The Gates Foundation announced plans this week to spend $2.5 billion by 2030 on women’s health research, according to an August 4 Reuters article. Focus areas will include obstetric care and maternal immunization, maternal health and nutrition, gynecological and menstrual health, contraceptive innovation, and sexually transmitted infection.
Anita Zaidi, president of the foundation’s Gender Equality Division—who earned an SM degree from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 1999—said in the article that more data on key issues was needed to move the field of women’s health forward.
“If you look at the literature, there may be only 10 women who’ve been studied, ever,” she said. “We don’t even have the answers to basic questions.” She said that $2.5 billion was a “drop in the bucket” compared with what was needed and called on other funders to contribute to this important research.
Zaidi received the School’s Alumni Award of Merit in 2023 and was also named one of the School’s Public Health Champions for her work addressing gender inequality and improving economic opportunities and health for all.
Read the Reuters article: Gates Foundation commits $2.5 billion to ‘ignored’ women’s health
The incidence of early-onset pancreatic cancer (EOPC) is rising, yet optimal treatment strategies remain unclear. While adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) has shown survival benefits in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, its specific role in EOPC patients following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and surgery remains underexplored. This study aimed to assess the clinical benefit of ACT in EOPC patients after NACT.
Methods
This retrospective cohort study analyzed pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients from the SEER database (2006–2019) who received NACT followed by curative resection. Propensity score matching (1:1) was used to balance covariates such as tumor, lymph node, metastasis stage, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were compared between patients with EOPC (<50 years) and average-onset pancreatic cancer (AOPC, ≥50 years). Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to identify prognostic factors.
Results
After propensity score matching (124 EOPC vs. 124 AOPC), EOPC patients had significantly longer median OS (41.0 vs. 29.0 months, P = 0.042) and CSS (48.0 vs. 30.0 months, P = 0.016). ACT was an independent prognostic factor for EOPC (OS: hazard ratio = 0.495, 95% confidence interval 0.271–0.903, P = 0.022; CSS: hazard ratio = 0.419, 95% confidence interval 0.219–0.803, P = 0.009), but not for AOPC (P > 0.05). Subgroup analysis revealed that EOPC patients with tumor, lymph node, metastasis stage II disease or those receiving ACT derived the greatest survival benefit.
Conclusions
EOPC patients exhibit superior survival following NACT and surgical resection compared to AOPC, with ACT further enhancing outcomes in this subgroup. These findings support the use of tailored ACT for EOPC and underscore the need for prospective validation.
Source:
Journal reference:
Pu, N., et al. (2025). Adjuvant Chemotherapy Improves Survival in Resected Early-onset Pancreatic Cancer after Neoadjuvant Therapy: A Retrospective Cohort Study Based on the SEER Database. Deleted Journal. doi.org/10.14218/ona.2025.00008
Sam’s Club is offering the Unistellar eQuinox 2 with an official backpack for only $2498, which is a huge $730 saving when compared to both items on Unistellar’s shop.
The eQuinox 2 is a powerful smart telescope that can find a vast number of deep-space objects with ease. It is especially useful for fainter objects like galaxies and nebulas due to the live-stacking capability, which allows for more detailed images by using multiple exposures and live image processing.
The Unistellar eQuinox 2 with Unistellar backpack is on sale for $2498 at Sam’s Club.
We rated it four and a half stars in our full Unistellar eQuinox 2 review and it features in our guides for the best smart telescopes, best telescopes and best telescopes for deep space. It has a 6.2MP camera too so that you can keep those amazing images of the cosmos for years to come.
Prefer to buy from your known retailer? Unistellar and Amazon both have this in stock but they’re not discounted.
Image 1 of 4
The eQuinox 2 is smartphone-controlled and finds your chosen celestial target for you.(Image credit: Jason Parnell-Brookes)
The Unistellar eQuinox 2 has a minimal design and only has a single button.(Image credit: Jason Parnell-Brookes)
The Unistellar eQuinox 2 has a 4.5-inch aperture and a 6.2 MP camera resolution.(Image credit: Jason Parnell-Brookes)
The Unistellar backpack fits the Unistellar eQuinox 2 nicely and is handy for taking to dark sky sites.(Image credit: Jason Parnell-Brookes)
In our full Unistellar eQuinox 2 review, we captured stunning images of the Whirlpool and Cigar galaxies. We were incredibly impressed by its ability to deliver stunning views of deep-sky objects even from light-polluted areas. This smart telescope is featured in five of our guides, including the best telescopes and best smart telescopes.
