Digital cameras, digital photo frames, eBook readers, it seems like the whole world is going digital these days. And now digital field guides are here. You can think of these as traditional field guides on steroids, yet even smaller.
You still get the regular stuff found in field guides: illustrations, range maps, basic identification and natural history information. But the format also allows for much more. You can play a bird’s song from within the field guide. Or access information that otherwise would have required cracking open another book or doing an internet search.
Probably the best thing about the medium is that it allows you to search for a bird in so many more ways. For instance, if you don’t know the name of a bird you want to look up, you don’t have to go looking through the accounts as you do in a printed guide. Just input some characteristics in the search function, and the guide will narrow down the possibilities for you.
There are now several digital field guides available to birders, mostly for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch devices. This is a brief comparison of those for North America.
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Audubon Birds
$19.99
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iBird Explorer Pro
$29.99
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National Geographic’s Handheld Birds
$9.99
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Peterson Birds of North America
$14.99
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The Sibley eGuide to the Birds of North America
$29.99
Normally, I would create a table to compare their features, but the folks at iBird have already made this comparison of iPhone Bird Apps.
Keep in mind that one of the competing companies produced this table. However, I have no reason to believe that anything was misrepresented, though it does not include the new Peterson app.
So which one belongs on your iPhone? I’ve only had first hand experience with iBird, Sibley, and Audubon (free version). But the app websites and reviews in iTunes have been very helpful in gauging their usefulness.
First off, I think the Peterson ones can be eliminated due to the lack of a single, comprehensive app. [Updated March 10, 2011] When I first created this page, the only Peterson apps available were separate ones for backyard birds, birds of prey, and warblers. But now there is a single, comprehensive Peterson Birds of North America app. It includes all the illustrations from the latest Peterson field guide, but also pulls information from other Peterson guides, such as those to warblers and even molt! If you’re a fan of the Peterson guide, it looks worth checking out.
The National Geographic app looks to be a pretty straightforward port of their field guide, with the addition of sounds, more textual information, and a basic search function. But it just doesn’t seem to have the navigation and search capabilities that you would want.
Audubon Birds seems to have the same sort of information on each bird, except this one uses photographs for the illustrations. A search engine is included, allowing you to search for birds based on several characteristics. This is more promising.
iBird has the usual information for each bird (and quite a bit more), and goes beyond the other apps by utilizing both paintings and photographs. But you’ll really notice the difference in the search function – iBird has 33 different criteria that you can use to search on.
[Update: Sibley added on Feb 18, 2010] The Sibley eGuide app is an excellent digital version of the Sibley Guide, which is my favorite North American field guide. It’s just about the perfect amalgamation of the “big” Sibley and the smaller regional guides. You get (just about) all of the illustrations from the former, along with the extensive text and updated maps of the latter. It also comes with an extensive collection of bird sounds and some rudimentary searching and filtering capabilities.
Based on what I’ve seen, I think it’s clear that iBird is the way to go. It has more species, illustrations per species (on average), information, and ways to find what you’re looking for.
Until Sibley was released, iBird was the clear frontrunner among bird apps. But now it’s a very close race. Here’s a brief comparison of important features:
- Illustrations – I much prefer Sibley’s paintings, and it illustrates a vastly greater selection of plumages for each species. However, iBird also includes some fantastic photos, and quick access to many more on Flickr.
- Sounds – Sibley includes a greater selection of sounds for each species. They both allow you to easily compare vocalizations. With Sibley, you can compare any two species, while iBird gives a selection of similar sounds for each bird.
- Information – iBird includes MUCH more information on life history, conservation, and other interesting facts. The text in Sibley deals almost exclusively with identification and voice. This information is also present in iBird, but the Sibley text does a better job at highlighting the most important field marks.
- User Interface – It’s no contest – iBird’s interface and navigation is vastly superior. It’s searching and filtering is also much more robust than the Sibley app. Sibley does have one unique feature, though, and it’s a good one. You can compare portraits, sounds, and range maps of any two species on the same screen.
