eBird Mobile makes it easy to record the birds you see in the field, and seamlessly link these observations with eBird--a global online database of bird records used by hundreds of thousands of birders around the world. This free resource makes it easy to keep track of what you see, while making your data openly available for scientific research, education, and conservation. eBird Mobile is the only app that passes information directly from the iOS device to your eBird account on the web.
Features
- Enter bird observations from any location around the world.
- Full global taxonomy based on The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World.
- Common names available in local languages (e.g., Portuguese names in Brazil or in Portugal).
- Checklists customized for your location and time of year, showing most likely species based on eBird data.
- Rare species flagged during data entry and on the checklist.
- "Record as you go" functionality for incremental list keeping and counting while birding.
- GPS enabled location plotting to ensure accuracy.
- Map tools that enable selecting from hundreds of thousands of eBird "Hotspots."
- Full offline functionality, enabling use in places with limited or no Internet connection.
- Trip and Day list functionality that makes it easy to keep track of your species list on a particular outing.
- Support for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.
- Entire app translated to German, Mandarin, French, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Turkish, and Dutch.
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Screenshots
User Rating
3.78 out of 5
469 ratings
in United States
5 star
233
4 star
76
3 star
49
2 star
45
1 star
66
Ratings History
Reviews
Still Problematic After All These Years
I admit, this app has come a long way since the beginning, but even in 2024, it’s still lacking basic functionality, so I removed 3 stars from my original review. I use eBird for my job, so I’m using it multiple times per day when I’m in the field. I canNOT stand the fact that I have to toggle between numbers and letters every single time I want to enter the species! It should *always* start with letters! I can’t upload media in the app; instead, I have to submit a checklist through the app then take the extra step to go to ebird.org to add media. Why?? It is also infuriating that I can’t import IDs from Merlin. Instead, I have to switch back and forth between the two, which is ridiculous in 2024. Come on, Cornell, you’re sitting on piles of money most scientists can only dream of, there’s NO reason for this app to be so primitive. It’s obvious that you’ve been pouring money into Merlin, how about using some of it to improve the app at the heart of everything you’re trying to do.
Bird pack and other UI is awful
Bird pack downloads are ridiculously slow - it takes several minutes to DL a single 2-4MB file; it should be a few seconds. There is no button for “update all my packs”. There is no composite US country pack. There is no auto-update option for bird packs. The bird counting interface is counterintuitive and really needs context sensitive assistance. Search interface sometimes stops working properly, requiring app restart. The bird reference info has way too few photos of birds in flight as seen from below.
Most of these issues have existed for a couple of years or more, so it’s not clear whether Cornell realizes they are problems, or whether they lack the right devs to address them.
Love the app in conjunction with Merlin
Reading some of the reviews, I agree it seems odd what you can’t do with the app that you can do on line or with Merlin. But I do find it better in fact to keep my list running in one app and using another to detect bird song.
Last Update Ruined the Functionality
I love the app but now since it was updated lost all the images and search function no longer working like when I try to view a bird that I captured it keeps taking me to the settings for bird packs which I had already installed and I don't know what changed or how to get it back to the way it was before it updated :(
Must Combine with Merlin Bird ID
Having to flip back and forth between the two apps to identify first then track the bird is silly.
Please merge apps.
dont save last explord list at other locations
tsp on pin dont give site name, eg name of paerk needed for plan vacation trails to visit
Great idea, garbage execution
If I want to see observations at local birding hotspots, anytime I click one I have to wait for the app to decide when it wants me to be able to click details. Could be on the fifth try, could be on the fiftieth. No idea why this happens—very bad user experience. Not to mention I really have to install bird packs to record my sightings—and when I do that multiple times in a week, it gets real old watching the pack take two minutes to download when all I wanted to do was record my findings.
Love it but
When I tap to search for species the keyboard switches to numbers and special characters when it should just stay on letters. It’s extraordinarily tedious to switch back and forth
Miserable integration with Merlin
The point of Merlin is to ID birds by sound. There is no number of birds to be assumed if you are just listening. Additionally, each recording may have several hits. But transferring this information to eBird is poor at best with every ID be logged separately. Deleted the program.
Could be 5 stars - swiping app
This app is awesome. Recent changes are so helpful. One major change needs to be made to make it 5 stars!
Almost everyone accidentally swipes an app away. In this app, even if you open it back up, it refuses to allow you to continue logging your track. Sure, you can continue to log birds but it stops tracking and time-keeping so then one must manually figure it out. What a waste of time, especially at the moment you swipe you realize it and try to get it back when you haven’t even taken another step forward! App should check your location and ask if you mean to continue. Can it really be that hard nowadays? Please, please, for the love of birding and counting, fix this situation! Thank you!!
