Audubon Bird Guide

Rating: 4.4	Downloads: 500,000+
Category: Books & Reference	Offer by: National Audubon Society

The Audubon Bird Guide is a comprehensive mobile application dedicated to bird identification, observation, and conservation support. It leverages extensive field guides compiled by experts like Audubon, providing users with detailed information on North American birds, including images, range maps, calls, and seasonal presence, making birdwatching accessible anywhere.

This app serves serious birder and casual observer alike, offering a practical tool for learning, identifying unknown species, and contributing to citizen science projects. It’s invaluable for planning trips and deepening understanding of North American avifauna, finding birds both common and rare in different regions.

App Features

• Bird Identification: Instantly identify any bird you see by searching in the guide or potentially using visual and auditory cues; this significantly enhances your birdwatching experience during field trips or when observing garden visitors, making observers feel confident and informed in nearly any setting.
• Detailed Species Pages: Each bird includes a comprehensive database entry featuring high-quality photos, distribution maps, vocalizations, status (breeding vs. wintering), and information on food habits and nesting – this detailed approach provides a thorough understanding of each species and its place in ecosystems, improving the observer’s knowledge significantly.
• Sightings & Identification Challenges: Log your personal bird observations (checklists) and engage in community challenges, comparing identifications and gaining experience through help from experts and fellow users who share avian insights and observations
• Range Maps & Checklists: Access detailed regional maps showing bird distributions and seasonal breeding patterns, and plan regional birdwatching excursions using extensive species lists specific to geographic zones – this makes Audubon Bird Guide an invaluable planning resource for hunters and photographers alike.
• Explore & Learn Section: Delve into organized content covering diverse birding techniques, conservation efforts, habitat guides, birding gear reviews, and how birds communicate, catering to beginners curious about migration or seasoned birders looking to deepen their expertise
• Data & Birding Resources: Offers local birding site directories, conservation status updates, current regional migration patterns including flight forecasts for specific locations from major bird stations or feeders – providing essential resources for prolonged fieldwork and regional explorers.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Extremely thorough content library curated by experts
• Excellent user interface, making navigation and searching straightforward
• Regular updates ensuring the birding information and maps remain current
• Community features enhance identification and provide engagement opportunities

Cons:

• Information overload can be overwhelming for beginners
• Requires a reliable internet connection for full map and species data access
• Ideal for North American birds, potentially lacking detail for worldwide species discovery needs
• May feel slightly dated regarding newer camera photography techniques relative to some competitors

Similar Apps

App Name	Highlights
Merlin Birdjoy	This app excels at identification using photos and sounds combined with AI suggestions, simplifying bird identification, particularly for unique species and less accessible geographic locations.
North American Bird Guide	Offers robust field guides, createable checklists, and plan-ahead tools for specific birder needs like birding hotspots and essential birding apps that travelers might carry.
ebird	Designed primarily as a platform for sharing checklists and tracking lifers, with contributions to birding challenge science and detailed regional lists.
BirdSeekr Pro	Delivers user-friendly, fast search technology focused mainly on visual identification, backed by machine learning algorithms adept at enhancing first-time user confidence.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How does the Audubon Bird Guide help experienced birders find rare species reports locally?
A: The Audubon Bird Guide’s extensive range maps combined with news feeds are excellent context, but you typically find migration checklists via dedicated sources like eBird. If the Audubon site links to eBird frequently, that often leads you to current lists quickly.

Q: Does the Audubon Bird Guide offer offline access to data for traveling birders far from cell service?

A: Some data files like basic checklists or key regional maps might be pre-downloadable. However, full access often requires an active internet connection for advanced features and updates, though travel planning with downlaodable sections might be possible for long trips.

Q: Apparently, two different Audubon Bird Guide accounts showed different species for the same region – is the data shared?

A: Audubon Bird Guide data is frequently shared via community portals, but there might be slight map season variations or user-based extensions. It’s always beneficial to check the primary Audubon site or adjacent apps like eBird links for the most current information paramount to location, date, and season.

Q: Can the Audubon Bird Guide help locate bird feeders or local sightings during the winter?

A: Search the Audubon Bird Guide’s thematic “Explore” section for articles on winter visits and feeder hotspots, though specific crowdsourced feeder counts are more detailed on eBird; the app provides foundational information absolutely essential to planning winter outings.

Q: Is the Audubon Bird Guide updated with the latest conservation status and endangered species listings?

A: Yes, the Audubon Bird Guide app includes conservation information and bird of the week/endangered species highlights, helping users understand the ecological context and endangered species criteria for the birds they observe.

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