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?

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Birdsong field guide

Morelet's Seedeater

Sporophila morelleti

A small, vocal passerine of the tanager family, the Morelet's Seedeater is distinguished by the male's bold black-and-white plumage and its sweet, canary-like song.

What it sounds like

A sweet, melodic series of clear whistles and trills, often beginning with hesitant notes and ending in a buzzy 'zweee'.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

0:00 / 0:37

Rec. Bobby Wilcox · MexicoCC BY-NC-SA Xeno-canto

Field notes

Formerly grouped with the Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater under the name 'White-collared Seedeater' before being taxonomically split.
The species is named in honor of Pierre Marie Arthur Morelet, a French naturalist who traveled through Central America in the 1840s.
First-year males exhibit delayed plumage maturation, often appearing nearly identical to the buff-brown females while still being capable of breeding.
They possess a specialized, stubby conical bill designed for efficiently stripping seeds directly from grass panicles.
Unlike many forest-dwelling relatives, this species thrives in human-altered environments, such as overgrown roadside ditches and agricultural margins.

Habitat

Weedy fields, tall grasslands, scrubby thickets, and agricultural edges.

Range

From the Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas through Mexico and Central America to western Panama.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Black-and-tawny SeedeaterSporophila nigrorufa Black-and-white SeedeaterSporophila luctuosa Black-bellied SeedeaterSporophila melanogaster Black-billed Seed-FinchSporophila atrirostris Buffy-fronted SeedeaterSporophila frontalis Chestnut SeedeaterSporophila cinnamomea Chestnut-bellied Seed-FinchSporophila angolensis Chestnut-bellied SeedeaterSporophila castaneiventris

Heard a Morelet's Seedeater?

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Identify a bird by its song