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

Christmas Shearwater

Puffinus nativitatis

A medium-sized, uniformly dark procellariid seabird of the tropical Pacific, distinguished by its entirely sooty-brown plumage and slender black bill.

What it sounds like

A series of low-pitched, rhythmic moans and throaty growls, often described as 'uuu-rrr' sounds emitted at nesting sites.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

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Rec. Dr Jennifer Lavers · United KingdomCC BY-NC-SA Xeno-canto

Field notes

It was named after Christmas Island (Kiritimati) in the Line Islands, where the species was first scientifically described.
Unlike most shearwater species, it lacks white underparts, appearing almost entirely monochromatic in flight.
They are primarily nocturnal when visiting breeding colonies to avoid predation and kleptoparasitism by larger birds like frigatebirds.
Their diet consists almost exclusively of squid and small fish, which they catch by surface-seizing or shallow pursuit-diving.
They nest in shallow burrows or under dense vegetation on low-lying coral atolls and remote oceanic islands.

Habitat

Pelagic open ocean and tropical coral atolls with sandy soil or scrubby cover.

Range

Central and South Pacific Ocean, including the Hawaiian Islands, Kiribati, and the Pitcairn Islands.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Balearic ShearwaterPuffinus mauretanicus Bannerman's ShearwaterPuffinus bannermani Barolo ShearwaterPuffinus baroli Black-vented ShearwaterPuffinus opisthomelas Boyd's ShearwaterPuffinus boydi Bryan's ShearwaterPuffinus bryani Fluttering ShearwaterPuffinus gavia Galapagos ShearwaterPuffinus subalaris

Heard a Christmas Shearwater?

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