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

Plumbeous Vireo

Vireo plumbeus

The Plumbeous Vireo is a stocky, lead-gray songbird of the interior Western United States, distinguished by its crisp white spectacles and sluggish movements.

What it sounds like

A series of short, burry phrases with a raspy quality, alternating between rising and falling inflections.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

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Rec. Matt Wistrand · United StatesCC BY-NC-SA Xeno-canto

Field notes

It was formerly considered a single species called the 'Solitary Vireo' along with the Blue-headed and Cassin's Vireos.
The species name 'plumbeus' is derived from the Latin word for lead, describing its uniform gray upperparts.
Males are known to sing frequently while sitting on the nest during incubation, a behavior uncommon in many songbirds.
It builds a pensile, cup-shaped nest suspended from a horizontal fork, often decorated with cocoons and spider silk.
During the breeding season, it is almost exclusively insectivorous, methodically gleaning caterpillars and beetles from foliage.

Habitat

Open pine forests, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and montane oak-scrub.

Range

Interior Western North America, from the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin south to Mexico and Central America.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Bell's VireoVireo bellii Black-capped VireoVireo atricapilla Black-whiskered VireoVireo altiloquus Blue Mountain VireoVireo osburni Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius Brown-capped VireoVireo leucophrys Cassin's VireoVireo cassinii Chivi VireoVireo chivi

Heard a Plumbeous Vireo?

Open Birdsong, tap record, and identify the bird singing near you in seconds — then collect it in your field journal.

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