How accurate is Birdsong's bird identifier?

It runs Google's Perch, a research-grade acoustic model covering nearly 15,000 species. When a call is ambiguous, we say so honestly and let you record a second clip to confirm, rather than guessing.

Is my recording stored?

No. Your audio is used to identify the bird in the moment and isn't saved to our servers. The birds you confirm are kept as cards in your own field journal; the recordings themselves are not.

Is the bird identifier free?

Yes — identify birds every day for free, no account required. Birdsong Pro ($3.99/mo or $39.99/yr) unlocks unlimited IDs, full field guides, your growing collection, and shareable Field Report cards.

Do I need an account or internet to identify a bird?

You'll need a connection to identify, since the AI runs in the cloud. No account is needed to try it — sign in with Google or email to save your field journal and sync it across devices.

Birdsong field guide

Baird's Junco

Junco bairdi

A distinctive, range-restricted sparrow endemic to the high-altitude pine-oak forests of the Sierra de la Laguna in Baja California Sur.

What it sounds like

A series of high, thin 'tsip' notes and a complex, warbling song of clear whistles.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

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Rec. Isain Contreras Rodríguez · MexicoCC BY-NC-SA Xeno-canto

Field notes

It is a 'sky island' endemic, isolated from other junco populations by hundreds of miles of desert.
Distinguished by its striking pale yellow irises and extensive cinnamon-rufous coloring on the wings and flanks.
Formerly classified as a subspecies of the Yellow-eyed Junco but now recognized as a full species due to genetic and morphological differences.
It has one of the smallest geographic ranges of any North American passerine, restricted to a single mountain range.
The species was named after Spencer Fullerton Baird, the second Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

Habitat

High-elevation pine-oak woodlands and madrone forests, generally above 1,500 meters.

Range

Sierra de la Laguna in the Cape Region of Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis Guadalupe JuncoJunco insularis Volcano JuncoJunco vulcani Volcano JuncoJunco vulcani Yellow-eyed JuncoJunco phaeonotus

Heard a Baird's Junco?

Open Birdsong, tap record, and identify the bird singing near you in seconds — then collect it in your field journal.

Identify a bird by its song