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

Black Antshrike

Thamnophilus nigriceps

A medium-sized, sexually dimorphic insectivore found in the dense understory and vine tangles of humid lowland forests in Panama and Colombia.

What it sounds like

An accelerating series of nasal, hollow notes that ends in a short, descending 'wuk' or roll.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

0:00 / 0:31

Rec. Andres Angulo · ColombiaCC BY-NC-SA Xeno-canto

Field notes

Males are almost entirely jet-black, while females exhibit a contrasting rufous-brown plumage with heavy black-and-white streaking on the head and breast.
They possess a characteristically heavy, hooked bill used to seize large arthropods and occasionally small vertebrates like lizards.
Though members of the typical antbird family, they are generally not obligate followers of army ant swarms, preferring to forage independently.
The species is highly territorial and is most frequently encountered in pairs within the lower to middle strata of the forest.
They are largely restricted to the humid Chocó and Magdalena Valley regions, making them a specialized endemic of the Neotropical lowlands.

Habitat

Dense tropical moist lowland forests, secondary growth, and thick vine tangles.

Range

Eastern Panama and northern to western Colombia.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Acre AntshrikeThamnophilus divisorius Amazonian AntshrikeThamnophilus amazonicus Band-tailed AntshrikeThamnophilus melanothorax Bar-crested AntshrikeThamnophilus multistriatus Barred AntshrikeThamnophilus doliatus Black-backed AntshrikeThamnophilus melanonotus Black-crowned AntshrikeThamnophilus atrinucha Black-hooded AntshrikeThamnophilus bridgesi

Heard a Black Antshrike?

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