- Lists – They both allow you to save notes for each species. Sibley allows you to see and interrogate your list easier. But honestly, I wouldn’t use either to keep a life list.
Basically, they both have something to offer in every category. Right now, I can’t universally recommend one over the other. Overall, I think more experienced birders will find the Sibley app more useful for identification, while those less experienced will best be served by iBird.
Ultimately, the best app will be the one that improves most upon its shortcomings. iBird needs to expand its collection of sounds and (especially) illustrate more variations in appearance. The Sibley app could greatly improve upon its searching/filtering and interface, as well as include some information beyond that found in the print guides.
But I wouldn’t wait too long to see which one that will be. I’ve found that having a digital field guide with me at all times has been incredibly handy and just plain (dare I say it) cool.
If you want a more in-depth look at these apps, here are some full reviews:
More Bird Apps
- Bird Listing Apps for iPhone – a similar comparison I’ve done for listing apps available for the iPhone
- BirdsEye – a bird-finding app utilizing eBird
- birdJam HeadsUp Warblers and HeadsUp Sparrows – warbler and sparrow-specific apps
December 15th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Thanks for this roundup, Grant. It’s great to see how many birdbook-like resources are out there for iphones. There’s also the BirdsEye app (full disclosure: the Cornell Lab contributed to it). It’s not really a field guide, though it has photos and bird-finding advice, but your readers might be interested in knowing about it if they haven’t heard of it already. It’s more of a bird finder – using eBird records to show the user maps of nearby bird sightings they might be interested in. More about it at our blog: http://birdsredesign.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/new-ebirdiphone-app-puts-local-knowledge-in-your-pocket/
Like I said, not exactly a field guide app, but worth knowing about. Thanks for the post! – Hugh
December 15th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Hey Hugh,
I’d seen the announcements for BirdsEye, and it seems like a great idea. As you said, it’s not really a field guide type app, so I didn’t include it here. But it definitely deserves a mention, as it’s something I imagine alot of birders would be interested in. Me included.
February 5th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Thanks for this post. I just got an iPhone and I’ve been reading up on which birding apps to try / buy. I wish they all had trial versions (I could only find free versions of iBird Explorer and Audubon). Another app I found that’s not a guide but might be of interest to birders is the game BirdJam Twitch.
February 12th, 2010 at 9:36 am
I’m a birder, and I use the Peterson Field Guide to Backyard Birds for my iPod touch. I think that the chart you have doesn’t reflect the current version (2.0) of Peterson. The app definitely has search features (by name and family group), and I think the iTunes store rating is higher for this version than for the last one. Also, each bird does have multiple types of calls (in addition to the main song of each bird). I think, especially if you compare prices, the Peterson app is really great, especially for beginner birders. There are 180 birds which is more enough for most casual birders — and its really easy to make identifications with this interface. I just find it really easy to use, and fun. The quizzes help me learn bird songs and field marks. I guess for me it’s the Peterson images that really do it, since that is what I learned on. They’re still spectacular, and it’s great that I can carry them around in my small iPod. Overall, I think the Peterson app is the best value and easiest to use.
February 15th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
I see a Sibley eGuide to the Birds of No. America. Released Feb 10 1010, V1,0. I would like to see comparisons/review. On user of iBird Pro likes it better at the iTunes Store.
February 15th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
There were a couple comments about the Sibley app on my iBird review. I hadn’t realized it had been released. I’ve requested a copy, so hopefully I can compare it to the others soon.
February 19th, 2010 at 10:27 am
Added the new Sibley app to the list, along with a comparison between it and iBird.
Also, check out the Comparison table from iBird again. They’ve also added the Sibley app.
February 21st, 2010 at 1:31 am
Thanks for the update to include Sibley app. The Comparison table is great and I think I will go with iBird. Sibley need to put a lite version of Sibley app to try like iBird did. Great job!
