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

Dickcissel

Spiza americana

A sparrow-sized grassland bird of the cardinal family, the Dickcissel is known for its meadowlark-like plumage and nomadic breeding habits. It is a signature species of the American tallgrass prairie, often seen singing from fence posts or tall stalks.

What it sounds like

A sharp, rhythmic series of buzzy notes often transliterated as 'dick-dick-ciss-ciss-ciss'.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

0:00 / 0:31

Rec. Valerie Heemstra · United StatesCC BY-NC-SA Xeno-canto

Field notes

Males exhibit a distinctive black 'V' on a bright yellow breast, causing frequent visual confusion with the much larger Eastern Meadowlark.
They are notoriously nomadic, shifting their breeding range significantly each year in response to local rainfall and vegetation density.
During the non-breeding season, they migrate to northern South America and form massive communal roosts that can exceed millions of birds.
While they resemble finches and were named 'Spiza' (Greek for finch), molecular data confirms they are members of the family Cardinalidae.
In their Venezuelan wintering grounds, they are often treated as agricultural pests due to their tendency to forage in enormous numbers on grain crops.

Habitat

Tallgrass prairies, hayfields, fallow fields, and weed patches.

Range

Breeds in the central United States and southern Canada; winters primarily in northern South America, particularly Venezuela.

Heard a Dickcissel?

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