We featured it in our guides for deep space telescopes and best telescopes for kids because of its great automatic tracking and image stacking. The eQuinox 2 allows for easy location of faint deep-space objects like the Veil Nebula or Bode’s galaxy and then the ‘Enhanced Vision’ option stacks images to build a stronger a clearer image of your chosen target. The longer you leave the telescope on ‘Enhanced Vision’ while trained on a particular target, the more detail, color and sharpness you get.
This deal gets you the eQuinox 2 with the official Unistellar backpack for $2498 from Sam’s Club. The price on the Unistellar website is typically $3228 for both, meaning you can save a huge $730 in this amazing deal. The backpack is a worthwhile accessory for the eQuinox 2, as quite a few of these
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
The Unistellar eQuinox 2 is a smart telescope that makes exploring the cosmos incredibly accessible, even for beginners. The telescope is controlled via a user-friendly smartphone app, which guides you to objects in the night sky for observation or easy astrophotography. Whether you are an aspiring astrophotographer looking to capture the treasures of the universe or simply want to enjoy unparalleled views of the night sky, this telescope is sure to wow you.
Price history: On the Unistellar website the eQuinox 2 retails for $2799 and the backpack retails for $429, making a total of $3228 but this deal from Sam’s Club is offering both items for just $2498.
Reviews consensus: In our Unistellar eQuinox 2 review, we praised its user-friendly nature and powerful observational capabilities. Thanks to automatic tracking and smart light pollution reduction, this makes it a breeze for celestial observation, whether you are a beginner or an experienced astronomer.
Space.com: ★★★★½ | LiveScience: ★★★★½
Featured in guides: best smart telescopes, best telescopes, best telescopes for kids, best telescopes for beginners, best telescopes for deep space
✅ Buy it if: You want a user-friendly smart telescope for easy astrophotography and automatic deep space observation.
❌ Don’t buy it if: You prefer a traditional telescope where you can find objects yourself, or if you are looking for a more budget-friendly option.
Check out our other guides to the best telescopes, binoculars, cameras, star projectors, drones, lego and much more.
Whether you’re a keen birder or just starting out, using one of the best bird identification apps can enhance your birdspotting experiences. Bird identification apps can help you learn and distinguish between the different species, much the same as a traditional field guide book, but can interactively provide suggestions through submitted images or audio recordings.
Our expert, Alli Smith, Merlin Project Manager, highlights how useful bird identification apps can be: “Field guide apps are so helpful for learning about what birds can be found in specific places at specific times of the year. There are 11,000+ species of birds in the world, and they all have their own distributions and migratory patterns, if they migrate. Having a quick reference guide with range maps for each species can really help you narrow down what you might be seeing.”
While you can spot birds with the naked eye, a bird identification app like one of the options listed here can enhance your experience. Similarly, so can a pair of birdwatching binoculars, or a monocular for spotting distant species.
Additionally, you may be seeking something to help you with both bird-watching and astronomy; in that instance, we’d encourage you to look at our general best binoculars page with many more options fully reviewed and tested by our experts.
We’ve put together this guide, outlining the differences and similarities between the various bird identification apps out there. This list isn’t exhaustive but these are our top picks.
The quick list
Here’s an overview of the best bird identification apps. We give you some details here but, if one grabs your eye, you can find more detailed information further down the page.
Best for learning
The best for learning
The Smart Bird ID app has an interactive and user-friendly platform that allows you to identify birds via their calls or distinguishing features. It also gives you the opportunity to maintain the knowledge you gain through quizzes and more.
Read more below
Best for conscientious birders
The best for conscientious birders
Chirpomatic offers a unique feature by offering a bird-safe mode. When this is activated, the app will only play sounds when the phone is held to the user’s ear. This ensures no nesting birds are disturbed.