April 14th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
I am surprised you made no mention of BirdJam (www.birdjam.com). I am shopping for an iTouch and birding software. From their website, I gather Birdjam is not a full field guide like those your reviewed, but rather an application that focuses on bird song. I would be interested in any of your comments and experiences with this software.
April 15th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Birdjam’s iPhone app appears to be a game only called “birdJam Twitch”. And “birdJam Maker” appears to bird songs added you your iPod and using the built-in iTunes interface to present bird information, much like an a music albums and podcast.
This is from their web site: “*Via iTunes, Apple’s free music management system that you’ve installed on your Windows or Mac computer.”
The bird apps here are custom programs to work on the iPod Touch and iPod Phones. They all required much more (software programing skills and multimedia skills) to create.
I have been using iBird Pro now for a couple of months and have left my Sibley guide in the car. There has been a learning curve and so far OK. I still us the book for that occasional mystery bird. iBird has been a good reference to jog my memory.
One thing I would like in iBird is that it keep my place when switching APPs. Perhaps that can be addressed along with the upcoming iPhone 4.0 OS. I am using a GPS tracking software on the iPhone to record my position/time and later sync it with my photos and notes.
April 15th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Thanks for the info on the Birdjam apps, Allan. I don’t have any experience with them. Honestly, the Sibley app comes pre-loaded with just about as many sound files as birdJam (which uses the Stokes CDs). And iBird will be adding more sound files as well. So using one of those apps pretty much makes the iTunes based sounds obsolete. Or, it does for me anyway, since I haven’t found a good way to organize my bird sounds in iTunes yet.
As for other non-field guide apps, there is a Birdseye app that pulls/inputs data from eBird. Looks like it would be incredibly useful, especially when birding in unfamiliar areas.
April 15th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Not obsolete yet. My collection of bird vocalization in iTunes was recorded in So. California, Orange County, where I spend most of my time. Like our US English, there are many accents. I don’t recognize some songs that are in iBird. I do like the part (iBird) were people can contribute there photos of birds, it helps, I think the drawings in iBird could be better, I like the illustrations in the Sibley North America guide.
Thanks for the lead on “birdseye” app, I will take a look at it.
June 1st, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Is there a European version of Birdseye? Or does it work to report and see reports from Europe?
June 1st, 2010 at 8:11 pm
According to the BirdsEye website:
Currently BirdsEye only includes birds for the continental United States and Canada. We hope to add support for more regions in the future.
However, BirdsEye is based off of eBird which does not cover Europe. So there seems to be little chance that BirdsEye will include Europe anytime soon. There may be other apps that do, but I’m not aware of any offhand.
June 1st, 2010 at 9:10 pm
…although eBird just announced a beta version of eBird world will be out soon, so you never know. The news is here: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/global-ebird-underway-27-may-update Take care – Hugh
June 1st, 2010 at 11:11 pm
Wow! Well, it may indeed be sooner than I thought.
John, for now though, it still looks like you would need to look elsewhere.
June 4th, 2010 at 9:50 am
The Sibley iPod field guide app was just updated. As promised, it now has high resolution bird paintings that can be enlarged and displayed in both portrait and landscape views. The original ones were small and looked as if they were scanned from printed copies. They now really POP! The range maps now enlarge when tapped, but only display in portrait format. You can now move to the next image with just a swipe rather than pushing the “next” button, and switch between description and image by simply tapping.
Additional calls and songs have been added for a number of species, but there now appears to be a bug that I’m sure will be corrected soon– the updated song of the Sedge Wren does not display– the song icon erroneously links to the iPod song feature, at least it does in my iPod Touch. Not sure whether it affects updated sounds of other species.
Now, if Sibley could just add information about breeding biology and life history… I’d even spring a few more bucks for such an enhancement.
June 9th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
The “bug” in the updated version 1.5 that I mentioned in my June 4 post was corrected by simply deleting and re-installing the app. Now all the calls and songs appear to play correctly.
