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

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler

Helopsaltes certhiola

A secretive, heavily streaked Old World warbler distinguished by its rufous rump and prominent pale tips on the underside of its graduated tail. It is a long-distance migrant that inhabits dense, damp vegetation across the East Palearctic and Southeast Asia.

What it sounds like

A complex, melodic song of warbling notes and short trills; the common alarm call is a sharp, rhythmic 'chak-chak-chak'.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

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Rec. Peter Boesman · ChinaCC BY-NC-ND Xeno-canto

Field notes

Possesses distinct white or pale-grey tips on the outer tail feathers, which are most visible from below during brief flights.
Unlike the monotonous, insect-like 'reeling' songs of many related species, its song is remarkably musical and varied, reminiscent of a Reed Warbler.
Highly elusive and 'skulking' in behavior, it prefers to run through thick grass like a mouse rather than take flight when approached.
The species is divided into several subspecies, such as 'rubescens' and 'centralasiae', which vary significantly in the richness of their brown and rufous tones.
It performs an extensive migration, with some populations traveling from the Siberian taiga all the way to the Indonesian archipelago.

Habitat

Wet grasslands, marshes, reed beds, and tall herbaceous scrub near water.

Range

Breeds across Central and Eastern Asia, including Siberia, Mongolia, and China; winters in South and Southeast Asia.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Gray's Grasshopper WarblerHelopsaltes fasciolatus Marsh GrassbirdHelopsaltes pryeri Middendorff's Grasshopper WarblerHelopsaltes ochotensis Pleske's Grasshopper WarblerHelopsaltes pleskei Pleske's Grasshopper WarblerHelopsaltes pleskei Sakhalin Grasshopper WarblerHelopsaltes amnicola Sakhalin Grasshopper WarblerHelopsaltes amnicola

Heard a Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler?

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Identify a bird by its song