Support

Songtrail is made by a small team. Email us and a real person will read it.

Frequently asked

How do I identify a bird?

Open Songtrail and tap Find, then choose Listen or Spot. With Listen, record a few seconds of the bird's song. With Spot, take a photo. Songtrail shows a ranked list of the most likely species so you can confirm the match, then adds it to your collection.

Does it work without a signal?

Yes. Identification runs entirely on your device, so Listen and Spot work with no internet connection at all, which is handy deep in a forest or out on a trail. A few extras, like reference photos and the map, need a connection, but naming a bird does not.

Why does it show several birds instead of just one?

Because an app that confidently announces a single answer and is quietly wrong some of the time teaches you the wrong bird. Songtrail gives you a ranked list of candidates with confidence scores and keeps you in the loop as the final judge, which for a birder is half the fun.

Why only 150 birds?

On purpose. Songtrail isn't trying to be an exhaustive scientific database of every species and subspecies, the kind of thing that can make getting started feel daunting. It's a hand-picked set of 150 common North American birds: an approachable, obtainable collection meant to get anyone into the habit of noticing birds and enjoying time outside. If you spot something outside the set, Songtrail points you to the closest matches it knows.

Why does Songtrail ask for my location?

Location makes identification more accurate by favoring species that are plausible where you're standing, and it pins your finds on your personal map. It's optional; deny it and identification still works, just without the location-based ranking.

How accurate is it?

It's good, but not infallible, especially with distant, brief, or noisy captures. That's exactly why Songtrail shows a ranked list rather than a single verdict. Getting a little closer, quieter surroundings, and a clear photo or recording all improve the odds.

An identification was wrong. Can I report it?

Yes, and it genuinely helps. On the results screen, tap Report a problem to send us that capture along with the model's guesses. It's opt-in, and we use it only to improve the models.

My collection disappeared.

Your collection is saved on your device. Restoring a new device from an iCloud backup should bring it along. If it doesn't, email us and we'll help however we can.

Can I turn off sound or haptics?

Yes. Open Settings inside the app to toggle them. The silent switch on your device also silences the app.

Is Songtrail available on iPad or Android?

Songtrail is built for iPhone. It may run on iPad in iPhone compatibility mode, but it's designed for the iPhone screen. We don't have an Android version at this time.

I have a suggestion.

We'd love to hear it. Send us an email and describe it in a sentence or two. We read every suggestion even if we can't reply to each one.