Read more below
Best for beginners
The best for beginners
Picture Bird identifies over 1000 species of birds across the globe, either by sounds or image — a large number for beginners to get to grips with, without it feeling overwhelming. Plus, the interface is user-friendly.
Read more below
Best for North America
The best for North America
While other bird identification apps focus on birds found across the world, Audubon focuses solely on bird species found in North America. This makes this app a great option for those interested in more local birds.
Read more below
Best for citizen science
The best for citizen science
BirdNET was developed as part of a research project to help computers learn the sounds of birds. When you use this app, the data you collect helps to develop AI as well as provide valuable data on bird species identification and distributions in order to aid conservation efforts.
Read more below
The best bird identification apps we recommend in 2025
Why you can trust Live Science
Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best ones for you. Find out more about how we test.
Best overall
Image 1 of 3
Merlin Bird ID provides a spectrogram read-out of real-time bird calls. (Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Merlin Bird ID)
Merlin Bird ID
A bird identification app that covers a huge range of species and can be paired with smart binoculars.
Specifications
Species diversity: 10,000+
Locations covered: US, Canada, Europe, Central and South America and India
Operating system: iOS, Android
Identification mode: Sound and image
Price: Free
Reasons to buy
+
Stores recordings by location
+
Exceptional species diversity
+
Good accuracy
Reasons to avoid
–
App struggles with birds mimicking sounds
–
Limited locations
Designed and developed by Cornell University, the Merlin Bird ID app is a thorough and expert app to help you identify over 10,000 species of birds worldwide. Lots of thought has gone into the design and features within this app — you can identify birds via sounds, images or even through description. The description identification process is so simple, with the app only asking three simple questions before presenting you with a list of options to help you identify the bird you’ve spotted. It’s super easy to use when you’re out on a walk, just hit the ‘Sound ID’ button to capture the bird sounds. Within seconds, the app suggests possible matches, with it being able to identify multiple birds through one recording. It is capable of picking up bird sounds from far away, even through your phone speaker. However, using a parabolic microphone can enhance the app’s ability to pick up further afield bird sounds.
Once the app has identified your bird, you can either cancel the recording or save it. If you opt to save it, the recording, along with your location, will be stored. This is a handy feature for bird enthusiasts who may want to locate the same bird species again and can’t quite remember where they heard it. The app stores all the information for you. Not only this, but for serious birders, you can save your birds to your life list which allows you to log the birds you’ve seen or heard. The photo ID function works just as well, allowing you to upload a picture from your phone (if you’re able to snap one before the bird flies away).
Merlin Bird ID is an AI-suggestion tool that appears to be pretty accurate most of the time — the only time it gets confused is when a bird mimics another sound or another bird. This can lead to incorrect matches. As it is an AI-suggestion tool, every sound you record or photo you upload helps the tool to learn. This means the knowledge gained from this app is a community effort, allowing data to be collected to understand bird numbers in specific regions.
This app has extra features, including ‘bird of the day’ where information is supplied on a particular bird that is likely to be seen or heard within your local area. There are also maps to show the distribution of birds and when they are most likely to be in those areas. But perhaps one of its biggest and best features is its ability to link with the Swarovski Optik AX Visio 10×32 smart binoculars. These binoculars use Merlin Bird ID’s database to identify birds when you view them through the binoculars, so birders can identify bird in real-time. This is clever and one of the first times this has been done.
Available on both Apple and Google Play.
Best for learning
Image 1 of 3
Smart Bird ID is full of bird information, knowledge and quizzes.(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Smart Bird ID)
Smart Bird ID
Test your birding knowledge with quizzes and more, with an app built by a birdwatcher.
Specifications
Species diversity: 1000 + for USA and Canada
Locations covered: Worldwide
Operating system: iOS, Android
Identification mode: Sound, image and video
Price: Free but in-app purchases $2.99-$29.99 per item
Reasons to buy
+
Built by a birder
+
Interactive learning tools
+
Worldwide
Reasons to avoid
–
Costs to get all features
–
Some users report glitches
–
Limited bird species
Smart Bird ID is an app built by a birdwatcher, meaning it has everything a keen twitcher will need. With this app, you use your phone’s camera and microphone to capture the bird’s call or an image of the bird. You can also capture a video of the bird for the app to then identify — this isn’t something offered on all bird identification apps and is a well-thought-out additional feature. This app also has a journal you can add your own observation notes to. Not only this, but you can also link the photos or sounds you’ve captured of the bird to this journal. This allows you to keep a thorough record of your bird spotting experiences.
