đŸŽ™ī¸ NEW — Free beta

Identify any UK bird by its song

Tap a button. Hold up your phone. We name the bird. Free, browser-based, no app download, powered by Cornell University's BirdNET AI model.

đŸŽ™ī¸ Try Bird Hear now Browse the Birdedex
600+ UK species ¡ No sign-up ¡ Works on iPhone & Android browsers

How it works

1ī¸âƒŖ

Record 10 seconds

Tap the green mic button and hold your phone toward the singing bird. We auto-stop after 10 seconds (or hit stop early).

2ī¸âƒŖ

BirdNET listens

Your clip is analysed by Cornell's open-source BirdNET model — the same engine used by ornithologists and conservation NGOs worldwide.

3ī¸âƒŖ

Top 3 matches

We show the most likely birds with confidence scores. One tap logs the bird to your life list and adds it to your Birdedex.

Why Bird Hear?

FeatureBird HearOther apps
Free forever✓Often premium-only
No app download✓ Browser onlyApp Store / Play Store
UK-focused species list✓ Tuned to BOU listGlobal, less precise locally
One-tap log to life list✓Separate apps
Open-source AI (BirdNET)✓ Cornell LabClosed models
No tracking, no data sold✓ Audio deleted instantlyVaries

FAQ

Is Bird Hear free?

Yes. Completely free. No sign-up needed for the sound-ID itself. Sign-up only unlocks saving sightings to your life list.

How accurate is it?

Cornell's BirdNET model achieves 70-85% top-3 accuracy on clear UK recordings. Accuracy drops in wind, traffic noise, or when multiple birds sing at once. The confidence score helps you judge reliability.

Does it work offline?

No — Bird Hear sends a short clip to our inference server for analysis. We never store the audio. An internet connection is required.

Which UK birds does it cover?

Over 600 species — the full BOU British List including breeders, winter visitors and regular vagrants. Rare one-off vagrants (1-2 records in UK history) may not be identified reliably.

Do I need to create an account?

No. Bird Hear works for anonymous visitors. An optional free account lets you save identifications to your life list and earn achievements.

How does it compare to Merlin Bird ID?

Merlin is excellent — it pioneered consumer bird sound ID. Bird Hear is a browser-only alternative tuned for UK species with deeper integration into our Birdedex, sightings map and county leaderboards.

Ready to try?

No download. No sign-up. Just point and listen.

đŸŽ™ī¸ Open Bird Hear