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

Great Dusky Swift

Cypseloides senex

A large, dark swift characterized by its square tail and silvery-frosted forehead, famous for its unique behavior of nesting behind massive waterfalls. It is a highly aerial species that spends most of its life on the wing, returning to wet rock faces only to roost or breed.

What it sounds like

A rapid, dry, and buzzy chattering consisting of repetitive 'chip-chip-chip' or 'te-te-te' notes.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

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Rec. Dante Buzzetti · BrazilCC BY-NC-SA Xeno-canto

Field notes

It is iconic for nesting on the vertical rock walls directly behind the curtain of water at Iguazu Falls.
The specific epithet 'senex' means 'old man' in Latin, referring to the grizzled, hoary appearance of the pale feathers on its head.
Unlike many other swifts, it lacks the stiffened, needle-like tail shafts used by other species to prop themselves against surfaces.
They are highly gregarious and are often seen in massive, swirling flocks numbering in the hundreds or thousands near their roosting sites.
The nest is a bracket-shaped structure composed of mud and moss, held together by the bird's sticky saliva on damp cliff faces.

Habitat

Tropical and subtropical moist lowland forests, specifically concentrated around large waterfalls and rocky river canyons.

Range

South America, primarily across central and eastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and northeast Argentina.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Black SwiftCypseloides niger Rothschild's SwiftCypseloides rothschildi Rothschild's SwiftCypseloides rothschildi Spot-fronted SwiftCypseloides cherriei White-chested SwiftCypseloides lemosi White-chinned SwiftCypseloides cryptus White-fronted SwiftCypseloides storeri White-fronted SwiftCypseloides storeri

Heard a Great Dusky Swift?

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Identify a bird by its song