The good, the bad and the middling - ID apps
Smart phones can do a lot, but can they reliably identify wildlife?
Thanks to advances in technology, they can now go beyond simply taking a photo of a mystery creature to providing an opinion on what it might be.
Various apps offer to identify wildlife by using an image or listening to a sound to tell you what you’re seeing or hearing in the moment. It’s a great way of making nature more visible, audible, and understandable - especially for beginners - and we’re always keen for more people to connect with nature.
But do ID apps always get it right? They are a form of Artificial Intelligence (AI), so they are not perfect and do have their limitations.
Our Senior Ecologist, Alex Worsley, says, ‘I think they are great engagement tools and enable people to start looking at groups they might not otherwise, but they just need to be used with a hint of caution!
'ID apps may only be confident identifying the more obvious or common things that lots of people take pictures of, like butterflies. Some will give a percentage accuracy for the ID they provide but this can give a false sense of security. I’ve tested a few and found a response of ‘100% confidence’ when I know the answer is wrong.
‘It’s also worth bearing in mind that not all species can be identified by a photo alone. Some need to be examined under a microscope to know exactly what you’re looking at, yet some apps will still attempt to ID these from a photo. It's great if people who are becoming interested, also think about using books, going out with experts and actually engaging with the species.’
What do others think? We've collated some staff feedback on a couple of popular apps.
Merlin
Merlin is a bird ID app (merlin.allaboutbirds.org) developed by Cornell University in the USA. It can identify birds ‘in the field’ by using your mobile’s microphone to record their song.
Communications Officer, Emma Chaplin, tells us ‘Merlin works all over the world, but you start by downloading the correct birdsong pack for your region. The UK pack has been developed in partnership with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), which gives it further credibility.
‘When you select Sound ID, your phone starts ‘listening’ to the sounds around you and you get a 'best match' list of the birds it thinks it can hear, each with a little photo (see above). It usefully highlights the name of the bird in yellow when that species is singing most loudly. It's quite thrilling when it keeps finding birds you hadn't realised were near you (like the Blackcap, for a few people I've spoken to), and it helps with birds that are easier to hear than see - and how surprisingly loud some can be, like the Wren. It can unravel a cacophony of birdsong to allow you to realise which are separate bird songs, if you'd been struggling to do that before. But it doesn’t always cope well with wind or background noise and works better in quiet areas, such as woodland or churchyards.’
WildCall Officer, Andy Fry, says: 'Merlin is great for recognising and learning particularly characteristic bird songs like Wren, Robin, Nightingale, and Skylark, but can get confused with birds that have more generic/similar songs. A pair I have noticed that it confuses sometimes is Blackcaps and Garden Warblers, which have similar songs.'
ObsIdentify
This is an image recognition app, developed by a non-profit foundation based in The Netherlands. You take or upload a photo, press ‘identify’ and it tells you what it thinks it is, along with a percentage accuracy rating. It successfully identified this image as Greater Knapweed. Obsidentify also has Badges to collect and Challenges to complete, encouraging you to explore and find more wildlife: observation.org/apps/obsidentify
Senior Ecologist, Alex Worsley, thinks ObsIdentify works particularly well with invertebrates. He says, ‘It will often only go to a broad category if it's really not sure on something, which is good as it doesn't give false identification to species. However, it can falsely identify species and is sometimes inconsistent with plants.’
BirdNET
How can computers learn to recognise birds from sounds? BirdNET is a research platform that aims to find out. Developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, it’s an ‘artificial neural network’ that can already recognise 3,000 of the world’s most common bird species. You can record an audio file using your phone and see if BirdNET correctly identifies the bird(s) you’re hearing.
So, are ID apps any good?
We think they’re a fantastic gateway for anyone who wants to start discovering the nature on their doorstep, whether you keep it casual and just want to know which bird is singing outside your window every morning, or you get hooked and want to keep learning more. If you do, there are lots of other resources that can help you gain enough knowledge to know whether the apps are getting it right, and to start logging the wildlife you see (we’ll talk more about that in a future blog).
