It’s happened to all of us, you’re enjoying the morning chorus when you hear something unfamiliar. Putting a name to a new bird sound can be challenging, but now more than ever, perusing the sound sets offered by Merlin Bird ID can help you solve the mystery!
With the songs and calls featured in Merlin, our goal is to highlight the commonly heard sounds as well as regional dialects, giving you a useful reference whenever and wherever you are birding. The audio featured in Merlin for birds in the United States and Canada has been updated to meet this standard, with a greater representation of less frequently heard vocalizations and regional dialects. The US and Canada: Continental pack now includes 35% more audio content for 359 species, all available for free by downloading new packs or updating packs you already have. Additionally, Merlin’s taxonomy has been updated in each pack to reflect the most recent splits and rearrangements.
The Northern Flicker is a great example of a widespread species that now has its complete vocal repertoire represented in Merlin. You may be familiar with the “song” of the flicker, but have you ever heard the soft, warbling call a flicker makes as it takes flight? This softer call is now included in Merlin Bird ID.
If space is at a premium on your mobile device, the smaller regional packs also include all the updates, and take up considerably less storage on your device.
In addition to accessing all this new audio through Merlin Bird ID, the Cornell Lab’s online resources such as the new eBird Explore Species pages and our All About Birds site allow you to explore this audio online, plus loads of other information.
Merlin isn’t just for birds in the United States and Canada, Merlin packs are available for 22 other countries as well! Download ID help for North and Central America, several regions of Colombia, Southeastern Brazil, Western Europe, and the Iberian Peninsula (including the Azores and Canary Islands).