Comparison

Learn Bird Watching vs Project FeederWatch

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Learn Bird Watching

Learn to identify birds by sound and sight with a game-based system. This app offers audio and visual courses created by experts to improve your birding skills, suitable for beginners and advanced enthusiasts alike.

Highlights
  • Game-based learning system
  • Identify birds by sound
  • Identify birds by sight
  • Expert-created courses
  • Suitable for all skill levels
  • Master birding by ear
Features
Read full description

BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA Learn birds the fun way! Learn to identify the birds that you're seeing and hearing. Take birding and birdwatching to a new level! Larkwire is a complete, game-based system for learning. Great for beginners and still challenging for advanced birders. Audio courses teach you to identify bird sounds and visual courses teach plumage. All courses are created by world class experts in field identification. This is the app used by professionals to master birding by ear. ***** "Best thing I’ve ever bought on the App Store." (Shopetastic review, 04/16/2020) ***** "Uniformly excellent" (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) ***** "A Rosetta Stone for birdsong." (Birding Magazine) ***** "This is a really cool tool!" (BirdChick) ***** "Really fun!" (Wildlife South) ********************************************** "Larkwire is already helping immensely with my ability to bird in the field. And my 7-year-old daughter is asking for 'that bird song game on the computer.'—I guess you have THREE of us hooked!" (Courtenay Schurman, Mountaineering Trainer) ********************************************** ********************************************** "It's like having a personal teacher who can pinpoint my weaknesses and make me work on them as I play. By far the best value for your money when you think about buying an avian audio guide." (Alain Clavette, aka @Acadian_Birder) ********************************************** ********************************************** "A fantastic tool for learning and reviewing birdsong. ... What I can vouch for, as a teacher, is the solid learning theory behind the software—this program is sure to improve the speed and accuracy with which you identify birds by ear." (David Pugh, Calgary Birder) ********************************************** SUPPORT For questions or support, email: support@larkwire.com EULA - Apple standard End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Project FeederWatch

Easily report bird sightings from your feeder for scientific research. Track your statistics, access past counts, and learn about local feeder birds. Contribute to a large database that aids conservation efforts.

Highlights
  • Report winter bird sightings
  • Track sighting statistics
  • Access past count archives
  • Contribute to bird population database
  • Discover best food and feeder types
  • Identify and learn about feeder birds
Features
Read full description

Do you feed birds? You can report what you see for science. Project FeederWatch, a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada, monitors winter feeder-bird populations in North America. The FeederWatch Mobile App is a new way for Project FeederWatch members to contribute their bird counts. Sign in to: •Report birds that visit your count site in winter (US and Canada only) •Track your sighting statistics in real time •Access your archive of past counts from all years •Contribute to North America’s largest database on feeder birds •Find out what food and feeder types work best for the birds overwintering near you •Identify and learn about feeder birds FeederWatch Mobile automatically syncs with the web version for seamless multi-platform support. Your data become immediately available for scientific research, education, and conservation. Thank you for helping birds!

Screenshots

Learn Bird Watching4 screens
Project FeederWatch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Learn Bird Watching at 91% against Project FeederWatch's 33%. Learn Bird Watching also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). Project FeederWatch's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Learn Bird Watching sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per year. Project FeederWatch asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Learn Bird Watching holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Learn Bird Watching has 1.3K ratings behind it against 68, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Learn Bird Watching's written reviews are positive against 33% of Project FeederWatch's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Learn Bird Watching ships an update every 9 days, Project FeederWatch every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Learn Bird Watching versus Project FeederWatch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLearn Bird WatchingProject FeederWatch
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.3K ratings) — better3.0 (68 ratings)
Positive reviews90.9% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings1.3K — better68
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB63 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLarkwireCornell University

Customer experience

Learn Bird Watching

All ratings1,284 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews110 reviews
Positive90.9%
Neutral4.5%
Negative4.5%

Project FeederWatch

All ratings68 ratings
Positive41.2%
Neutral13.2%
Negative45.6%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral17.8%
Negative48.9%

User reviews

Learn Bird Watching

From 1.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for learning bird songs
  • 🚀 Efficient learning process
  • 💡 Customizable playlists and settings
  • 🎮 Fun and engaging game-like format
  • 🌟 Comprehensive coverage of bird species

