A New Reason to Take Your Phone on the Dog Walk: Discover the Birds Singing Around You

The bright red cardinal sitting in your backyard is a bit of a loudmouth.

That tiny Carolina wren hiding in the bushes? An even bigger chatterbox.

And the bird singing somewhere high in the trees during your morning dog walk? You may have heard it a hundred times without knowing what it was.

Now, thanks to a free smartphone app developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, you can find out.

It’s called Merlin Bird ID, and one of its most remarkable features allows your phone to listen to birds singing around you and suggest which species are making those sounds.

You don’t have to be an experienced birdwatcher. You don’t need binoculars or expensive equipment.

All you need is your smartphone, a little curiosity, and a few minutes outdoors.

You might be surprised by how much is happening in the trees, bushes, and backyards you pass every day.

Your Phone Can Identify Birds by Their Songs

One of Merlin’s most popular features is called Sound ID.

Open the app, select Sound ID, and tap the record button.

Your phone begins listening through its microphone.

As birds sing, their names can appear on the screen, often within seconds.

You might discover that the familiar whistle coming from a nearby tree belongs to a Northern Cardinal.

Another sound could be an American Robin, Carolina Chickadee, or Tufted Titmouse.

That surprisingly loud song from a small shrub might belong to a Carolina Wren.

If several birds are singing at once, the app can suggest multiple species from the same recording.

It doesn’t always identify every bird correctly, particularly when calls overlap or background noise interferes. But even its suggestions can lead to discoveries.

You can tap a bird’s name to see photographs, learn about its appearance, and compare your recording with examples of its songs and calls.

Suddenly, birds that were previously just part of the background become recognizable neighbors.

The Cardinal Has More to Say Than You Think

Virginia’s state bird, the Northern Cardinal, is one of the easiest birds to recognize by sight.

The male’s brilliant red feathers and distinctive crest make him difficult to miss.

The female, dressed mostly in warm brown with reddish highlights, is less conspicuous but equally interesting.

Many people don’t realize that both male and female cardinals sing.

According to Cornell’s All About Birds guide, their songs often consist of a series of clear whistles that can sound like “cheer, cheer, cheer” or “birdie, birdie, birdie.”

Researchers have also described at least 16 different cardinal calls.

One of the most familiar is a sharp, metallic-sounding chip.

Cardinals use calls in a variety of situations, including warning other birds, responding to nearby predators, and communicating around their nests.

Once you start recognizing those sounds, you may discover that cardinals announce their presence far more often than you realized.

The Tiny Carolina Wren Is a Mighty Singer

Another familiar Shenandoah Valley resident is the Carolina Wren.

It’s a small reddish-brown bird with an upturned tail and a distinctive white stripe above its eye.

Despite its size, the Carolina Wren has an astonishingly powerful voice.

Its song is often described as “teakettle, teakettle, teakettle,” repeated loudly from bushes, vines, trees, or other sheltered spots.

Cornell reports that male Carolina Wrens can have several dozen song variations.

And here’s a remarkable fact: One captive male Carolina Wren was documented singing nearly 3,000 times in a single day.

That’s a lot of singing for a bird that weighs less than an ounce.

Unlike the cardinal, only the male Carolina Wren performs the species’ familiar loud song, although females also make various calls.

The next time you hear that enthusiastic “teakettle” coming from a backyard shrub, you’ll know who’s making all the noise.

How Can a Phone Recognize a Birdsong?

The technology behind Merlin is fascinating.

When you record a bird singing, the app converts the sound into a visual representation called a spectrogram.

A spectrogram shows sound frequencies over time.

Different bird songs create different shapes and patterns.

A cardinal’s whistles look different from a wren’s rapid notes, just as the birds themselves look different in photographs.

Cornell researchers developed a machine-learning system that studies those patterns and compares them with an enormous collection of recordings identified by bird experts.

The technology uses a type of artificial intelligence that can recognize patterns in images.

Instead of identifying a bird by the shape of its beak or the colors of its feathers, it recognizes the visual patterns created by the bird’s voice.

The recordings used to train the system come from Cornell’s Macaulay Library, a major scientific archive of wildlife sounds and images.

Birdwatchers and researchers worldwide contribute recordings that help improve the technology.

It’s a remarkable combination of scientific research, artificial intelligence, and everyday people spending time outdoors.

It Even Works Without Cell Service

One particularly useful feature is that Merlin’s Sound ID can work without an internet connection.

That means you can identify birds while hiking in the mountains, walking along a remote trail, or visiting an area with poor cellphone reception.

Download the app and any regional bird information you want before leaving home.

Sound ID can suggest bird names offline, but downloading the appropriate bird pack lets you view photographs and additional species information without service.

The app also offers other identification tools.

If you can photograph a bird, Photo ID can help identify it from the picture.

If you didn’t get a photograph or recording, Merlin can guide you through questions about the bird’s size, colors, and behavior.

The Explore feature also helps you discover which birds are likely to be found in a particular area.

A Birdwatching Companion, Not a Perfect Expert

As impressive as Merlin is, Cornell encourages users to remember that its identifications are suggestions.

Some birds sound remarkably similar.

Wind, traffic, barking dogs, and other noises can interfere with recordings.

And occasionally, the app may suggest a bird that isn’t actually present.

If Merlin identifies something unexpected, compare the recording with the example sounds and check whether the bird is normally found in your area.

When possible, try to see the bird as well.

That process is part of the fun.

Over time, you’ll begin recognizing more birds without needing to look at your phone.

And there are plenty to learn.

Cornell reports that Sound ID supports more than 2,000 bird species, with periodic updates that add new species and improve identification.

The app is available for both Apple and Android devices.

Your Walk Can Help Bird Research, Too

Merlin isn’t just a bird-identification tool.

It can also introduce people to citizen science.

Cornell maintains another program called eBird, where birdwatchers can record their observations and contribute to a worldwide database used by researchers and conservation organizations.

Bird enthusiasts can also contribute recordings to Cornell’s Macaulay Library.

Those recordings may eventually help improve Merlin’s ability to recognize additional species and variations in birdsong.

A recording made during an ordinary morning walk could become part of a much larger effort to understand and protect birds.

Participation is optional, of course.

You can enjoy Merlin simply as a way to learn about the birds around your home.

Turn an Ordinary Walk Into an Adventure

There’s something satisfying about identifying a sound you’ve heard for years without knowing its source.

That loud whistle near the driveway has a name.

The chatter coming from the hedge belongs to a particular species.

And the different songs you hear during spring migration may reveal visitors that won’t be around for very long.

Even the birds that remain in the Shenandoah Valley throughout winter provide opportunities for discovery.

For families, Merlin can turn an ordinary walk into a game.

Children can listen for birds, make predictions, and check the app to see whether they were right.

For older adults, it offers another enjoyable reason to get outside, walk, and notice nature.

And for anyone who already takes the dog out every morning, it requires almost no change in routine.

Just remember to stay alert to your surroundings and your dog while recording.

If you’re interested in trying it, visit www.merlinbirds.org to learn more and find the free app.

The next time you head outside, take your phone along.

Pause for a moment, listen, and see what Merlin discovers.

You may find that your neighborhood has been filled with fascinating conversations all along.

You just didn’t know who was doing the talking.