What’s Singing? Record and Amplify Merlin’s Power

Wordpress Header Image showcasing a photograph of Rock Bush-Quail vocalising

Calling all birders: Contribute your sound recordings to amplify Merlin Sound ID!

We are seeking sound recordings of bird species found in Western India, specifically covering the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Goa.

Merlin Bird ID app has revolutionised birdwatching by allowing bird-curious people to identify species based on their calls, songs, and images. We all know how useful the Merlin is in identifying photos; however, identifying the birds that make sounds around our neighbourhood can be a very gratifying experience for a general nature lover, and that is a powerful way to bring them closer to birds.

Merlin Sound ID is currently trending on social media in the United States, a country with a 100% bird coverage rate. Even those who have no connection to birds find this app ‘cool.’ Radio jockeys, running clubs, cyclists, trekkers, and morning walkers—how cool is it to just show your phone and get a list of birds that are singing! However, Indian species are under-represented in the app. This article outlines how birdwatchers can contribute to expanding Merlin’s coverage in India, more specifically Western India.

A trending video showing how Merlin is popular in the USA.

If the video doesn’t open, please click here.

Why Western India?

We plan to gradually scale up Merlin sound ID in distinct phases, each targeting specific geographic regions. To begin, we are seeking sound recordings of species found in Western India, specifically covering the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Goa.

Why Your Recordings Matter

Your bird sound recordings will help improve Merlin’s accuracy in detecting species through vocalisations. Like images, Merlin needs hundreds of sound samples to “train” its system to recognise bird calls; the more recordings we collect, the better the app becomes.

All bird sound recordings uploaded to eBird are stored in the Macaulay Library archives, creating a valuable resource. Beyond documenting each observation, this expanding collection of bird sounds is a powerful tool for researchers and bird enthusiasts alike, helping to identify species and offering insights into bird communication, behaviour, and distribution patterns.

Broad-tailed Grassbird photographed by Sandeep Bapat

Broad-tailed Grassbird Schoenicola platyurus © Sandeep Bapat / Macaulay Library

How to Contribute

The best way to contribute your bird sound recordings is by uploading them to your eBird checklists.
To effectively train Merlin to identify a species, we need over 100 recordings for each focal species. See Table 1 for species that currently have a limited number of recordings in eBird/Macaulay Library.
Ensure high-quality recordings; however, even low-quality ones are helpful.
Sound recordings can be done through smartphones or existing cameras.
For guidance on how to record and prepare your audio files before uploading, check out the resources given below.

Table 1. List of species that require sound recordings (sorted by priority)

Species	No. of audio recordings needed
White-browed Bushchat	98
Laggar Falcon	97
Knob-billed Duck	95
Yellow-legged Buttonquail	89
Painted Sandgrouse	89
Indian Spotted Creeper	83
Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher	78
Hypocolius	74
Orange-breasted Green-Pigeon	73
Small Buttonquail	69
Asian Desert Warbler	66
Striolated Bunting	63
Cotton Pygmy-Goose	63
Black-capped Kingfisher	63
Black-throated Munia	61
Isabelline Shrike	58
White-bellied Minivet	58
Dusky Crag-Martin	58
Malabar Starling	54
Greater Hoopoe-Lark	52
Bank Myna	51
Yellow-footed Green-Pigeon	50
Blue-faced Malkoha	49
Rock Bush-Quail	48
Forest Owlet	46
Broad-tailed Grassbird	46
Vigors’s Sunbird	46
Malabar Imperial-Pigeon	45
Common Flameback	42
Indian Nuthatch	40
Black-breasted Weaver	40
Demoiselle Crane	39
Painted Spurfowl	38
White-bellied Blue Flycatcher	35
Sirkeer Malkoha	34
Brown Crake	33
Great Thick-knee	33
Little Stint	31
Pin-tailed Snipe	26
Sulphur-bellied Warbler	23
Siberian Stonechat	21
Brown Fish-Owl	20
Sand Lark	20
River Lapwing	17
Temminck’s Stint	17
Crested Bunting	17
Yellow-crowned Woodpecker	16
Crested Treeswift	14
Short-toed Snake-Eagle	14
Tickell’s Thrush	14
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse	13
Eastern Orphean Warbler	13
Marsh Sandpiper	12
Red Collared-Dove	11
Long-billed Pipit	11
Bar-headed Goose	10
Heart-spotted Woodpecker	8
Malabar Woodshrike	6
Indian Yellow Tit	6
Tytler’s Leaf Warbler	6
Grey-fronted Green-Pigeon	5
Forest Wagtail	5
Tawny Lark	4
Oriental Pratincole	2

Note: Although this phase focusses on species found in Western India, we encourage birders to record them wherever they encounter them across India.