# Bird Nerd NZ — Your pocket guide to our birds > Digital pocket guide for identifying and learning about New Zealand birds. (iPhone/iPad app by Chris Hawkins.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bird-nerd-nz/id1390180959 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Chris Hawkins](https://appshunter.io/developer/937738334) - Category: Reference, Education - Price: Free - Rating: 4.20/5 from 5 App Store ratings · 37 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 13.0 · 230 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2019-02-12 - Data updated: 2026-08-27 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bird-nerd-nz/id1390180959/reviews.md ## What is Bird Nerd NZ? Bird Nerd is your digital pocket guide for New Zealand birds. Identify our birds: Not sure what bird you saw? Using machine-learning magic Bird Nerd can help you figure out what a bird is using your microphone, camera or questionnaire. Learn about our birds: Bird Nerd features more than 10,000 words of hand-written, bite-sized, app-friendly info on all our best birds. Learn more about your faves and find out about birds you never knew existed. Hear our bird calls: You can use Bird Nerd to playback the calls of our birds. This can help you identify a bird you heard or even chat with the friendlier birds in the wild*. Spotlist: Keep track of what birds you've spotted and what birds you're still yet to meet. Can you 100% New Zealand? Fact of the day: Brighten up your mornings with a new bird related tid-bit delivered straight to your phone everyday. Contribute: Show off your Bird Nerdery by contributing your own facts, tips, pictures and even reviews. Offline: Ever notice our birds tend to hang out far away from wifi hotspots and 4g reception? Thankfully Bird Nerd is 100% offline compatible and will work wherever you roam. * Do be considerate when playing bird calls in the wild. Excessive playback can worry some of our more territorial birds. ## Key features - Bird identification via microphone, camera, or questionnaire - Extensive bird information and facts - Bird call playback - Personalized bird spotting list - Daily bird facts - Offline functionality ## Recent user reviews (10 of 37) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bird-nerd-nz/id1390180959/reviews.md ### 3/5 — Add sea and shore birds *2025-09-27, version 2.0.2* Does not include any sea or shore birds, strange for a nz bird app with our long shoreline. ### 5/5 — As a doggy, love this app *2025-03-14, version 2.0.2* The kiwi is really scary though ### 1/5 — Do not download *2025-02-03, version 2.0.2* Doesn’t know what it’s talking about I saw a black bird and it told me it was a pukeko not accurate ### 2/5 — Where are the sea birds? *2025-01-26, version 2.0.2* Aotearoa New Zealand being an Island nation has a lot of seabirds but Bird Nerd seems nerfed in having no coverage of them. ### 5/5 — The App I have been waiting for! *2025-01-08, version 2.0.2* Love the birdsong recordings that help me identify the sounds I hear outside. Beautiful photos, too. ### 4/5 — Best bird App in the country *2025-01-02, version 2.0.2* This is one of the best apps for identifying birds, I mean come on the photo and microphone identification is out of this word. Great job Please take some of these ideas in to consideration when designing and developing the future of this app :) Ideas to add: 1. Add the ability to share birds with a link and a message pop up. 2. Add the ability to add your own content such as images, sounds, descriptions and other data only available to the user. 3. Add a filter option for all the birds like Flightless, introduced, Native, and different levels of endangerment 4. Haptic feedback option to turn on/off in settings 5. Let user (over the course of the month) vote for the best bird of the month, also have a history section of past best birds of the month in the more area ### 1/5 — Not what it says it is. *2024-12-13, version 2.0.2* Purchased thinking I could identify birds by audio using microphone but note in app said this function was coming soon???? Then tried reporting the issue through the app problem feedback tab but it was not working. ### 2/5 — Good start *2024-10-16, version 2.0.2* Good start to an app, not worth keeping tho as there’s only a few birds in here, last updated 4y ago ### 2/5 — Very basic app *2024-06-02* This is a very basic app that might help a beginner identify some common birds. Sadly, it lacks information, range, habitat and behaviour of birds. It doesn’t even list an oystercatcher for example. 