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

Gray-headed Chickadee

Poecile cinctus

The Gray-headed Chickadee, known as the Siberian Tit in Eurasia, is a hardy, large-headed songbird of the high northern latitudes. It is distinguished by its soft brownish-gray cap and pale buffy flanks, making it the only chickadee with a circumpolar distribution.

What it sounds like

A husky, nasal 'tzee-tzee-daah' and a slow, drawling 'dee-deer' that is lower-pitched than other chickadee calls.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

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Rec. Lars Edenius · SwedenCC BY-NC-SA Xeno-canto

Field notes

In North America, it is one of the most elusive resident birds, restricted to remote areas of Alaska and the Yukon.
Unlike the common Black-capped Chickadee, this species has a brownish-gray crown rather than a stark black one.
It is a highly non-migratory species, remaining in extreme sub-arctic climates throughout the dark winter months.
They are known to cache large quantities of seeds and insect larvae in tree bark to survive periods of food scarcity.
The species is often found in the company of Siberian Jays and Willow Tits in its Eurasian range.

Habitat

Remote boreal forests, riverside willow thickets, and stunted taiga near the northern tree line.

Range

Circumpolar; spanning Northern Scandinavia, Russia, Siberia, Alaska, and Northwest Canada.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Black-bibbed TitPoecile hypermelaenus Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus Boreal ChickadeePoecile hudsonicus Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis Caspian TitPoecile hyrcanus Chestnut-backed ChickadeePoecile rufescens Marsh TitPoecile palustris Mexican ChickadeePoecile sclateri

Heard a Gray-headed Chickadee?

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