Four quizzes a day
Name birds from your own recordings and from Lifer's birdsong library, pick out a rarity from one photo, and solve a field clue from habitat and behaviour alone.
Hear it. See it. Collect it.
Lifer identifies birds by their song, even with no signal, or from a photo, and turns every bird you find into a collectible card. Build your collection, own your local patch and play every day with birders near you.
400,000+
birds caught
10,300+
bird species in its sound model
57
countries
4,500+
Nests mapped
Catch
Point your phone at birdsong.
Lifer listens, names the bird and shows its confidence climbing as it keeps singing. When you're sure, catch it. The cleaner the recording, the better the card.
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Sound ID that works offline
The audio model runs on your phone, so identification works offline across supported regions, from the moor and marsh to city parks. No signal needed.
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Camera Catch
Photograph a bird and Lifer AI names it and scores the shot. Your best photo becomes the card.
The Catch screen repaints itself for where you are: eight hand-painted habitats.
The birds
Every bird, drawn by hand.
When Lifer hears a bird, it flies onto your Catch screen and lands. Each one starts from one of 12 hand-drawn body shapes, then gets designed bird by bird: the crown, the eye stripe, the curve of the beak, the spread of the tail. Every bird is designed by hand, not generated by AI. Birders from the Lifer community design them one species at a time.
- hand-drawn body shapes
- 12
- birds designed one by one
- 339
- community designers
- 12
- species with a sprite
- 1,000+
Tap a bird to send it on its way.
Help design the next bird on DiscordCollect
Every bird becomes a card.
Each card records how you found it: where, how well, and how many times. They tilt and catch the light like the real thing. Most birds come easily. Some will take years.
Common
Robin
10–20 points
Uncommon
Kingfisher
25–50 points
Rare
Peregrine
75–150 points
Legendary
White-tailed Eagle
200–400 points
Your Aviary
Every bird you catch, in one collection: how many species, how many are rare, how many are high quality. Switch to the Guide to see what's still out there, or your Life List for everything you've ever seen.
Prismwings
One catch in 250 comes back shimmering.
A Prismwing is a foil edition of the bird you just caught, numbered for its species. Thirty-six Goldfinch Prismwings have been found so far, and only one person will ever hold Goldfinch #1.
- Chance on a catch
- 1 in 250
- Found so far
- 1,600+
- Species with one
- 123
Play
Something to play for, every day.
Even on days you can't get out, there's a quiz to answer, a challenge to chase and a live competition at sunrise and sunset.
Golden & Twilight
Two live competitions a day, around sunrise and sunset. Catch while the light lasts, climb your region's rankings and win medals.
Bird of the Day
One featured bird with a points bonus and a fact worth knowing, plus a new weekly challenge to complete.
Nests
Own your local patch.
Nests are shared records for real parks, reserves and green spaces. Every bird caught there helps complete its list, and the birder who brings in the most over 30 days becomes its Nest Guardian.
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Complete the collection
See every species recorded at a place and tick off the ones you've caught there yourself.
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Explorer and Guardian
Rank by species found, or hold the patch with the most points. Someone will want it back.
4,500+places mapped across the UK and Europe. The United States is coming soon.
Nests never show where exactly you caught anything. A Nest isn't permission to enter: always use public access.
The map
50,000+
birds caught in a single week, across 57 countries.
Every bird you catch lands on your map, and you can explore what's being found near you.
Together
Better with friends.
Follow the birders you know, start a private group for your family or bird club, or head out together and catch as one.
The feed
See what friends catch, react, and re-catch birds your collection is missing.
Flocks
Private groups with a shared list, a chat and leaderboards. Everyone can start one.
Birding Parties PRO
Out as a group? One phone catches for everyone, for up to four birders.
Citizen science
Birding that gives back to science.
Lifer is an endorsed data publisher on GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, through the UK's National Biodiversity Network. Opt in from the app and your high-confidence catches are prepared as open records for researchers studying birds worldwide. Sensitive species stay protected.
Live now
Endorsed data publisher
NBN · UK node
Privacy
Your birds. Your call.
Your location, your call
Every catch has its own location setting. Share the bird without sharing where you were.
Sensitive birds stay hidden
Rare breeding birds have their locations withheld on maps and alerts, enforced on our servers.
Private stays private
Private photos and audio are encrypted before they're backed up. Read our Privacy Policy.
Your first card is minutes away.
Free on iPhone and Android.
Field guides for the United Kingdom Europe, 51 countries and territories the United States, all 50 states and DC. Sound ID works offline throughout these supported regions.
See every European country
Åland Islands, Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Vatican City.