In recent years, bird watching has become a popular outdoor activity in the UK. With the advancement of technology, bird enthusiasts are now able to use smartphone applications to aid in identifying different types of birds. The vast array of available bird watching apps can make it challenging for individuals to determine which one is the best fit for their needs.
When searching for the best android bird app in the UK, it is important to consider several factors, such as the app’s accuracy in bird identification, user-friendliness, and the availability of additional features. These features may include bird call recordings, migration patterns, and regional birding hotspots.
Effective bird watching apps should also provide real-time updates and notifications on bird sightings in the area. This feature is particularly useful for users who are interested in observing rare or unique species. Furthermore, the app’s database should be regularly updated with new bird species and additional information to enhance the user experience.
We have compiled a list of 7 Best Android Bird App Uk for your consideration, which have undergone rigorous testing and evaluation by our team of experts.
Table of Contents
7 Best Android Bird App Uk
1. eBird by Cornell Lab
eBird Mobile is a free mobile application designed to enable bird watchers to record their observations in the field and link them with eBird, a global online database of bird records. This database is accessible to hundreds of thousands of birders worldwide and is used for scientific research, education, and conservation. eBird Mobile is the only app that passes data directly from an Android device to a user’s eBird account on the web.
The application offers several useful features, including the ability to track bird sightings from anywhere in the world and view Life, Year, and Month lists for any region or nearby location. It also provides users with a full global taxonomy based on The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World and offers common names in 41 languages, including regional versions. The checklists are customized based on a user’s location and time of year, showing the most likely species based on eBird data.
eBird Mobile provides real-time feedback on whether a sighting is rare in the area and quick entry tools to make note-taking faster than ever before. The app also supports GPS-enabled location plotting and tracking options and provides map tools that show hundreds of thousands of eBird Hotspots. Additionally, the app offers full offline functionality, enabling use in places with limited or no Internet connection.
2. iBird Pro Birds North America
iBird is a birding app that stands out from its competitors due to its luxury features. It offers both illustrations and photographs for every species, which differentiate it from other birding apps. This app contains a detailed field marks layer that can highlight the important identification characteristics of the bird. Additionally, the illustrations in iBird are high-resolution composite HDR drawings of the species in their natural environment. iBird also contains more bird song and call vocalizations than any other app, and its comprehensive birding search engine has over 35 characteristics that can be searched. Moreover, iBird Pro has brought the species names and family categorizations into compliance with the 2018 American Ornithological Union standard.
The Birds Around Me feature in iBird Pro lets you narrow species to just those in a radius surrounding your GPS location. The app uses Google Play, and once you have installed the app and database to your device’s internal memory, you can move the database to your SD Card using the Move Database feature found on the More menu. iBird’s database contains all content, so no WiFi or cellular access is required to use it in the field. The app also offers a Cloud Sync backup of Favorites and Notes. Users can keep up with the latest news and other iBird users by joining the iBird fan page on Facebook.
With over 1 million downloads, iBird is one of the most popular apps for teaching ornithology. It is suitable for both experienced birders and novices alike.
3. iBird United Kingdom Pro
iBird UK & Ireland Pro is an Android field guide app that offers a comprehensive birding experience. With a database of over 310 species designated by the British Trust for Ornithology and a patented “Percevia™” matching system, users can identify birds by a variety of attributes including colour, location, shape, habitat, and bird song. The app features over 1,300 professional high resolution photographs, 900 built-in bird songs, over 300 hand-drawn composite illustrations and range maps, making it a valuable tool for both experienced and novice birders.
One of the most important updates to iBird is the “on-demand” feature that instantly downloads images and sounds over WiFi or cellular networks, taking up only a fraction of the space on the device. The entire database can also be downloaded for offline use in the field. iBird’s species pages offer both illustrations and photographs, which are zoomable by 400%, and include field mark layers for identifying male, female, juvenile, and subspecies birds.
The app has a variety of search options, including common name, Latin name, bird song, and many more. Other features include a conservation status search attribute and the ability to play bird songs to attract birds for easier identification. The app also offers news and community engagement through its Facebook fan page. With over 1 million downloads, iBird is a highly regarded birding app that sets the standard for others in the field.
4. Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab
Merlin Bird ID is a free mobile application that helps users identify birds through a personalized approach. Based on the user’s location or selected regions, the app provides a digital field guide with more than 80,000 photos and sounds, maps, and identification tips. It is the most comprehensive and global bird app available, utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) for both sound and photo identification.
The app offers four methods to identify birds: guided bird ID assistance, photo ID, sound ID, and explore birds. The guided bird ID assistance asks a few questions and provides a list of birds that match the description. The photo ID feature allows users to upload a bird photo for identification. The sound ID feature records the bird’s sound and provides real-time results on the most likely species. The explore birds feature displays all the birds most likely to be around the user on a particular day.
Merlin is suitable for anyone interested in bird watching or nature, and it provides intelligent results based on AI technology. The app offers expert identification tips, range maps, photos, and sounds to aid in bird identification. Users can also build a life list of identified birds. The app is completely free and offers bird packs for various regions worldwide.
Merlin Photo ID, powered by Visipedia, uses computer vision and deep learning technology to identify birds in photos. Merlin learns to recognize bird species based on training sets of millions of photos and sounds from eBird.org.
5. Collins Bird Guide
The Collins Bird Guide App is a comprehensive field guide for birders and birdwatchers alike. It features world-class illustrations and information on over 700 European bird species. The app is based on the standard European field guide written by Lars Svensson, Killian Mullarney, and Dan Zetterström. It provides users with illustrations, maps, calls, and concise text to help identify and learn about bird species quickly. The app also includes a powerful search filter, curated confusion lists, and a listing tool to record sightings. Moreover, it is available in English, Swedish, Norwegian, French, and German. Finally, the app incorporates British Trust for Ornithology/BirdWatch Ireland/Scottish Ornithologists’ Club Bird Atlas 2007–11 mapping data as an in-app purchase, providing the most comprehensive location mapping of any bird guide app.
6. Bird Id – British Birds
The Bird Id app is a useful tool for identifying birds of the British Isles. It includes all the birds from the RSPB annual survey, such as garden birds, woodland birds, birds of heath and moorland, summer and winter visitors, waders and sea birds. The app contains high-quality images, songs, and calls and does not require an internet connection. Bird Id is ideal for bird enthusiasts and can be enjoyed by the whole family. The app also enables users to create their own bird sighting diary by adding sightings to the app’s map.
Bird Id is a reliable and easy to use bird identifier app created by professional published ecologists. The app is available for purchase and does not require an internet connection, as all information is downloaded with the app. Bird Id is the original and best bird identifier app and has been recommended by BBC Countryfile and ITV’s Seth Conway. It uses the KUSAM species identification methodology, a modern taxonomic keying system designed for mobile devices and ideal for bird identification while birdwatching.
The app is also useful for the RSPB annual survey, Bird Garden Birdwatch, as it helps identify the birds seen during the survey. The British Isles, which include the UK (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) and Eire, are the focus of the app. The app requires permissions for the Google Map component and to check the license on the Google Play store. The internet is only needed if the app’s sightings map is used.
7. Birds Of Britain
The Great Britain Bird List app is a user-friendly tool that provides a comprehensive list of all the birds that can be seen in Great Britain, including details on their habitat, size, and colors. The app also features a search option that allows users to search for birds by name or part of name and provides basic bird details. Users also have the option to view full bird details online. In addition, the app includes a browse option that enables users to browse all birds or select birds by family, with an option to exclude rarities.
The Browse Location option allows users to browse the birds that are likely to be found in their area at the moment. Furthermore, the app has a Browse Filters function that enables users to choose filters based on combinations of size, color, and habitat. The app also provides users with the option to select between metric or imperial size.
The feature graphic images of the Greenfinch, Guillemot, and Honey Buzzard birds are included in the app, with the photo credit given to Andreas Trepte and John Gould. It is important to note that this app, which was first published in 2012, is not related in any way to the paid app Birds Of Britain that was previously available on Google Play.