One of the best things about this app is its ability to educate you about birds beyond the experiences you have when out birdspotting. You can share your identified birds with others, listen to bird calls and see images and videos of other birds to improve your knowledge as well as take quizzes to improve your identification skills. While it’s good to identify a bird call while out for a walk, it can be hard to learn these calls and remember which bird it was without the help of extra learning materials such as quizzes. This is a great bonus of this app.
As with most bird identification apps, it works offline so you can ID birds wherever you are. However, this app does cost money to install. The free version has ads whereas there is an option to remove ads for a small fee of $2.99. After this, there are upgrades you can purchase to be able to use more features on the app so do bear this in mind.
Best for conscientious birders
Image 1 of 3
Chirpomatic has a bird-safe mode with automatic night mode.(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Chirpomatic)
Chirpomatic
A considerate app with a bird-safe mode to ensure birds are not disturbed by sound playback.
Specifications
Species diversity: 100 birds
Locations covered: USA
Operating system: iOS, Android
Identification mode: Sound
Price: Free but can upgrade to pro
Reasons to buy
+
Simple to use
+
Good for beginners
+
Bird-safe mode
Reasons to avoid
–
Can’t identify via image or description
–
Better features cost money
–
Small species diversity
Chirpomatic is a great beginner’s app for bird identification. Unlike the other apps, it can only identify birds via audio. However, this makes it easy for beginners to press the button, record the sound and learn that specific call and bird species — there is no faff. Plus, once a bird has been identified, you get a picture of the bird to then also learn what it looks like. Further information on the bird is also provided allowing you to learn a little about that species, too. The app is so simple to use, making it beginner-friendly.
The best feature of this app is its consideration of the human impact on natural environments. While other apps play back the recording quite loudly (depending on your phone volume, of course), Chirpomatic has a bird-safe mode. When using this bird-safe mode, the app won’t allow playback to happen unless the device is against an ear. There is also a night-time mode which stops light from disturbing the birds you may be listening to. While the bird-safe mode can be switched on and off by the user, the night-time mode is automatic. We think this is a great additional feature that makes this app perfect for those who are very conscious of the natural world around them and want to have as minimal an impact on it as possible.
While you can download and install this app for free, there is a pro version which gives the user a few more features and is ideal for those interested in getting more from their bird identification app. With the pro version, you can organize, rename and export your recordings. When you export the recordings, they will save to your phone so you can see where and when you took the recording. This means you can revisit the same spot to find the same bird if you’re keen to monitor a bird species within your area. You can also share these recordings with your friends and fellow birders. There is an extensive reference section available to pro users where you can access images, descriptions, bird calls and song descriptions to enhance in your birding knowledge. Finally, the pro version offers bird quizzes for you to test your knowledge. You can choose which birds you want to be tested on or move through the built-in levels. This is a fun addition.
While Chirpomatic is a great option, it does only identify around 100 bird species and only within North America so for those outside of that area, another app within this guide may be more suitable.
Best for beginners
Image 1 of 3
Picture Bird app can identify over 1000 species worldwide.(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Picture Bird)
Picture Bird
A simple bird identification app that can identify over 1000 species worldwide — more than enough to get a beginner started.
Specifications
Species diversity: 1000+
Locations covered: Worldwide
Operating system: iOS, Android
Identification mode: Sound and image
Price: Free but in-app purchases $2.99-$29.99 per item
Reasons to buy
+
Easy to use
+
Extra information to increase knowledge
+
Worldwide identification
Reasons to avoid
–
Premium features cost money
–
Too simple for experienced birders
–
Limited number of IDs
As with the previous apps discussed, Picture Bird uses sound and image to help you identify birds. It uses machine deep learning technology aka AI to identify birds through the images or sounds you capture. When you submit a sound or image to the app, it compares it to training sets of millions of photos and sounds in the database to give you an exact match. Along with the identity of the bird, you also get further information including their feeding habits and habitat amongst many more things. These simple yet effective functions make it an appropriate app for beginners — there is plenty of information without feeling overwhelming or complicated to use.