We’d recommend considering double checking what an ID app tells you by comparing photos online, checking an ID book or contacting experts.
There’s a list of local groups in Sussex here: sxbrc.org.uk/recording/localGroups.php and we’re always happy to help you identify what you’ve seen – feel free to contact our WildCall service on 01273 494777 (weekday mornings) or [email protected]
Have you tried any of the apps featured here? Do you have one you’d recommend? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Updated: Read feedback on using Wildlife ID apps in the field
Comments
Love the Merlin app. I had seen Blackcaps on my feeder, but not recognised their song before. The app makes the occasional howler, but they are easily identified.
15 Aug 2023 11:30:00
I’ve been using PictureThis for botany and Merlin, in conjunction with the Collins Bird Guide for birds. Altogether very useful when in the field but, as you say, use and check to confirm ID!
15 Aug 2023 12:00:00
I use ObsIdentify daily to confirm my identifications and to point me in the right direction. Generally good for butterflies and moths but not infallible
Merlin is great for people trying to learn some birdsongs but even complete amateurs like me can tell it’s sometimes way out
I would say both applications are useful but I still have a stack of books and use online enthusiasts to help me a lot.
15 Aug 2023 14:34:00
I have used Merlin a lot this year. I have been thrilled to hear do many birds in my environment, and now I am getting to recognise the birdsong which Merlin has taught me . There have been a few silly id by the app , and there are some id s which are just between logical and illogical which are baffling. I think it’s best to re.cord these on irecord as UNCERTAIN, rather than dismiss the record because it might not be genuine. If records like this are made, it could be that time will tell if its a genuine record or not.
21 Aug 2023 20:48:00
Chirpomactic is a great app for bird ID, like all others it does give some incorrect results but combined with the experience of an ecologist field books etc, it is handy tool, as a reminder and samples are recorded and easy to share. Google lens is also a bit hit and miss but also handy as an aid for plants and invertebrates when used in combination with field guides and experience.
26 Aug 2023 06:58:00
A while back whilst on Ashdown Forest a lady I chatted to was using BirdNET and recommended it. I downloaded it and have found it very helpful. As you mentioned it alerted me to blackcaps in the garden, which I now see and hear all year when I previously thought they were just winter visitors to my garden
27 Aug 2023 07:27:00
Merlin insisted a shearwater, calling from its burrow in Menorca, was a yellow legged gull. A more forgivable error was the marmot, identified as Wigeon, in Swiss Alps. Generally a useful guide, taken with a pinch of salt.
01 Sep 2023 10:33:00
I use birdnet, I find as a fairly good visual birder, it will help me with hidden birds, it will suggest Nd I can then decide on the habitat if it might be right or try again or wait till I’m home and compare it via other means
01 Sep 2023 10:49:00
I find PictureThis pretty reliable for plants but I think it’s always worth double-checking results.
01 Sep 2023 10:52:00
I have been using MERLIN for a few months and it is suprb !! Have discovered birds near to me
I would not have expected !
01 Sep 2023 10:58:00
I find that PlantNET is very useful – an image is sent to a central server and suggestions ranked by probability are returned. It rarely comes back with incorrect suggestions if the image is of reasonable quality.
01 Sep 2023 11:03:00
I use Picture Insect and PictureThis (for flowers and plants and trees). Both free. While I would not say they were 100% accurate, used critically, they are very good.
01 Sep 2023 11:21:00
I am looking for a pictorial book, as mine is now dated by Keeble Martin but still my first call. Any recommendations?
01 Sep 2023 11:59:00
I use BirdNET for sound, very useful. Seek is a good one for plants/flowers/animals/insects, it’s pretty accurate and you can post to iNaturalist via the app where others can view your image and identify. I also use Big Butterfly Count and Birda for bird tracking. And a good old fashioned notebook where I log what I see with date, time, location and list of what I saw. I then mark these off in the RSPB Complete Birds of Britain and Europe.
