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

Short-tailed Shearwater

Ardenna tenuirostris

A medium-sized, soot-colored seabird famous for its remarkable trans-equatorial migration across the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most numerous petrel species, often congregating in massive, dense flocks during transit.

What it sounds like

A rhythmic, throaty 'kok-kok-kok-ow' or 'wog-a-wog' chorus, typically heard as a loud, chaotic cacophony at breeding colonies at night.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

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

Field notes

It performs an annual 30,000-kilometer figure-eight migration from southern Australia to the Arctic and back.
Known as the 'Muttonbird,' this species has been a culturally and economically significant food source for Indigenous Australians for millennia.
Chicks are abandoned by their parents at the end of the breeding season and must navigate their first migration to the Northern Hemisphere entirely alone.
While primarily surface feeders, they are capable of diving to depths of up to 70 meters to pursue krill and small fish.
The species is long-lived, with some individuals reaching over 30 years of age and returning to the same burrow annually.

Habitat

Pelagic waters and offshore islands with soft, sandy or peaty soil suitable for burrowing.

Range

Breeds in Southeast Australia and Tasmania; migrates through the Central Pacific to the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Buller's ShearwaterArdenna bulleri Flesh-footed ShearwaterArdenna carneipes Great ShearwaterArdenna gravis Pink-footed ShearwaterArdenna creatopus Sooty ShearwaterArdenna grisea Wedge-tailed ShearwaterArdenna pacifica

Heard a Short-tailed Shearwater?

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