Merlin, the bird identification app, has been tremendously useful for birders – beginners and experts alike. Merlin can identify bird species from photographs – but it can also suggest the species using simple facts like species size, major three colours, where it was sitting along with location and date. With each bird, there is a succinct English summary of every bird covering the main identification points. This way, it has been a handy tool for students and educators in the field.
In an attempt to reach out to a larger number of beneficiaries of this wonderful free tool, Bird Count India collaborated with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to come up with Indian language translations of Merlin. The process is now complete and Merlin has launched the translation of information of 300 species in Marathi and Malayalam which shall hopefully reach a large number of peninsular Indian audiences. Another six South Asian languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Odiya, and Telugu) already have their regional language bird names included in Merlin.
This is only a start and the target is to continue producing more translations in South Asian languages. Merlin translations into more languages shall be through a community-supported initiative. If you like to fund these initiatives along with us, as an individual or as an organisation, please get in touch with us at [email protected].
Update your app and change the language in the app settings. The example below shows how to change the language in Merlin Bird ID App. Note that the translations are available only in Marathi and Malayalam and only for 300 species.
Header Image: Common Pochard Aythya ferina by Savithri Singh/ Macaulay Library
