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

Greater Sage-Grouse

Centrocercus urophasianus

The Greater Sage-Grouse is the largest grouse in North America, renowned for the complex strutting displays and vocalizations males perform at communal lek sites.

What it sounds like

A series of liquid 'plopping' or 'popping' notes produced by air sacs, accompanied by soft wing swishes and a concluding whistle.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

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Rec. Nick Komar · United StatesCC BY-NC-SA Xeno-canto

Field notes

Males feature two specialized yellow neck sacs that inflate to produce loud, resonant popping sounds during courtship.
They are sagebrush obligates, relying on the plant for up to 100% of their winter diet and essential nesting cover.
Unlike most gallinaceous birds, they lack a muscular gizzard and cannot grind seeds, instead digesting soft sagebrush leaves and insects.
Lek sites are often traditional, with generations of birds returning to the same specific geographic locations for decades or even centuries.
The species serves as an indicator for the health of the sagebrush steppe ecosystem, which is currently threatened by habitat fragmentation.

Habitat

Expansive sagebrush steppe and shrub-lands with a diverse understory of native grasses and forbs.

Range

Western United States and small portions of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Gunnison Sage-GrouseCentrocercus minimus

Heard a Greater Sage-Grouse?

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Identify a bird by its song