June 10th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
I found a bug in iBird Pro: American Robin>Call/Song>Similar Sounding>American Robin Voice, has no sound. When you go to other bird Rose-brested Grosbeak>Similar Sounding>American Robin Voice, it’s also empty. I have sent email to Mitch Waite Group but I don’t think they read their mail. I can try re-installing, but afraid of losing the APP in uninstalling.
June 10th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
@Ken: I had the same problem with all of the species whose songs were updated in 1.5. But the same fix worked for me too.
@Allan: Weird. My link from Robin to Grosbeak works, but not vice versa. I’ll forward your report on to Mitch.
June 12th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Re. the Robin Voice bug. I’ve uninstalled it on my iPhone and added back from iTunes and it did not fix the empty robin voice. I think I have the most current version of iBird Pro, in the More area it said “About iBird 2.3″ and did not see any updates for it.
August 9th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
iBird Pro 3.0 – seem this latest version has fixed fixed many of the bugs I wrote to them about.
August 16th, 2010 at 10:37 am
You may be interested in the app i wrote – My Bird Observations. Records bird sightings and loads to eBird.
August 25th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
As usual our American friends live in a bubble called the USA. Although these applications are very good it is not made clear until you delve into them that they are exclusively dealing with North American birds not the rest of the world. Why don’t they make this clear in the title of the software.
This is the WORLD WIDE web not the US web, so it would be useful for all of us if you made it clear that you are only dealing with a specific region of the world. Go on try it! Try to imagine a world beyond the Mexico and Canadian borders (let alone those large expanses of water with those scary places called continents).
August 25th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Peter, Welcome to our “bubble”. When I did my homework before my purchases, I did notice that all references were for North America at the developer sites.
I have birded on other continents and I find guides for those places before I go. So with the resources available on the web I was able to make my choice of guides for the “bubble” and the rest of the world. With the resources on the web, I was able to find local birders to bird with when I traveled.
Since I am exposed to technology developments here in the “bubble”, they tend to be geo-centric until developers/birders on other contents get into the technology. You can be that person?
August 25th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
I should note that the above-mentioned “My Bird Observations” is a listing program application that appears to be global in scope. It has filters for many different countries around the world. Understandably, as a new app under development, we can look forward to much more sophisticated filters and search tools, and I am confident that Gina is working to improve them. For Peter’s information, this app breaks the “bubble.”
I found it very easy to upload my sightings to eBird (via the free Box.net service) from my iPod Touch. If its interface could be filtered down to smaller locales (as we have in the eBird data entry page) it would be much easier to use in the field by simply updating the species and numbers along the way. It produces a file that meets eBird standards for importing data. (Forgive me, Peter, but I hope the first set of filters will be at the USA State level) It is cheap, and certainly worth a try. If you have questions, Gina is very responsive to inquiries.
August 25th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
I forgot to mention that Gina asked for suggestions as to how to filter the huge species (and family) data base. I’m sure she would welcome input from birders all over the world.
August 25th, 2010 at 10:41 pm
@Gina: I’d love to check it out. You’ve got mail
@Peter: It’s hard to avoid the “bubble” mentality sometimes. In my reviews, I try to make it clear what geographical area the book/app/etc covers, but I’m sure I don’t always do a good job of that.
On another note, I recently posted a review of Birdcountr, a listing app (for North America). I’ll be interested to see how “My Bird Observations” compares to it.
September 12th, 2010 at 5:35 am
@Ken: I think my next two releases will help a lot with local filtering. In version 1.5 (which is waiting for app store approval right now) I’ve added Templates – lists of birds that can be used to pre-populate trip lists OR filter the bird DB. Creating a template is mostly manual and could take a hour or two for a 400 birds. I’m working on version 1.5.1 which will add the ability to create templates from text files. Using files downloaded from eBird or some other online source it takes minutes to do a 600 bird template.
