Song Sleuth lets you turn your phone or tablet into an automatic bird identifier. By taking into account your location and the season, Song Sleuth can identify over 200 of the most common land bird species in the U.S. You simply record any bird song that you hear and allow the app to suggest the most likely bird matches. Although this app is valuable for beginners, intermediate birders may also find it useful if they need a hint to identify a particularly tricky bird or to study the library of pre-recorded bird calls. Included with Song Sleuth is renowned bird expert David Sibley’s reference guide. This guide includes illustrations, song clips, descriptions, and a zoomable range map for hundreds of birds.

Website: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id968399159

What Users Love About the App

“Very impressed, I used the app under less than ideal conditions. It was raining with thunder and wind and my neighbor was moving his trash cans around but the app picked out the high pitched and faint bird call and identified it correctly!”

“This app saved my sleep! I have a Northern Mockingbird who sings all night. I played a recording of a barred owl and the Mockingbird left! After weeks of incessant singing all night, it is quiet! I can sleep! THANK YOU!”

“I have heard an odd birdcall for years that I could not identify. This app immediately let me record it, isolate it, and after about the fifth try, identify it. I am very impressed! The odd sound was coming from one of our woodpeckers, which must have a nest near where I have heard this previously mysterious sound.”

“Well executed! I wish most apps were as well designed and executed as this. So good. The sound files are also surprisingly good! Real birds seem to respond to them and I kid you not, I played the Red Tailed hawk screech for some chickens at my buddy’s farm, and they ran for the barn!”

“The design of this app is fantastic. It’s exactly what an app should be from top to bottom regardless of what the app is for. Well designed, easy to use and just designed flawlessly. Great work to the designers and programmers!”

What Users Dislike About the App

“Unable to correctly identify clear, common bird calls and frequently crashes when trying to ID. If it worked it would be great, well designed and user friendly but unfortunately it doesn’t serve its intended purpose at all so I can’t recommend.”

“When you make a recording it’s saved on a list, and when you ID a bird, you can check it off. My first time using the app (there was no sign-in or account creation) and those screens seems to be populated with someone else’s data. The worst part is that it doesn’t work- AT ALL.”

“It has been a consistent disappointment. Not once in over 200 recordings has the “possible match” produced a call even close to what I recorded. So I have no idea if the bird I recorded is one of the three the app matched it with. Additionally, many times one of the three “possible match” birds will be a hawk, which sounds nothing like what I have recorded.”

“Takes too long to load. If you lock your screen, the app shuts down as well. Then you have to go thru the whole start-up initialization process again – while your bird is flying away from you. Results are often way off base.”

“Worked for 6 months. Now just continues to say “initializing.” Wrote to company and got no response. Uninstalled and reinstalled. Still says initializing. Cannot get menu to contact whatever/whoever is listed there. Very disappointed.”