Hold your phone near a bird call and Bird Song NZ identifies it in seconds — like Shazam, but for New Zealand's native wildlife.
Continuous real-time detection — tap Identify and hold your phone near a bird call. Birds appear as they're detected, ranked by confidence.
Every bird's te reo Māori name displayed prominently with a phonetic pronunciation guide — so you can say Pīwakawaka with confidence.
Conservation status from the Department of Conservation — from Not Threatened through to Nationally Threatened — for every species.
See what birds have been spotted near you recently, powered by eBird — the world's largest bird observation network — with Māori place names.
Browse 150+ NZ species with habitat, range, appearance, fun facts, reference call recording, and a Te Ao Māori cultural note for each.
Every identification is saved with location and time. Sign in with your email to sync your sightings across all your devices.
The birds of Aotearoa are woven into the fabric of Māori culture, language, and identity. Bird Song NZ is built with a deep respect for this relationship — and a commitment to honouring it.
Every bird's te reo Māori name is shown prominently with a phonetic guide. The app greets you with Nau mai, haere mai and uses te reo throughout — from Whakarongo ki ngā manu on the Identify screen to Māori place names in every location.
Every bird profile includes a Te Ao Māori section — the cultural story of that bird in Māori tradition. From the tīeke receiving its saddle from Māui, to the ruru as kaitiaki of the night, to the riroriro announcing the kūmara planting season.
We believe technology should serve kaitiakitanga — the guardianship of Aotearoa's taonga species. Bird Song NZ contributes to citizen science, helping build the observation data that conservation decisions depend on.
We are actively seeking partnerships with iwi, hapū, kura kaupapa, and conservation organisations. Our goal is an app that reflects mātauranga Māori alongside scientific knowledge — validated by the communities whose taonga these birds are.
If you represent an iwi, a community conservation group, or a kura and would like to collaborate on how Bird Song NZ can better serve te ao Māori, we would love to hear from you.
Kōrero mai — Get in touchFrom common garden visitors to rare native taonga
Bird Song NZ combines world-class open research and AI to deliver the most accurate identification possible.
A deep neural network trained on millions of bird recordings — the same system used by researchers worldwide for species monitoring.
Generates each bird's full profile — habitat, description, song details, and cultural notes — fresh for every identification.
Real sighting data from hundreds of thousands of birders worldwide, updated daily — powering the Nearby tab.
Reference calls recorded in the wild by volunteer ornithologists across New Zealand and the world.
Free to download. No account required to identify birds.
Questions, partnership ideas, or just want to say you spotted a Kōkako? We'd love to hear from you.