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

Cape Parrot

Poicephalus robustus

The Cape Parrot is a rare, large-billed parrot endemic to South Africa, distinguished by its green body and dependency on ancient Yellowwood forests.

What it sounds like

Loud, piercing, and disyllabic screeches described as 'zeeu-wee' or 'zu-wee', typically delivered in flight.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

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Rec. Lynette Rudman · South AfricaCC BY-NC-SA Xeno-canto

Field notes

It is South Africa's only endemic parrot and is currently classified as a separate species from the Grey-headed and Brown-necked parrots.
Adult females typically feature a prominent orange-red patch on the forehead, a trait generally absent in adult males.
The species is a dietary specialist, using its powerful beak to crack the hard kernels of Yellowwood (Podocarpus and Afrocarpus) fruits.
They are strong flyers, often performing long-distance daily commutes between high-altitude mist-belt forests and lowland feeding areas.
The wild population is critically small, estimated at fewer than 1,800 individuals due to habitat loss and Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD).

Habitat

Afromontane mist-belt forests dominated by mature Yellowwood trees.

Range

Fragmented forest patches in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo provinces of South Africa.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Brown-headed ParrotPoicephalus cryptoxanthus Brown-necked ParrotPoicephalus fuscicollis Meyer's ParrotPoicephalus meyeri Niam-Niam ParrotPoicephalus crassus Red-bellied ParrotPoicephalus rufiventris Red-fronted ParrotPoicephalus gulielmi Rüppell's ParrotPoicephalus rueppellii Senegal ParrotPoicephalus senegalus

Heard a Cape Parrot?

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Identify a bird by its song