@Peter: anywhere in the world
November 26th, 2010 at 11:09 am
Just released My Bird Observations 3.1. Now includes The British List bird names
December 3rd, 2010 at 6:02 pm
New is an Australian eguide from the same publisher as the Sibley guide. So anyone familiar with the Sibley eGuide, will be right at home with the Guide to Australian Birds. With same publisher, and same basic framework, we have tried to further developthe app functions further. Foremost is a more detailed ‘Smart Search”, with more in that direction planned to include in nest version . For anyone thinking of a birding trip to Australia, this would be a no-bulk way of in-flight study of those birds…or before departure.. On arrival, the matching paper guide is widely available. This new app can be seen on the Sibley page at iTunes, just click the Golden Bowerbird icon.
January 20th, 2011 at 5:21 pm
While the online field guides are packed with tons of information, an iPod Touch or iPhone screen has been hard to read in the field. birdJam just released a new app designed specifically for warbler ID in the field: HeadsUp Warblers. The display is uncluttered and the app includes the most comprehensive collection of songs, sounds, calls and chips from the famed Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We’ll be interested in your reaction.
January 31st, 2011 at 8:10 pm
I just returned from two weeks in Australia. I had both the Michael Morecombe “e-Guide to Australian Birds” mentioned above, as well as a paperback version of the Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds (2d ed). (Where I live, I use iBird extensively, and have the National Geo e-guide which i only occasionally use.)
I found the e-guide to Australian Birds wonderful to use on my iPod Touch. The three main advantages compared to Slater are (1) the much lighter weight and smaller size, (2) the inclusion of song samples, and (3) the ability to filter the search results by region (e.g. Victoria, Southeast, etc)). I found myself generally leaving Slater in my car for reference if I needed it and only taking the e-guide with me into the field. I did not find the iPod Touch screen difficult to read in the field.
I jumped right into using the device, and did not read the intro or help sections until later. This worked, but in hindsight I do recommend reading the intro first — it took me a while to figure out that rotating the iPod to landscape gave a larger version of the picture, and rotating it back to portrait mode returned to the default view. Also, I did not fully appreciate the compare and smart search functions until towards the end of my trip.
I liked the “My List” function that let me track my sightings. The main feature I would like in the next revision is suggestions for similar-looking species. I saw and photographed a juvenile White-throated Gerygone that lacked most of the adults field marks, and I found myself thumbing through 1/2 the Slater Field Guide for an hour before someone else suggested this ID.
Overall, I would highly recommend this product for birders going to Oz, and hope the publishers do similar guides for other locations (hint: Costa Rica!)
February 1st, 2011 at 10:57 pm
Thanks for the review, Jim!
March 4th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Grant,
This is a great resource. I’ll jump on the bandwagon with a couple of people above: I would love to see reviews of bird apps other than field guides … which is admittedly a harder job since they are not conducive to apples-to-apples comparisons.
Limiting this to Field Guides (i.e. apps that imitate books) could in the long run mean limiting it to the least interesting / game changing apps.
I’m working on an app called BirdsEye that is mentioned a couple of times above. Let me know if you want to check it out.
Thanks again! Dave
March 4th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
@David: You’ve got great timing, I’m working on a companion page comparing some listing apps. Not sure BirdsEye fits that category, but I’d still love to check it out.
March 11th, 2011 at 12:14 am
This page has been updated with the new, comprehensive Peterson app.
Also, if you haven’t seen it yet, I’ve created a similar comparison for listing apps
June 2nd, 2011 at 7:52 pm
I was thinking about a variation of the Soundhound (nee Midomi) concept: you hear a bird, press a button, it transmits the sound to a database of bird sounds and returns the info on the bird, including its picture. Has anyone done this yet? Perhaps it could be coupled with a highly-sensitive, directional microphone that could plug into the iPhone….
July 9th, 2011 at 10:53 am
Just found a wonderful app for my iPhone – Bird Song Alarm Clock. A really nice bundle of bird calls and songs and of course all the fixins you would expect from a high-tech alarm clock. It will even play a random sound each morning, really cool.
