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

Double-banded Plover

Anarhynchus bicinctus

The Double-banded Plover is a small, migratory shorebird endemic to New Zealand, easily identified by its namesake black and chestnut breast bands during the breeding season.

What it sounds like

A sharp, staccato 'pit-pit' or a clear, high-pitched 'chi-ree' often given in flight.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

No reference call found yet · Xeno-canto

Field notes

It is the only New Zealand-breeding plover that performs a trans-Tasman migration, with a significant portion of the population wintering in Australia.
The species displays sexual dimorphism in breeding plumage; males typically possess darker, more well-defined bands than females.
They utilize a 'run-stop-peck' foraging strategy to capture surface-dwelling invertebrates like insects, crustaceans, and mollusks.
Nesting occurs in simple scrapes on the ground, where the cryptically colored eggs are exceptionally difficult to spot against shingle or sand.
While once classified in the genus Charadrius, recent phylogenetic evidence has moved it into the genus Anarhynchus along with the Wrybill.

Habitat

Braided shingle riverbeds, coastal beaches, estuaries, and inland saline lakes.

Range

Breeds across New Zealand and its sub-antarctic islands; winters throughout New Zealand and eastern/southern Australia.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Caspian PloverAnarhynchus asiaticus Chestnut-banded PloverAnarhynchus pallidus Collared PloverAnarhynchus collaris Greater Sand-PloverAnarhynchus leschenaultii Javan PloverAnarhynchus javanicus Javan PloverAnarhynchus javanicus Kentish PloverAnarhynchus alexandrinus Kittlitz's PloverAnarhynchus pecuarius

Heard a Double-banded Plover?

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