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Merlin Bird ID

merlin.allaboutbirds.org

191–200 of 221 posts

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#191

We have a Mockingbird in our backyard (or more precisely, we live in his/her territory) that impersonates a Gila woodpecker. We were able to record it. Playing back the video and using Bird ID actually shows it as a Gila Woodpecker.

Oh, that's not my experience at all! I downloaded this app to see how many distinct songs a mockingbird was singing one time (it was a lot) and the app just came back: "Mockingbird". I was both amazed and disappointed!

Same here, I was really surprised that it could see through the mimicry.

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#192
post #4

I'm friends with some of the researchers on the Sound ID portion of this app! The team's gone to great lengths to make sure the machine learning models and evals are solid. Under the hood, Sound ID is a great example of how "domain-expert-driven" careful research can give more reliable results than just feeding in data and hoping for the best.

I'd love an API of some sort. I have some birdwatching/tracking ideas that require I can id a bird by sound and Merlin would be the best route if they just let people us it ...

For that you want to use BirdNet:

https://birdnet.cornell.edu/api/

https://birdnet.cornell.edu/

Merlin is trained on the same source as BirdNet.

You can also use the iNaturalist API for visual ids, for what it's worth.

https://www.inaturalist.org

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#193
post #101

It’s so great this app is getting attention. Hopefully the devs/PMs come here and pay attention. The sound ID works very well, especially in the jungles/forests of Colombia with zero network availability. The rest of the app needs a lot of love, though. Buttons don’t work often, screens are inconsistent, results get lost, and more issues. Features: I’d love an iNaturalist bridge. Going back into a previous recording…

I tried adding a 2nd region when I was in Europe and it locked up. I had to reinstall the app to get it back to a usable state. Adding region packs is totally broken on iOS.

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#194

I use BirdNET, which is also from Cornell. Supposedly BirdNET has a larger data set.

Does anyone have BirdNet running on generic x86 hardware? Or is it just for Raspberry Pi?

You mean BirdNet-Pi? That's just for a Raspi, but have a look at the above mentioned BirdNet-Go, that runs on any Linux box.

The guy you replied to probably was talking about the BirdNet Android/iOS app, which also identifies birds by sound, similar to Merlin.

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#195

I know there are many apps for plant identification but does anyone have a recommendation for a good one? (iSeek mentioned in another comment doesn't seem to be available on iOS where I live)

Try Pl@antNet, https://plantnet.org/en/ Seek is nice as it's all on device and works offline, but I think Pl@ntNet is better for identification.

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#197
post #134

Its awesome to see the Cornell Lab of Ornithology continue its work in this way. I first heard of it through seeing mention of the "Haikubox" which is a self-contained BirdNet device. In looking it up I see that there is another commercial device and a DIY Raspberry based hardware. All are reviewed at the below link: https://becausebirds.com/bird-auto-id-showdown-comparing-bio...

BirdNET-Go is nice, it runs on any linux box (raspi included) and can also analyze RTSP streams, so you can just connect any security camera audio you may already have outside.

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#198
post #101

It’s so great this app is getting attention. Hopefully the devs/PMs come here and pay attention. The sound ID works very well, especially in the jungles/forests of Colombia with zero network availability. The rest of the app needs a lot of love, though. Buttons don’t work often, screens are inconsistent, results get lost, and more issues. Features: I’d love an iNaturalist bridge. Going back into a previous recording…

Love the app! But it crashes for me every 255 seconds after start-up on Android. Yes, I timed it. Is there a way to submit bug reports?

That's a really funny sounding bug. I'm curious what's causing that!

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#199
This app is super useful to me because I'm always hearing new bird calls—from eagles and hawks to starlings and, yes, even the crows. It even motivated me to crate a BirdNET-PI (recognizing birds by sound). I highly recommend this app.

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#200
post #107

To me, Merlin is the shining example of what "a computer in everyone's pocket" could have been. Such an amazing app that connects so many people more intimately with the world around them. I get occasional nudges to support their organization, but it's a clear and direct appeal, there are no dark patterns that I'm aware of.

iNaturalist is another gem. Hackers please support these apps so they don’t turn into the AllTrails and Couchsurfing type rackets that we deserve.

I'm currently building out a tool to aggregate and also allow for submitting back to inaturalist, it's so great!
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