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 Sparrow

Centronyx bairdii

The Baird's Sparrow is a secretive, yellowish-faced songbird of the northern Great Plains, considered a specialist of native, ungrazed prairie ecosystems.

What it sounds like

A series of three or four high, thin introductory notes followed by a low, musical, jingling trill.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

0:00 / 0:22

Rec. Jacob Saucier · United StatesCC BY-NC-SA Xeno-canto

Field notes

Named by John James Audubon in 1844 in honor of Spencer Fullerton Baird, who later became the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Following its discovery, the species was famously 'lost' to science for nearly 30 years until it was rediscovered in the Dakota Territory in 1873.
Rather than taking flight when approached, this sparrow often escapes by running through thick grass in a mouse-like fashion.
It is a 'grassland obligate' species, meaning it is highly sensitive to habitat fragmentation and rarely nests in agricultural fields.
During the breeding season, its diet shifts almost exclusively to insects and spiders, which provide the high protein necessary for developing chicks.

Habitat

Native mixed-grass and tallgrass prairies with a thick layer of dead grass litter and minimal shrub cover.

Range

Breeds in the northern Great Plains (North Dakota, Montana, and southern Canada) and winters in the southwestern US and northern Mexico.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Henslow's SparrowCentronyx henslowii

Heard a Baird's Sparrow?

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