Black-capped Chickadee
Sat 8 Nov, 7:42 am · Alder Creek Trail
1°C, clear, light wind
Birdsong identification for iPhone and Android
Hold your phone up. Siskin names the bird.
Siskin listens to a call, shows you the sound as it happens, and names the species in seconds. Every bird you identify goes into your field journal, and it all works with no signal.
- 1,400species
- 4.8average rating
- 0 barsof signal needed
01 Listen
It hears what you hear.
Siskin listens through your phone's microphone in short windows. It filters out wind and road noise, then turns the sound into a spectrogram you can read as it draws: pitch going up the page, loudness as height and colour.
- 10 sA rolling window, so you never miss the start of a call.
- FilteredWind and traffic are reduced before anything is matched.
- PrivateSound is not stored unless you choose to save a clip.
02 Identify
A name, a confidence, and the reason.
Siskin compares each call with 1,400 species and shows the three best matches. Tap one to see the part of the call it matched, outlined on the spectrogram, so you can check it against your own ear.
Black-capped Chickadee96%
Carolina Chickadee3%
Mountain Chickadee1%
A two-note whistle, built from sine waves in your browser and played at half speed.
03 Journal
Every bird, logged where you heard it.
Save a match and Siskin writes the entry for you: species, place, time and weather, with a short clip of the call. Your life list updates itself, and you can export the whole journal as a CSV file.
- AutomaticPlace, time and weather are filled in from your phone.
- ClipsKeep a six second clip of each call with its spectrogram.
- Life listNew species are marked the first time you log them.
Wood Thrush
Fri 7 Nov, 6:58 am · Marsh Lane
4°C, mist
Barred Owl
Wed 5 Nov, 9:15 pm · Kettle Pond
-1°C, still
214 species on your life list · 38 this year
04 Offline maps
Region packs. No signal needed.
Download the regions you bird in before you leave. The identification model and the species list for each region live on your phone, so a ridge with no coverage works the same as your garden. Entries sync when you are back online.
- Great Lakes and Ontario212 species groups212 MBDownloaded
- Pacific Northwest188 species groups188 MBDownloaded
- Appalachians164 species groups164 MBGet pack
- Gulf Coast141 species groups141 MBGet pack
400 MB used · 3.1 GB free
05 How it works
Three steps, about ten seconds.
- 1
Hold your phone up
Open Siskin and point the microphone at the bird. The spectrogram starts drawing straight away.
- 2
Read the match
The best match appears with its confidence. Tap a name to see the matching part of the call.
- 3
Save it to your journal
One tap logs the bird with its place, time, weather and a short clip.
07 Plans
Free to listen. Plus for the long walks.
Free
$0always
For finding out what is singing outside.
- Unlimited identifications
- Live spectrogram
- One region pack of your choice
- Journal of up to 100 entries
Siskin Plus
$34.99per year, about $2.92 a month
For people who bird every week and want it all kept.
- All 12 region packs
- Unlimited journal entries and clips
- Several birds at once: up to five matches per window
- Compare two calls side by side
- Export the journal as a CSV file
Plus renews each year and can be cancelled at any time in your store account settings. Prices are in US dollars.
08 Questions
Before you download.
Does it really work without a signal?
Yes. Once a region pack is on your phone, listening and identification run on the device. You need a connection only to download packs and to sync your journal.
Does Siskin record me?
Siskin listens only while the app is open and the listening screen is showing. Sound is processed on your phone and thrown away after matching. A clip is kept only when you tap save, and it stays in your journal on your phone unless you turn on sync.
How accurate is it?
On clear recordings of common species Siskin is right far more often than not, and it shows a confidence so you can judge. Quiet, distant or overlapping calls are harder, so it also shows the second and third matches. It is a good guide, not a final answer.
Which birds and regions does it cover?
1,400 species across twelve regions of North America. Each region is a separate pack, and the free plan includes one of your choice. More regions are added through the year.
How do I cancel Siskin Plus?
Open the subscription settings in your phone's store account and choose Siskin Plus. If you cancel, you keep Plus until the end of the year you paid for, and your journal stays on your phone.
09 Download
Go outside. Hold it up.
Free for iPhone and Android. Identify your first bird in under a minute.