The “Warbler Guide” [App Review]

I have been giving the opportunity to review the “Warbler Guide” App that is available with my iPhone/iPad. The Warbler Guide “book” that this app follows is not something you would carry with you on every birding adventure. However the two together complement each other really well. The book gives you more of a text book description of each species; the app appears to be a more field identification guide. My favorite feature of the App is that it’s always accessible when needed and then look up the other info in the book later when you get home.

Like many other bird Apps, the Warbler Guide has many song variations that can be played for each species. For example, the Black-throated Blue has a chip call, flight call and 4 different songs. If you play a song a “Similar Songs” box will open up listing other songs that are similar to that particular song to compare and then you identify the song you are hearing. I am a visual person and really love seeing the sonogram of each song next to it. This is defiantly the most updated bird App that I have found with bird vocalizations.

Black-throated Blue page

The 3D models are the main thing you notice when you start using this App. With a swipe of my finger on the picture you go from photo profile, photo headshot, drawing profile, photo of side/underside, photo of just the underside, and then drawing of the under tail patterns. You can do this 3D views with just one individual species or view all species together in comparison. Ultimately the ability to review these warblers in this 3D fashion makes this one of the best guides available to date. You don’t need internet to use and the only down fall is that it’s only being done with warblers not every species in North America.
Within each species you’re able to compare Age/Sex variations, view the range map and look at basic info on each bird. Small photos show where the birds are located on a tree-line, if they wag their tail or even typical posture of the bird. I am sure that I will learn more about this App once I get familiar with it.

Filters in helping identify the bird.

My wife showed lots of interest in the ability in doing the different filters in the identification of the bird. She will tell me that the bird had blue wings but I remember it had a yellow head. The app will filter through the birds and show the Prothonotary and Blue-winged Warbler as possible choices. From there I play the two songs and we can be confident her sighting in the back yard was a Blue-winged Warbler. Simple programing but outstanding design with the filters even getting into further details like eye ring color, supercillium color, eyeline color . . . my banding assistants are going to love this when I make them identify a new bird that we just caught. This will be a valuable tool for every bird banding station in North America.
It is impossible to express how great this application is and I just think it is a little costly of an app. However, I pray that they do a gull guide, shorebird guide or even a sparrow guide App next (or all of them).