Sounds Decoded: Audio captions come to Merlin

Merlin has always let you listen to birds, but do you know what your birds are saying? Is that a juvenile pestering a parent, a territorial alarm, or a standard flight call? With Merlin, now you can learn about each species’ distinctive songs and calls while exploring bird sounds!

We’ve added captions to the audio in species accounts, a short note for each recording that explains what you’re hearing and when to listen for it. This context can help you detect birds, and understand more about them based on the sounds they are producing.

Open a species account and you’ll often find several recordings labeled simply “song” or “call.” And many birds have far more than two sounds. The Lesser Goldfinch, for example, has multiple distinct sounds that each serve a unique purpose, from flight calls, to twittering courtship calls to juveniles begging. 

Audio descriptions help you learn this unique vocabulary. Instead of guessing, you’ll get a clear explanation of each vocalization: what makes it distinct, what the bird is communicating, and the season, time of day, or situation in which you’re most likely to hear it in the field.

The first round includes captions for nearly 700 species, and ornithologists at the Cornell Lab look forward to adding captions for more species.

Captions live in the audio on species accounts, so the next time you’re reading about a bird before a walk, or right after Sound ID detects a new species, take a moment to tap through its recordings. You’ll come away not just able to recognize the sound, but understanding what it means.

We hope these captions help every sound you hear tell a little more about the bird you’ve found.