The app boasts a collection function allowing you to store the images or sounds you’ve captured of the observed birds. This collection function makes it easy to find your IDs and you can even share these with friends via bird cards.
Picture Bird can successfully ID over 1000 species of birds worldwide. While this isn’t as high as some of the other apps, such as Merlin Bird ID, this is more than sufficient for beginner birdwatchers who want to learn the most common birds in their local area. For those with more experience, and who may be keen to see less common birds, this app will not suffice.
Best for North America
Image 1 of 3
Audubon bird guide uses either a filter or a search guide to help identify bird species.(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Audubon)
Audubon Bird Guide
A bird identification app designed for North America — perfect for connecting to your local nature.
Specifications
Species diversity: 800 birds
Locations covered: North America only
Operating system: iOS, Android
Identification mode: Description
Price: Free
Reasons to buy
+
Simple to ID birds through descriptions
+
Location specific
+
Sightings feature is useful
Reasons to avoid
–
No sound or image ID
–
Limited number of bird IDs
Unlike the other apps in this guide, Audubon focuses on users offering descriptions of the birds they spot to get an ID. While it is arguably easier to capture a bird call or photo and have an app ID the bird from there, the Audubon app encourages users to actively engage with nature, which isn’t a bad thing. By having to offer descriptions of the bird you wish to identify, users have to pay attention to what is going on around them. This is a great experience for novices to experienced birdwatchers to get closer to nature. Furthermore, the app narrows down the options of possible matches using your location and real-time — this is quite impressive. This means you won’t get a bird suggested to you that isn’t likely to be in your area at that specific time.
The Audubon app only covers bird species found in North America, being able to ID an impressive 800 bird species. While this is a good number, it would improve the app if it could identify more birds but we won’t grumble too much. Regardless, this app is a great option for those in North America looking for a location-specific bird ID app. Using this app can help you engage with the birds that come and go from your own yard as well as to monitor how often you see them and when. This can be a wonderful experience in building your connection to your local nature.
The Sightings feature allows you to capture all your birdspotting experiences in one place. You can record every bird you observe, providing you with a life list of birds you’ve spotted. The app is also clever in that if you want to visit a location with lots of birds, this app can help you identify birding hotspots and real-time sightings. This means that you don’t have to wait for the birds to come to you — you can go and find them.
Best for citizen science
Image 1 of 3
BirdNET uses your phone’s microphone to listen to bird song and identify species.(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: BirdNET)
BirdNET
Developed as part of a research project, using this app can aid conservation efforts.
Specifications
Species diversity: 3000+
Locations covered: Worldwide
Operating system: iOS, Android
Identification mode: Sound
Price: Free
Reasons to buy
+
Contributes to science and understanding
+
Suitable for experienced birders
+
Great species diversity
Reasons to avoid
–
No image or description ID
–
Ongoing improvements so accuracy may vary
If you’re a keen citizen scientist, you’ll love this bird identification app. BirdNET was developed as part of a research project to help AI learn how to detect and classify bird sounds. Their aim in developing this platform is to support conservation efforts by assisting experts and citizen scientists in their monitoring of bird species. The developers themselves call BirdNET “a citizen science platform”. As with many of the other bird identification apps, you simply press record to capture the bird sound and stop the recording when you’re ready. The app can then identify what calls it heard. However, with BirdNET, when you pick up multiple sounds during a recording, you can select portions of the recording to identify the individual bird calls. With some of the other apps, the birds that have been identified pop up during the recording, and for this reason, are more beginner-friendly. BirdNET is a little different in that it uses your brain more to decipher the individual calls you’ve heard and allows you to analyse these independently. For this reason, it’s better suited for experienced birders rather than novices.
