The Lab of O has also just released the free birding app, "Merlin". -holly *What's That Bird? A New App Names the Birds You See* * “Merlin” iPhone app asks five questions, reveals nearby birds*
*For release*: January 13, 2014 * <http://cornell.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=743f178645&e=d0c35a32ba>Ithaca, NY*—The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has released a free iPhone app to help people identify 285 birds in North America. Created with support from the National Science Foundation, the app asks just five questions, then displays photos of birds that match your description—customized to your location and time of year. “We named the app ‘Merlin’ because of its uncanny, almost magical, way of guessing which bird you saw,” says the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Jessie Barry, whose team created the app with partner Birds in the Hand. "The app is designed for beginning and intermediate bird watchers and we hope birders will share the free app with friends and family." Barry says that, far from magic, Merlin uses data from citizen-science participants and bird watchers to understand how people see and describe birds—and to narrow the list to the birds found nearby. The app is the first to use data from the eBird citizen-science project to dynamically select the birds found within about a 30-mile radius of your location at the time when you saw the bird. <http://cornell.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=c24ff83601&e=d0c35a32ba>“This type of precision is only possible because bird watchers report their sightings to eBird from locations across North America every day of the year,” Barry said. Merlin draws upon 70 million eBird sightings to calculate which species you’re most likely to encounter. Additionally, bird watchers “trained” Merlin to understand how people see and describe birds. By participating in online activities to describe birds based on photos, they contributed more than three million data points that Merlin uses to deduce which birds are the most likely based on people’s description of color, size, and behavior. The app records your response when you confirm the bird you saw, enabling researchers to identify successful interactions and improve Merlin’s performance over time. It also displays photos, ID tips, sounds, and range maps for each species. <http://cornell.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=1c6788185e&e=d0c35a32ba>The Merlin Bird ID app can now be downloaded from the App Store<http://cornell.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=57f1f2eea2&e=d0c35a32ba> . The Cornell Lab plans to release Merlin for Android and online use in the coming months, and to continue adding more species. Merlin is made possible with support from the National Science Foundation, Pennington™ Wild Bird Food, and friends and members of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The Cornell Lab is a nonprofit organization with the mission to improve the understanding and protection of birds. For the Merlin App video and website, please visitbirds.cornell.edu/Merlin<http://cornell.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=13fc20bc63&e=d0c35a32ba> . On Mon, Jan 13, 2014 at 9:55 AM, Judith Thurber <[email protected]> wrote: > Just ran across this list from Lehigh Valley Audubon website. Thought > some might find it helpful. > > If you are itching to load up your device with birding apps, here's a list: > - Sibley eGuide to the Birds of North America ($20) > - BirdLog North America ($10) or BirdLog Worldwide ($20) > - Birdseye North America ($20) > - Birdseye Hotspots ($5) > - BirdTunes ($10) > - Bird Migration (free) > - LarkWire Master Birder Land (still $3) > - LarkWire Master Birder Water (still $3) > - Count Circle ($3) (Birdseye NA has CBC circles too) > - Sea Tow (free) > - Weather Underground (free) > Anyone have any comments or own any of these? > > Judy Thurber > Liverpool, NY > > Sent from my iPad > -- > *Cayugabirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and > Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail > Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> > *Please submit your observations to eBird > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!* > -- > -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
