Best Birding Apps for Beginners and Beyond
What to Use and Why
In today’s birding world, your phone has become nearly as essential as your binoculars. Apps can help you identify birds, record sightings, learn songs, and even contribute to conservation science. With so many tools available, it can be hard to know which ones to download first or which features actually matter when you’re outside watching birds. Below is a candid look at seven popular birding apps—Merlin, eBird, Audubon Bird Guide, Sibley Birds, The Warbler Guide app, iNaturalist, and Chirp!—so you can decide which ones truly fit your birding style.
Even in our hyper-digital world, a paper field guide still earns a place in every birder’s pack. When you have no idea what you’re looking at, flipping through pages—rather than toggling through menus—lets you visually scan entire bird families at once. This is especially valuable for tricky groups like shorebirds, where seeing all the silhouettes, bills, and plumage variations laid out together often leads to an identification breakthrough that no app quite replicates. A physical guide also shines during quiet study sessions, when you want to linger over illustrations, read detailed notes, and immerse yourself in plumage differences without screen glare or battery drain. The trade-off, of course, is weight and bulk in the field—but many birders still consider a good field guide a trusted companion worth carrying.
Apps and field guides are only tools and I caution you to not rely on them as your sole source of identification. YOU should be working to become your first source of identification. Picture yourself at Magee Marsh on Lake Erie in mid-May. There are scores of migrants flying all around you. If you’ve relied too much on apps instead learning the birds by sight (at least most of them) you’ll be missing every other bird while you’re toggling through your app to identify the one you saw 3 minutes ago. You’ll learn to identify the birds you expect to see by old-fashioned memorization so the ones you look up in an app or field guide will only be the rare or unexpected birds.
Merlin Bird ID – The Magic Wand for Beginners
Merlin Bird ID, created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is the single easiest identification tool for new birders. You can identify a bird through four approaches: a simple Q&A (“What size was the bird? What colors did you see?”), uploading a photo, recording a sound, or browsing birds likely to appear in your location.
Pros
Extremely beginner-friendly with intuitive design
Photo and Sound ID features are outstanding for users who don’t yet know where to start
Free bird packs let you focus only on birds in your region
Offline capability is strong once downloaded
Cons
Sound ID coverage isn’t yet complete worldwide
Suggestions should be treated as hypotheses, not certainties
Not a full field guide—better as an ID helper than a study tool
Best For: Beginners, travelers, and anyone who wants fast, reliable ID support.
eBird – The Birder’s Global Logbook
If Merlin is your ID assistant, eBird is your birding “record keeper.” This app lets you submit checklists from anywhere in the world, contributing directly to scientific research and conservation planning. It’s also an incredible resource for exploring hotspots, tracking migration, and managing personal life lists.
Pros
Supports global bird conservation through citizen science
Excellent for maintaining detailed life lists and trip lists
Hotspot map helps you find new birding locations
Lets you compare seasonal abundance and trends
Cons
Less intuitive for absolute beginners
Not designed for identification—assumes you already know what you’re seeing
Data-entry focused, which some may find tedious
Best For: Intermediate and advanced birders, citizen scientists, and anyone who loves lists and maps.
Audubon Bird Guide – A Free, Photo-Rich North American Field Guide
The Audubon Bird Guide is a free digital field guide covering 800+ North American species. With multiple photos per species, ID tips, range maps, and the ability to keep personal sightings, this app is a practical mainstay for many birders.
Pros
Completely free
Photo-rich, simple to navigate, and approachable for all skill levels
Ideal as an alternative to purchasing a field guide
Quick access to ID notes and “similar species”
Cons
Not as advanced as Sibley in terms of detail
Some users report occasional performance issues
Strictly North American—less useful internationally
Best For: North American beginners wanting a free, reliable field guide.
Sibley Birds – A Professional-Grade Digital Field Guide
If you want the prestige and detail of the Sibley Guide without carrying a bulky book, the Sibley Birds app is a dream come true. It includes all illustrations, maps, plumage variations, and detailed species accounts from the iconic guidebook.
Pros
Detailed illustrations across age, sex, and seasonal plumages
Exceptional sound library including calls and songs
Compare-species feature lets you place two birds side by side
Perfect for deep study and refining identification skills
Cons
Paid app (typically around $20)
Information-rich layout may overwhelm newcomers
Works best paired with Merlin or eBird rather than replacing them
Best For: Intermediate and advanced birders, or dedicated beginners committed to skill development.
The Warbler Guide App – The Ultimate Migration Companion
Warblers are famously challenging, and this app—based on The Warbler Guide—focuses solely on this colorful and confusing group. The payoff is incredible.
Pros
3D, rotatable models in all plumages
Advanced sound library with slow-down features and annotated sonograms
Song and visual “finder” tools make narrowing down species intuitive
Great for preparing for spring and fall migration seasons
Cons
Only covers warblers
Paid app
Too narrow for total beginners unless they love warblers
Best For: Birders trying to master migration, sound ID, and plumage nuances.
iNaturalist – Community Science for All Life Forms
iNaturalist is ideal for birders who love nature as a whole. You upload a photo, the AI suggests possibilities, and then the community helps confirm or refine the ID.
Pros
Covers all wildlife, not just birds
Strong AI for initial ID suggestions (photo-based)
Fun social component with comments and confirmations
Contributes to global biodiversity data
Cons
Not designed specifically for birders
No advanced field-guide features or checklist tools
Quality of ID depends on photo clarity and community activity
Best For: Nature lovers, travelers, beginners who enjoy community-based learning.
Chirp! – Learn Birdsong the Fun Way
Chirp! (U.S. version) focuses on helping you learn bird songs and calls through curated libraries and quizzes. Think of it as flashcards for your ears.
Pros
Excellent for increasing your confidence with bird vocalizations
Quiz modes make practicing fun
Organizes bird songs by region and commonness
Perfect for backyard birders
Cons
No automatic sound ID
Not a field guide or logging tool
Limited to specific geographic editions
Best For: Anyone serious about learning bird songs and building “ears-on” birding skills.
Which Apps Should You Download First?
For most beginning birders, a simple combination of tools works beautifully:
Best Starter Kit
Merlin Bird ID – Identify birds quickly and confidently
Audubon Bird Guide – Free, photo-rich reference
Chirp! – Start learning bird songs early
For Birders Leveling Up
Sibley Birds – Deepen your ID knowledge
eBird – Start logging your sightings
For Advanced or Dedicated Birders
The Warbler Guide App – Master one of the toughest bird families
iNaturalist – Expand into broader natural history
Whether you’re practicing in your backyard or planning birding adventures around the country, these apps—paired with a trusty paper field guide—will expand your confidence, skills, and enjoyment of the natural world.