01 Sep 2023 12:23:00
I use PictureThis for plants, Picture Insect for insects and Chirpomatic for birds. None are 100% reliable but they are a huge help.
01 Sep 2023 13:34:00
I use Merlin mostly, but it comes up with some surprising results sometimes 😀. Collins Bird guide app is pretty useful too.
01 Sep 2023 13:38:00
An up-to date iPhone can identify wildflowers and bugs simply by your
- taking a photograph
- go to the image
- press the ‘i’ icon underneath the image, when you are in a wifi area
I’ve no idea of the accuracy of the ‘bugs’ but the plant is very good. It compares images already within Wikipedia. I’m not an expert but I’ve discussed with friends and between us we are fairly sure that the ID is accurate for most of the subjects. For example It correctly identified hemlock water dropwort and a similar but different umbel in the same general area on the same day.
01 Sep 2023 16:24:00
I use ObsIdentify – it has correctly identified Wood White and Childing Pink
01 Sep 2023 17:21:00
Recommended by our naturalist when we were in Costa Rica earlier this year. We have found it so useful to identify birds when out with our dogs in the South Downs. I just wish they were easier to see as well!
Also recommend Picture This for plant, trees and fungi – a great app and worth paying a little each year for it.
01 Sep 2023 19:47:00
I use PlantNet and Flora Incognita for plants, Mushroom Identificator for Fungi and iNaturalist for everything. imho PlantNet and Flora Incognita are accurate, Mushroom Identificator inaccurate and iNaturalist somewhere in-between. But iNaturalist is brilliant for user engagement, post a wrong id and your chance of getting some helpful reviewer to put you right is excellent. Note that all sightings recorded on iNaturalist (a) are public and (b) include GPS location by default, so don’t use it if you think your enemies are hot on your tail.
01 Sep 2023 20:52:00
I’m getting a little deaf now, and have never been great at identifying birdsong,
Have had Merlin on for a few months now and really like it.
From sound alone I find it sometimes can’t distinguish swallows from house martins or can’t make it’s mind up which species of tree creeper we have here or whether we have both.
But generally it’s great and points one in the right direction and gives a fair idea of what’s arround. I really like this aid.
02 Sep 2023 13:23:00
I’m getting a little deaf now, and have never been great at identifying birdsong,
Have had Merlin on for a few months now and really like it.
From sound alone I find it sometimes can’t distinguish swallows from house martins or can’t make it’s mind up which species of tree creeper we have here or whether we have both.
But generally it’s great and points one in the right direction and gives a fair idea of what’s arround. I really like this aid.
02 Sep 2023 17:27:00
Plantlife rates Flora Incognita as their no. 1 wildflower ID app. I’ve used it and can recommend its ease of use and accuracy.
11 Oct 2023 13:57:00
I ‘m OK with visual recognition but poor with the sounds of our birds, is there a stand alone device similar to bat detectors ?
14 Oct 2023 15:49:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Bat detectors work by converting the ultrasonic sounds that bats make to audible sound, and don’t actually identify the bats themselves. Any bat detectors that identify a bat will be utilising artificial intelligence, similar to how the apps in this article identify species, and often work in conjunction with an application themselves. There aren’t any reliable devices for bird song that are not tied to a smartphone. Merlin and other apps are the closest thing to that, but as described in the article, nothing is infallible! Andy Fry, WildCall Officer
It would be good if Merlin used UK common names for birds when using the app. in the UK.
I have found that the Common Whitethroat is identified as the Greater Whitethroat. Perhaps others have found further examples of American common names being used?
Cornell Univerrsity link: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/grewhi1/cur/introduction
Overall I am impressed by the Merlin app..
26 Jun 2025 07:51:00