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

Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Ardenna pacifica

A slender-winged pelagic seabird characterized by its long, wedge-shaped tail and graceful, low-gliding flight over tropical waters.

What it sounds like

A rhythmic, mournful wailing or 'ooo-err' sound that rises and falls in pitch.

Reference call, compare with what you heard

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Rec. Dries Van de Loock · SeychellesCC BY-NC-ND Xeno-canto

Field notes

It exists in two distinct plumage color morphs: a uniform dark brown phase and a pale phase with white underparts.
Commonly known as the 'moaning bird' due to the eerie, ghost-like wailing sounds it produces from its nesting burrows.
Unlike many other shearwaters, it is a highly colonial nester that digs burrows up to two meters long in soft sand or soil.
They are long-lived birds that typically mate for life, returning to the same burrow and partner every breeding season.
Forages by 'contact dipping' and shallow diving, frequently following schools of tuna to catch prey driven to the surface.

Habitat

Open oceans and offshore islands with soft soil or volcanic tuff for burrowing.

Range

Tropical and subtropical regions of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Similar & commonly confused birds

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

Heard a Wedge-tailed Shearwater?

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