Image by nixam via FlickrWouldn't it be cool if you could use something like Shazam to identify bird songs out in the wild. Doing a quick Google search, I found a few websites with mp3s of bird songs, for example xeno-canto. Shazam might already work with bird songs but I wouldn't know because I don't have an iPhone. I would get one though if I could use as a bird song identification tool.UPDATE 30/07/2010.
I've found a few interesting posts and comments on this topic:
http://originalprojects.com/projects/shazam-for-birds
The comment by the user 'nature' is interesting http://www.tuaw.com/2009/02/09/this-iphone-app-is-truly-for-the-birds/
An education app http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chirp-bird-songs-usa-lite-v3/id352826689?mt=8
UPDATE 05/05/2011
This blog posts explains in a neat way how Shazam works:
24 comments:
ha! It's funny... I just found this website posting as a result of my doing a google search for "iphone app bird song identify".
Shazam for bird songs is exactly what I'm looking (hoping) for.
It would be excellent if it would work. I read a bit more about Shazam on a few blogs and it still has difficulties identifying pop songs (etc...) when the volume is low or there is background noise, that would obviously be a problem in the wild. I wonder whether Shazam could be convinced to add bird song tracks to their database?
I am looking for the same app... :)
Hmmm, great minds think alike. I was surprised this doesn't already exist.
So, did anyone find this app? I was just wondering today if this existed! It would be so cool to just hold up my iphone and be able to find out what bird it is :)
Unfortunately I still haven't found such an app. Shazam doesn't work great for music when there is background noise or at a distance from the source so I imagine with bird songs in the wild, it would probably not do very well either. Still, if someone designed an app specifically for the purpose of identifying bird songs, I think it could be quite successful given the number of hits I am getting for iphone + bird + song.
had this idea yesterday and glad to see that others have also thought about it... it would be a great app!
had this idea yesterday and glad to see that others have also thought about it... it would be a great app!
Yes that'd be awesome. That's exactly what I'm looking for!! :)
I'm looking for the same thing! I hope a few app folks are reading these posts. Someone has to come up with this...I wish I knew how Shazam works...maybe one of you knows a computer programmer who can lend a hand...?
Yes! I was on a hike this afternoon and heard some unusual bird songs. I thought to myself, I'll bet there's an app for this. If I find one, I'll post the details here.
I've been hoping to find the same type of app. I'm glad I'm not alone. I can see that there would be a problem with unclear sounds, but so often I hear one clear and distinctive song of a bird high in a tree top that I can't identify by sight. It would have to be something stronger than Shazam, but doesn't seem like an impossibility.
I've been looking for this too. I agree that background noise could be a problem, but I often hear a clear and distinctive bird song from high in a tree where the bird isn't visible. It would have to be stronger than Shazam, but doesn't seem like an impossibility. Wouldn't it be great?
B
The matching function of Shazam doesn't work well with classical music because there are so many recordings of each piece. It would be the same trouble with birdsongs -- each bird would be a bit different, making a match impossible.
The matching function of Shazam doesn't work well with classical music because there are so many recordings of each piece. It would be the same trouble with birdsongs -- each bird would be a bit different, making a match impossible.
So did you get that MSc student?
Unfortunately not this year. Perhaps it was too big a challenge for an MSc
student.
me too! Sitting in bed on Sunday morning with door open listening to the happiest birds in conversation just outside my patio. Wondering what if I could Shazam them?
So how does a person create this application? Or do we make the suggestion to Droid and Apple?
Add me, as a nature-lover whose stuck with a droid, to the list of folks looking for this sort of bird identification app. Also, I wish the Smithsonian would come out with a droid version of LeafSnap - their amazing leaf identifier for iphone.
Here's the app, due for release in Spring 2012 I believe: WeBIRD
http://www.news.wisc.edu/19882
One more person who had the idea, googled it - and found this!! Wish I could identify birds by their song - and an app would be brilliant
This is really nice app for all the iPhone user that is very useful to identify the bird song.So thanks for giving information about this app.
iPhone App Development
A “bird song identification app" is now reality. My company, Avelgood
Apps, has developed a mobile phone app called Twigle that does precisely what you are asking i.e. it records several seconds of the bird singing and finds close matches. It is going to be released later on in March 2014 and will be free to download. You can read more about Twigle on our website http://www.twigle.it and also like us on our Facebook page to get updates on Twigle’s launch; https://www.facebook.com/avelgood
Regards,
Gift Gana
CEO – Avelgood Apps
http://www.twigle.it
Post a Comment