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

Light-mantled Albatross

Phoebetria palpebrata

The Light-mantled Albatross is a medium-sized pelagic bird renowned for its ethereal beauty and exceptionally graceful, aerodynamic flight. It is distinguished by its ashy-grey mantle which contrasts sharply with its darker chocolate-brown head and wings.

What it sounds like

A loud, haunting, trumpet-like 'pee-uu' bray, often delivered while sky-pointing, supplemented by bill-clattering.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

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Rec. Hichem MACHOUK · FranceCC BY-NC-SA Xeno-canto

Field notes

It possesses a striking white crescent of feathers behind the eye and a thin, vivid blue line along the lower mandible known as a sulcus.
Renowned for its aerial displays, it often performs perfectly synchronized tandem flights with its mate along steep cliff faces.
Unlike most other albatross species, it prefers to nest on precarious, solitary ledges on steep cliffs rather than in flat colonies.
It has a circumpolar range and is known to forage further south than any other albatross, often reaching the Antarctic pack ice.
Its diet is specialized toward cephalopods, particularly bioluminescent squid, which it catches by surface-seizing or shallow plunges.

Habitat

Pelagic open ocean and steep, rugged coastal cliffs for nesting.

Range

Circumpolar distribution throughout the Southern Ocean, ranging from the Antarctic fringe to the subtropics.

Heard a Light-mantled Albatross?

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