2 stars at best for being free. ### 2/5 — Patchy and often incorrect information *2024-03-22* Yes this is a free app, but I’d expect a lot more accuracy. The app doesn’t use the “official” names (Recommended English Names) for several species, such as Swamp Harrier, and completely glosses over the fact that several birds listed in the app are entirely different species! (There are 5 separate Kiwi species, 3 Robins, etc.) The app is easy to use and has links to extra information, and importantly, discusses conservation issues for most species. Photographers and sound recordists are acknowledged, the you have to search through the app to find this - every photo and recording should be acknowledged on the screen where you access it. I installed this app before my 3-week trip but didn’t use it more than a couple of times as it really didn’t help me find target birds or identify the ones I was seeing. ## Frequently asked questions about Bird Nerd NZ ### What does the Bird Nerd NZ app do? Bird Nerd NZ is a digital pocket guide designed to help you identify and learn about New Zealand birds. It uses machine learning to help you identify birds through your microphone, camera, or a questionnaire. You can also learn facts, listen to bird calls, and keep track of your sightings. ### How can I identify a bird with this app? You can identify a bird by using your microphone to record its call, your camera to take a picture, or by answering a series of questions about its appearance and behavior through the app's questionnaire. The app's machine-learning technology will then suggest possible identifications. ### Is Bird Nerd NZ free to use? Yes, the app is free to use. It does not have in-app purchases or advertisements, offering a complete experience without any cost to the user. ### Does Bird Nerd NZ work offline? Yes, Bird Nerd NZ is 100% offline compatible. This means you can use all of its features, including identification and accessing bird information, even when you don't have Wi-Fi or cellular reception. ### What kind of information can I learn about birds? The app features over 10,000 words of detailed, bite-sized information on New Zealand birds. You can learn about your favorite species and discover new ones, including their characteristics, habitats, and behaviors. ## Version history (last 3 releases) ### 2.0.2 — 2020-05-10 This release fixes a crash that was effecting some iPad users. Thanks to those who let me know about this issue. ### 2.0 — 2019-10-03 This release includes a few new treats. * Dark Mode: Bird Nerd will now match your device's dark mode setting. Perfect for late night bird nerdery or for nocturnal bird watching. * Dynamic Type: Bird Nerd will now match your device's font size so you may find the app a little easier to read than before. * Mistaken Identities: To help you tell your keas from your kakas, certain birds will now highlight the birds they're commonly mistaken for. This release also features lots of little bug-fixes and improvements which come thanks to those of you who were kind enough to send in bug repots and other feedback. ### 1.0 — 2019-02-12 No release notes. ## Apps similar to Bird Nerd NZ | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merlin-bird-id-by-cornell-lab/id773457673) | 4.9 (111,272) | Free | Reference | | [Bird Sounds Identifier Call ID](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bird-sounds-identifier-call-id/id6449354786) | 4.7 (13,407) | Free | Reference | | [Picture Bird: Bird identifier](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/picture-bird-bird-identifier/id1474586978) | 4.7 (39,822) | Free | Reference | | [ChirpOMatic - BirdSong USA](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chirpomatic-birdsong-usa/id1233785633) | 4.6 (1,691) | Free | Reference | | [ChirpOMatic Birdsong ID Europe](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chirpomatic-birdsong-id-europe/id972765162) | 4.6 (27) | Free | Reference | | [Birds of Europe - Field Guide](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birds-of-europe-field-guide/id1431505604) | 4.2 (34) | Free | Reference | ## More apps by Chris Hawkins - [Bus++ Wellington](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bus-plus-plus-wellington/id959513550) - [Cooper's Dreams](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/coopers-dreams/id1249820676) - [Categories Game](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/categories-game/id1440413712) - [Fishbowl: The Party Game](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fishbowl-the-party-game/id1469654875) - [Shout Words](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shout-words/id1514921363) All apps by Chris Hawkins: https://appshunter.io/developer/937738334 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-27.*