Once you’ve selected the portion of the recording you’re interested in, you press ‘analyze’ and the app uses your time and location (from your phone’s GPS) as well as comparing to a database of bird sounds to identify which bird it is likely to be. It does all of this within seconds which is very impressive. It also gives you a confidence rating which shows how confident the app is that it’s that bird it’s heard. This is a really useful extra step that experienced birders will appreciate if they’re looking for certainty to improve their knowledge.
For birders to gain even more knowledge about the bird they’ve heard, you simply click the blue arrow that appears next to the identified bird and it takes you to three different webpage options which provide a wealth of information about the bird, including recordings for you to compare what you heard against what the bird sounds like so you can be sure it’s a match.
By using BirdNET, you are helping to aid conservation efforts as the more developed the app becomes, the better idea citizen scientists and experts will have about what birds are in which location and when. This can help aid conversation efforts and help protect their habitat. We think that’s a win-win.
Best bird identification apps: comparison
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Product
Type of identification
Location
Species diversity
Merlin Bird ID
Sound and image
US, Canada, Europe, Central and South America and India
10,000+
Smart Bird ID
Sound, image and video
Worldwide
1000+ for USA and Canada
Chirpomatic
Sound
USA
100 birds
Picture Bird
Sound and image
Worldwide
1000+
Audubon Bird Guide
Description
North America
800 birds
BirdNET
Sound
Worldwide
3000+
Our expert
Alli Smith
Alli is the Merlin Project Coordinator at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where her work focuses on outreach and figuring out how to make the best tools possible to help people learn about birds. She fell in love with birds on a middle-school trip to see the horseshoe crabs and shorebirds of the Delaware Bay, and she hasn’t stopped birding since! She believes in the power of community to make a positive impact on bird conservation, and she’s thrilled to be able to support birders worldwide through her role on the Merlin Bird ID app team.
Best bird identification apps: Frequently asked questions
What is the best bird identification app?
Our expert Alli Smith, Merlin Project Manager, distinguished between the different types of apps available and their usage, “I think you can categorize bird ID apps into two categories: apps that are like digital versions of traditional paper field guides, and apps that use AI to identify birds in photos or sound recordings. Some apps do both”. While apps that use AI to help identify birds are great, Alli advises caution, “When an app identifies a bird in a photo or a sound, the machine learning model is matching what it sees to what it was trained in. It’s a suggestion, rather than an authoritative identification. It’s up to you as the human observer to see the bird with your own eyes or listen with your own ears and decide for yourself whether the ID is correct.” With this in mind, the best bird identification app is one that you can use with ease and supplies the information you’re after. They all offer a similar experience but using a few can give a rounded experience, with some offering slight variations over others. Alli said, “I’d recommend downloading a bunch and trying them all out! All of them have their own strengths, and I think they all complement each other well. Most birders I know have multiple downloaded. I’d start with some trusted, free apps published by scientific or conservation-focused organizations”. Alli added, “I think the biggest value to any app is that it can help point you in the right direction. Birding is hard! Having an app to help narrow down an ID, or cue you in on what bird to look out for can help you get your eyes or ears on the bird faster.”
Why would someone want to consider using a bird identification app?
Bird identification apps can make it quicker to identify a bird when you’re out and about, or even at home in your garden. Some apps that use AI allow you to input a date and location which will help narrow down the options, giving you a list of birds that are likely to be in your area at that time. This is immensely helpful versus trudging through a paper field guide to find the information. As our expert, Alli Smith, said, “Apps that use AI to identify birds in photos or sounds are helpful because they can help further guide you in the right direction.” This means that bird identification apps can be useful to help birders, or novices, to know what to look for in a certain area. By hearing the sound ID first and seeing a picture of the bird on the app, a birder can then use their binoculars to search for the bird based on that information. It creates a rounded experience from a sound to a visual of the bird in real-time and can give a sense of accomplishment when you manage to spot the bird you first heard through the app.
How accurate are bird identification apps?
