On Birda, identifying a mystery bird is as much a social experience as it is a technical one. If a photo or description leaves you unsure, you can ask the community, a friendly global network of birders who help pinpoint species, explain key field marks, and teach you the “how” behind the answer so you’ll recognise the bird next time. Birda’s community spans hundreds of countries and is explicitly designed to be welcoming to newcomers and useful to experts alike.
How it works
Snap or upload a photo and when it comes to selecting a species, choose “Ask the community.” Other users reply with votes and short discussions about identification clues — for example, plumage details, posture, behaviour or habitat — so the process becomes a mini-lesson rather than just a label. Birda also offers voting and conversational threads so IDs are crowd-checked and explained rather than handed down without context. If you don't have a photo of the bird, try identifying the birding using our AI natural-language description identification feature.
Community + AI = better IDs
Community ID is intentionally complementary to Birda’s AI tools. The AI Photo ID and AI Description ID features give fast, location-aware suggestions, while human contributors provide nuance, rule-out reasoning and local knowledge, which helps people learn more effectively than AI alone. Together, AI and Human Intelligence (HI) make identifications faster and more reliable.
Why community ID matters
Learning happens faster when you engage: community replies teach identification techniques, surface similar species, and explain uncertainty. The social layer — including badges, challenges and friendly feedback — makes helping and being helped rewarding, which keeps the community active and kind.