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Difficulty finding specific birds in the app
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 📱 Not optimized for smaller screens

Project FeederWatch

From 68 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use interface
  • 👍 Straightforward tracking
  • 👍 Neat data summaries
  • 👍 Good support responsiveness
  • 👍 Convenient app access

Room to improve

  • 💰 Unexpected payment required
  • 🐛 Data loss and disappearing counts
  • 🐛 App freezes and crashes
  • 🐛 Login issues and errors
  • 🐛 Inconsistent data saving

Bugs and requests

Learn Bird Watching

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unable to download sample content
  • Repeating the same bird songs in succession
  • Inconsistent progress tracking

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add bird song playback when selecting bird images
  • Implement voice recognition for answering questions
  • Include spectrograms for better visual learning
  • Expand coverage to birds in other regions

Project FeederWatch

Reported bugs

40 issues
  • Birds saved then disappear
  • Counts get lost
  • Entries not saved consistently
  • Part of data not recorded
  • App deletes counts
Show 35 more
  • App freezes/hangs regularly
  • Connection fails repeatedly
  • App is slow to respond
  • Opens to a blank black screen
  • App doesn't recognize submitted through browser
  • Entering total observation doesn't work
  • Freezes after entering most data
  • Frequent freezes and server problems
  • App freezes when coming up
  • App freezes frequently on iPad Pro
  • Forced to close and reload app
  • No way to enter data offline
  • App freezes after using for 2 minutes
  • Login problem fixed but causes freezing
  • Login fails, incorrect password/account not activated
  • Cannot alter/fix incorrect bird count
  • Cannot delete sightings
  • Cannot zero out a bird count
  • Account not activated message
  • Latest update doesn't work
  • Server doesn't want to connect
  • App doesn't connect
  • Screen goes all black
  • Logins become a nightmare for months
  • App goes to a totally black screen after appearing to be launching
  • Lost bird count due to black screen lock up
  • Regularly fails to recognize login
  • Zero observations reported initially
  • Cannot log in, account not activated
  • App doesn't work at all after update
  • App directs to log in on website, but still doesn't load data
  • Can't enter dates correctly
  • App doesn't report a problem with version, but newer version exists
  • Repeatedly freezes to the point of needing to power off/on
  • Froze if left open too long

Requested features

19 requests
  • Fix data loss issues
  • Improve app stability
  • Resolve login problems
  • Add offline data entry
  • Provide taxonomic sort option
Show 14 more
  • Enable data entry by alpha code
  • Fix blank black screen on launch
  • Allow alteration/deletion of incorrect counts
  • Add French language version
  • Improve iPad functionality
  • Make app more robust for all users
  • Ensure consistent data saving
  • Fix server connection issues
  • Update app more frequently
  • Improve user interface for better screen utilization
  • Fix issues with switching between apps
  • Allow editing of submitted counts
  • Improve handling of large counts
  • Ensure all species counts are saved

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Learn Bird Watching

Subscriptions3
  • Single Course Annual7 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • All Courses Annual7 Days trial$44.991 Year
  • All Courses Annual (Family)7 Days trial$64.991 Year
One-time7
  • Bird Songs Core West (N. Am)$9.99
  • Bird Songs Core East (N. Am)$9.99
  • Waterbirds Core (N. Am)$9.99
Show 4 more
  • Bird Songs Pro East (N. Am)$24.99
  • Bird Songs Pro West (N. Am)$24.99
  • Waterbirds songs/calls (N. Am)$24.99
  • Breeding Plumage East (N.Am.)$24.99
None

Project FeederWatch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Learn Bird Watching free?
Learn Bird Watching is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Project FeederWatch free?
Project FeederWatch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Learn Bird Watching or Project FeederWatch?
Learn Bird Watching is rated higher. Learn Bird Watching averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.3K ratings, while Project FeederWatch averages 3.0 from 68 ratings.
Do Learn Bird Watching or Project FeederWatch have ads?
Neither Learn Bird Watching nor Project FeederWatch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Learn Bird Watching or Project FeederWatch?
Learn Bird Watching ships an update every 9 days, and Project FeederWatch every 2 months. Most recently, Learn Bird Watching was updated on October 29, 2026 and Project FeederWatch on October 29, 2026.

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