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

Spectacled Eider

Somateria fischeri

The Spectacled Eider is a large, distinctive Arctic sea duck known for the unique circular 'spectacles' surrounding its eyes. It is a hardy species that spends much of its life in the harsh environment of the Bering Sea ice.

What it sounds like

Relatively silent; males produce soft, low-pitched cooing or croaking during courtship, while females utter guttural 'gog-gog-gog' quacks.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

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Rec. Frank Lambert · United StatesCC BY-NC-ND Xeno-canto

Field notes

Adult males feature a striking lime-green head with large, velvet-white patches around the eyes rimmed in black.
The entire global population winters in concentrated flocks within polynyas—small openings in the pack ice—in the Bering Sea.
They are specialized benthic divers, capable of reaching depths of up to 60 meters to forage for mollusks and crustaceans.
The species suffered a catastrophic 96% population decline in its Alaskan breeding range between 1970 and 1992, leading to its listing as threatened.
Females provide extreme insulation for their eggs by lining nests with thick down plucked from their own breasts.

Habitat

Nests on coastal tundra near ponds; winters exclusively in open leads or polynyas within marine pack ice.

Range

Breeds along the coasts of northern and western Alaska and northeastern Siberia; winters in the Bering Sea.

Similar & commonly confused birds

Common EiderSomateria mollissima King EiderSomateria spectabilis

Heard a Spectacled Eider?

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