted to know what songbirds I can attract to my beachside backyard. So I bought BAM assuming the address search would allow me to constrain my search to beachside. IT DIDN’T. BAM allows minimum of 25 mile radius. I don’t even want to know what birds might be 3 miles west of me, let alone 25 miles. I am more than disgusted. It was only $2.99 but I feel tricked, conned, ripped off. I want a refund.
UPDATE
I frequently see Curved Bill Thrashers in my NM yard. Since I just bought BAM today, I decided to give BAM another chance to look up the Curved Bill Thrasher to find out what it’s been eating. I set it to use my GPS for the search to make it easier to find. The search didn’t even return Curved Bill Thrasher!!!!! I’ve been seeing this bird all the time for 4 years while backyard birding and looking it up using the Location feature for NM. It’s always appeared in the list. And BAM excluded it? Come on guys. Somethings’s definitely wrong with BAM. Talk to me, guys. I’m very unhappy.Show lesspmoliver
Developer Response
I think the problem is the Mexican Jay has an unusual shaped migration pattern that partly creeps into New Mexico but is mostly centered in Mexico. So whether it shows up in BAM is highly dependent on your initial location, which you don't mention in this review. I see it every time I use BAM with Mexico as the starting point. We could do a much better job helping you if you contact us at help.ibird.com and reference this review and the user name you use of pmoliver. Keep in mind BAM is based on our range maps and State Month was based on live observations that were constantly changing. This made them way less accurate and we received complaints all the time asking why such and such a bird was not appearing? So in the long run State Month created way too many issues to be worthwhile to the majority of our customers. So again please start a customer support ticket at help.ibird.com and we will help you figure this out.Feeling ripped off
I purchased Pro years ago and upgraded to Ultimate. I also purchased Journal. I have supported this developer with my dollars. I understand that the developers had no choice but to consolidate. Having paid for pro I already had the app and just needed to download it. All good; right? Wrong!
I also purchased ALL the add-ins for Ultimate. Time of day, BAM etc. Now the app is telling me I need to purchase them again for pro. Up until this point I understood- but now it appears this is just a money grab. It might be ok if there was a way to get in touch with the developer to discuss. There is not.
Lots of great birding apps out there. I have always relied on iBird and not bothered with the rest. Now I think I will try Nat Geo or Sibley.Show lessRGinNJ
Not worth it
I’ve had this app in my phone for a few months now, and I have not opened it even once in the field. I find it generally difficult to navigate, not to mention that there are much better FREE field guide apps out there.
Also, I heard an interview on a birding podcast, This Birding Life, from quite a few years back of the maker of this app (Mitchell Waite): he essentially said that he sent poor artists in third world countries photos and illustrations of birds and asked them to put their own spin on it so it wasn’t straight-up copyright infringement. He was very proud of “outsourcing” and getting this work done on the cheap. Perhaps this is also why some of the images are not that great. Most bird guides with illustrations include paintings done by people who have actually seen these birds in real life, so the results are much more true to life.
Don’t waste your money. Get Merlin Bird ID or the Audubon apps instead; they include a good field guide with other great features, and they’re free.Show lessNorNorEs
Great encyclopedia. Pay attention to descriptions.
We finally noted that some of the raven sounds are from other (faraway) parts of the country, and we recall, ravens are wise old birds. Not always their language. Sometimes they react in silence, as if to say, “What?”
Also remember to read the description: if the call is one of birds in fear or alarm, you may well note that nearby birds start flying away in fear or alarm.
I note the app is of late getting updates describing IAPs with fancy-schmancy new features. I hope this does not portend an overall IAP for a new version of the app (rendering this current version obsolete). Already, instead of the available Bird Sleuth IAP, we use Merlin. I’d be sorrowful to see the end of iBird Pro due to built-in obsolescence.Show lessfjpoblam