While it’s tempting to see AI as a reliable source for birding, apps that use AI can still get things wrong, as the machine is always learning and the apps are only as good as the material they learn from. Our expert, Alli Smith, Merlin Project Manager, commented, “Apps that use AI to identify birds in photos or sounds are only as good as the data that was used to train them, and they can make mistakes, especially with birds that look or sound similar, so they’re not always accurate. Mimics, like Northern Mockingbirds, are especially hard to identify properly by sound. Similar-looking species, like gulls or some warblers in their non-breeding plumage, can also be tricky to ID by sight, both for humans and for apps. If an app is suggesting a particularly rare ID, it’s probably not correct! It’s up to you as a human to use your best judgement and make the final ID for yourself.” So, while bird identification apps are a great addition to your birding experience, they are just that — an addition. This is why we recommend pairing one (or more) of these apps with one of the best binoculars for bird-watching so you can improve your bird knowledge and become more confident on the IDs that app is suggesting. Alli Smith also recommends reducing sound disturbance and getting good quality photos to improve accuracy, “I’d recommend trying to get as clear a photo as possible with the whole bird visible and in focus. For sounds, minimizing background noise will help – cars, airplanes, running water, your own footsteps, people talking all make noise and can make it harder for Merlin to work.”
How to choose the best bird identification app for you
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Our expert, Alli Smith, Merlin Project Manager, gives some advice on how to choose the best bird identification app, “If you’re looking for a field guide app to replace your paper field guide books, I’d think about whether you prefer photos or illustrations. Some apps, like Merlin, use photos in their guide. Seeing a real bird in different postures can be useful — it’s an honest look at what you might actually see in the field. But, a downside is that no photo can fully capture every field mark perfectly. There might be a branch obscuring part of the bird or maybe it’s standing in water and you can’t see the color of its legs. For that reason, some people prefer illustrations.
A huge advantage of illustrated guides is that the artist can intentionally include every field mark in the illustrations, so you might get a more complete idea of what the bird looks like. Some very beloved paper bird guides, like the Sibley Guide to Birds or the Collins Bird Guide, have app versions that include all the illustrations and information from the book.”
When it comes to apps that use AI to help identify birds, Alli Smith suggests looking at reputable apps, “If you’re considering apps that use AI to identify birds, I’d recommend looking at who publishes the app and how it was developed. AI models are only as good as their training data. If the app is produced by a scientific institution or a conservation organization, you can expect it to be reasonably accurate.”
The predawn hours of Aug. 8 present a perfect opportunity to see Jupiter’s four largest moons line up next to the “King of the Planets” as it voyages through the stars of the constellation Gemini.
Stargazers in the U.S. will see Jupiter rise above the eastern horizon roughly two hours before sunrise on Aug. 8, with Venus visible as a bright morning “star” less than 5 degrees to its upper right.
Observing the Jovian system with a pair of 8×42 binoculars will reveal the presence of Jupiter’s four brightest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. However, a small telescope — especially a Schmidt-Cassegrain or a Maksutov-Cassegrain — will help resolve greater detail on the gas giant’s cloud surface, while providing a closer view of the orbiting worlds.
Jupiter’s four largest natural satellites are collectively known as the Galilean moons, in honor of famed astronomer Galileo Galilei, who observed them in 1610. The icy moon Europa will be lined up closest to Jupiter in the night sky on Aug. 8, with Io and Ganymede positioned beyond. The most far-flung point of light represents the third-largest moon in our solar system, Callisto, which is thought to harbor a salty ocean beneath its alien surface.
A “parade” of a few of Jupiter’s moons can be seen in the night sky. (Image credit: NASA, annotations by Anthony Wood)
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been taking a good look at Jupiter and its moons since it entered orbit around the gas giant in July 2016. It has since captured a wealth of stunning imagery and scientific data that have enhanced our knowledge of the gigantic world and its satellites. These efforts will be bolstered by the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft and the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission, both of which are due to rendezvous with the gas giant in the early 2030s.
Stargazers who are interested in observing the dance of Jupiter’s moons should see our guide to the best binoculars and our picks for the best telescopes for observing the planets in our solar system. Photographers who are hoping to upgrade their gear for upcoming skywatching events should also check out our roundups of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography.
Editor’s note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com’s readers, please send your photo(s), comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
A massive wildfire that has scorched through 16,000 hectares of forest and villages in southern France since Tuesday has lost intensity but is still not under control, officials said on Thursday.