July 9th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
I have been using the BirdTunes app on my iPod Touch for several weeks now. It is an excellent compilation by Lang Elliot (of Stokes CD fame) and other prominent recordists. It is very easy to navigate, usually includes several clips of songs and calls identified by location, features a sonogram and one or more color photos of each bird, and there are no annoying human voices. Recent searches are saved (which I find to be a most useful feature), and you can also compile all your “Favorites.” Notably, the recordings are almost entirely free of loud background noises and sound from other species, something that detracted from the Stokes CD collection.
July 10th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
@Fred: That has to be a better way to wake up than with the standard alarm sound I use!
@Ken: Sounds interesting, especially the sonogram. iBird added that recently, but it’s not quite the same format as the sonograms that you see in books such as The Singing Life of Birds
August 8th, 2011 at 10:32 am
Would someone who has all the apps tell me if any use the same photos and illustrations? I have I bird pro and want another app or two just for more photos/drawings, don’t want to get one that duplicates what I have. Thanks!
August 8th, 2011 at 9:47 pm
@Kathy: there are no duplicate illustrations. The Sibley, Peterson, and NatGeo apps all use the paintings from their respective print field guides.
August 9th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
Thanks for your reply Grant, now to decide which one to get!
October 14th, 2011 at 8:33 pm
I wish somebody would publish an app that combines Shazam and bird songs. I’d like to be able to have my phone tell me what that bird is singing in the oak tree right now. Is anybody aware of anything like this, or is anybody working on it?
October 18th, 2011 at 8:35 pm
@Lynda – check this out
November 14th, 2011 at 7:46 pm
Do you know if there is application for IPod Touch on Birds of Kenya? Birds of Panama?
I have been in Brazil with the app Birds of Brazil. Great!!
November 15th, 2011 at 6:05 pm
@Michele: There’s one for Southern Africa based on Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, but I don’t think that covers Kenya. And I’m not aware of anything for Central America, unfortunately.
January 2nd, 2012 at 2:24 pm
I bought the sibley app this year and use it a little, i hate using sibleys taxonomic organization,and pretty much all of the navigation for this app. it is also very incomplete which makes it useless as a stand alone guide you would need to also have a real book guide for all the species you would encounter. there is no Wrentit (a common bird here in southern oregon) also only one cormorant, probably a great many other birds are missing. this app needs a lot of work and at the cost they are charging it should be complete. for what a really good iphone birding app looks like check out birds of northern europe. this one has everything you would want and easy navigation, lots of background info,great range maps, photos, illustrations, lots of calls. but i would pass on sibley.
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Chris, what version of the app do you have? I can personally only speak for the iPhone version, but I can assure you that it does include Wrentit and all the cormorants. Plus, you can view the list of birds in either taxonomic or alphabetical (by last name, i.e. Warbler) order.
It sounds almost like you have a “lite” version of the app, but as far as I’m aware, there aren’t any for the Sibley guide. If you have a full version, then I’d suggest reinstalling it. If you still don’t have all the species, then I would suggest contacting customer support.
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Here’s the app I’m waiting for — Shazam for bird calls. One of the authors is a geneticist. Geneticists use sloppy match algorithms to line up DNA, so they applied that approach to bird songs.
http://infodocket.com/2011/10/12/coming-spring-12-bird-song-app-identifies-feathered-friends-by-tweets-shazam-for-birds/
This may be the app Grant was referencing, but his link didn’t show for me. Great site, Grant.
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Lynda, yep, that’s the one I was referring to! I’m looking forward to it, too.
Don’t know why the link didn’t work – weird.
January 9th, 2012 at 8:10 pm
Thanks for the bird app info. Do you have any info/reviews related to birding games? Something to test and hone birding skills perhaps by habitat and geographic region?
TIA
January 9th, 2012 at 10:57 pm
@Judy: for learning birdsongs, check out Larkwire. I’ve heard good things about it and have checked it out a little, but not enough to give a firm opinion yet.
January 27th, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Hi Grant, thanks for the great info on your site. Do you happen to know of any Android app for the birds of Kenya? Thanks!
January 27th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
Pauline: not that I know of. There’s one for Southern Africa based on Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, but I don’t think that covers Kenya.