Merlin Bird ID

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall Reception and Impact

  • Widespread enthusiasm; many call Merlin a “magic” or exemplar app that makes phones augment real-world perception rather than distract from it.
  • Strong adoption by casual users, parents, photographers, and serious birders; often described as “Pokémon Go for birds,” motivating people to go outside more.
  • Especially valued on hikes, in foreign countries, and by people with limited prior bird knowledge.

Sound ID Performance

  • Sound ID is the star feature: users report rapid, real-time identification of many species at once, often matching later visual confirmation.
  • Handles complex soundscapes and some mimicry (mockingbirds, thrashers, jays imitating hawks) surprisingly well, though mimicry can still fool it.
  • Struggles with: very high or very low frequencies (phone mic limits), strong background noise (AC, footsteps, roads), and differentiating very similar species (finches, crows, some warblers).
  • False positives and strict updates are noted; most users treat Merlin’s IDs as strong hints requiring human judgment and, ideally, visual confirmation.

Photo ID and Data Ecosystem

  • Photo ID is considered “good but not as magical” as sound, partly due to low-quality zoomed phone shots.
  • Users want:
    • Ability to keep their own photos in checklists instead of stock images.
    • Web-based upload/ID for DSLR workflows.
  • Integration with eBird is praised for long-term checklists, expert vetting, and contribution to research.
  • Related tools mentioned: BirdNET (and BirdNET-Go / BirdNET-Pi / WhoBird), iNaturalist and Seek, PlantNet, Birder, and various DIY acoustic stations.

UX, Coverage, and Technical Issues

  • Mixed reports on stability: some see a smooth experience; others report crashes, long-recording failures, region-pack bugs (especially on iOS), and occasional lost detections.
  • Coverage is praised in North America and Europe but described as weaker in parts of East Asia, New Zealand, and some developing regions. One comment speculates intentional limits to deter poaching; this remains unclear.
  • Android tracking report raises privacy concerns; others argue that included SDKs don’t necessarily imply meaningful data sharing.

Ethics, Features, and Wish List

  • Playback of songs can disturb territorial birds; some users warn that Merlin should caution more strongly against “calling back.”
  • Requested features: editing clips, casting audio, long-duration logging, individual-bird tracking, non-bird sound ID (frogs, insects, mammals, cars), directional localization with multiple mics, APIs, better gamification, and an iNaturalist-style bridge.