Merlin Bird ID app

Merlin Bird ID is a premier mobile application designed to assist bird enthusiasts in identifying avian species through photos or sound recordings. Developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, it serves as a digital field guide that leverages a massive database of bird sightings and artificial intelligence to provide real-time identification.

The app was conceived and created in the United States by educational researchers at Cornell University. Unlike physical consumer goods, its 'manufacturing' is the result of continuous software development and data curation performed by scientists, engineers, and a global community of bird watchers who contribute to the eBird database.

Ownership remains strictly with the Cornell Lab of Ornithological, a unit of Cornell University. As a non-profit educational product, it focuses on conservation and scientific literacy rather than commercial retail, though it is distributed globally via major digital app stores.