France’s biggest wildfire in nearly eight decades has killed one person and destroyed dozens of houses. Plumes of smoke rose over the forest area in the Aude region.
Three people are missing and two people, including a firefighter, are in critical condition, local authorities said.
Drone footage showed swathes of charred earth after the fire swept across an area one-and-a-half times the size of Paris.
The blaze, around 100 km (60 miles) from the border with Spain, not far from the Mediterranean Sea, has spread unusually rapidly, fanned by strong winds and very dry vegetation, following months of drought in the area.
Read More: Indian helicopters continue rescue operation in flooded Himalayas
It is now advancing more slowly, Environment Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told France Info radio on Thursday morning.
“The night was cooler, the fire is progressing more slowly, but it remains the most significant wildfire France has experienced since 1949,” Pannier-Runacher said.
“This is a wildfire that is a consequence of climate change, of drought in this region,” she added.
Christophe Magny, one of the officials leading the firefighting operation, told BFM TV that he hoped the blaze could be contained later in the day. But he warned: “As of now, the fire has not been brought under control.”
Also Read: Pakistan-born newspaper vendor in Paris to receive top French honour
Officials said an investigation was under way to determine what caused the blaze.
Scientists say the Mediterranean region’s hotter, drier summers put it at high risk of wildfires.
France’s weather office has warned of a new heatwave starting in other parts of southern France on Friday and expected to last several days.
A representational image shows students attempting the MDCAT exam. — APP/File
In line with the PMDC Act 2022 and a Sindh High Court directive, the cabinet has finalised a comprehensive admission policy for MBBS and BDS programmes in public and private medical and dental colleges across the province.
The provincial cabinet meeting, headed by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, designated the Sukkur IBA Testing Agency (SIBA) as the current testing agency due to its satisfactory performance in MDCAT-2024, but future selections will remain performance-based.
It was decided in the meeting that the provincial health department, however, would regulate the MDCAT and admissions across Sindh.
As per the PMDC Act, a uniform, province-wide MDCAT test must be conducted annually, with the provinces required to frame a formal policy, read a statement issued by the Sindh Chief Minister’s House.
MDCAT Policy includes strict adherence to PMDC rules for merit determination, pass percentages, and eligibility, it added.
For the applicants, a Sindh domicile is mandatory, with verification through Juvenile Cards and biometric authentication.
The seat allocation and distribution for all medical colleges and universities will be published in the annual Prospectus for Session 2024-25, which cannot be altered by the admitting universities, the statement added.
However, the provincial health department retains the authority to conduct the admissions process directly or through any nominated medical university. A supervisory committee will be notified by the department to oversee the process when handled by a university.
CNIC-based vehicle registration
Besides the MDCAT policy, the provincial cabinet approved a series of wide-ranging reforms, including the launch of CNIC-based vehicle registration and a province-wide reassessment of 3,371 protected heritage buildings.
The cabinet gave the green light to register seized government vehicles with altered chassis, establish Vehicle Fitness Inspection Centres, and grant a final extension in service and salary payments for COVID-19-era technical and supporting staff.
The meeting reviewed a proposal by the excise department to introduce a CNIC-based vehicle registration system, along with Personalised Registration Marks (PRMs).
The new system will link registration marks directly to a vehicle owner’s CNIC rather than the vehicle’s chassis, allowing owners to retain and reuse their personalised number plates even after selling their vehicle.
The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) will now be based on the chassis number, which remains the permanent identifier of the vehicle.
PRMs can be retained, reused, or surrendered by owners.
The system enables real-time traceability of vehicles and aligns with international standards.
CNIC-linked registration promotes easy tracking of taxpayer assets and improves administrative convenience.
It will be a modernised, owner-centric registration system with Integration with NADRA’s national database.
The cabinet, in principle, approved the CNIC-based registration model and its legal amendments to bring Sindh’s system in line with global best practices and recent reforms in the Islamabad Capital Territory.
The CM directed the Excise and Taxation Department to develop the CNIC-based system and then begin its testing, followed by amending the necessary law.
The CNIC-based vehicle registration would not be implemented immediately, but he would hold follow-up meetings to oversee its implementation once it has been properly tested.
