WarbleFree iPhone game · real birds
Every bird has a song. Catch them all.
Warble listens to the birds around you, names the one singing, and turns it into a collectible card. 800 birds, an album for every state, no photos needed.
Free to play, one catch a day. iPhone, US birds.
Point your iPhone camera hereto open the App Store.
How it works
Tap. Listen. Catch.
A catch takes less than a minute and needs nothing but your ears and the phone in your pocket.
Tap the big green button
Warble listens for up to 30 seconds. Hold still and let the birds talk.
The song is matched on your phone
You watch the sound draw itself while the bird is recognized. No signal needed, nothing uploaded.
The card lands in your album
Common, uncommon, rare or legendary, based on how often people really report that bird in your state.
Hear it for yourself
Six songs you already know
Press play. If you have lived in the United States for a spring, at least three of these are old friends.
Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
American RobinTurdus migratorius
Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus
Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
Barred OwlStrix varia
Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
Real rarities
Some cards are harder to earn
Every state album ranks its 100 birds by how often people really report them there, from millions of public sightings. The same bird can be common in one state and legendary two states over.
- AL
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalisCommonNorthern Cardinal is common in Alabama
- CT
Baltimore Oriole
Icterus galbulaUncommonBaltimore Oriole is uncommon in Connecticut - CT
Scarlet Tanager
Piranga olivaceaRareScarlet Tanager is rare in Connecticut - MT
Blue Jay
Cyanocitta cristataLegendaryBlue Jay is legendary in Montana
Fifty-one albums
Pick your state
Each state album holds the 100 birds most often heard there. Tap yours to see which ones are common, which are rare, and which are still a mystery.
Ten seconds
See a catch happen
The whole loop, from tap to card, in the time it takes a cardinal to finish a phrase.
Warble is a free iPhone game that identifies the birds singing around you by their song and turns each species into a collectible card. It covers 800 North American birds with an album for every US state, works offline, and keeps all sound on the phone.
Free to play, one catch a day. iPhone, US birds.
Plain talk
What Warble is, and what it is not
- A real identifier. The bird is recognized from its actual song, live, on your phone.
- A collecting game. Cards, albums, rarities, achievements and a streak worth protecting.
- Offline and private. After the first download nothing needs a connection, and sound never leaves the device.
- For all ages. No ads, no accounts, no chat.
- Not a photo app. Warble identifies by sound only. A silent bird stays a mystery.
- Not worldwide. The 800 birds are the ones found in the United States.
- Not on Android. iPhone with iOS 17 or later, for now.
- Not a research tool. Noisy traffic or three birds at once can leave it unsure, and it says so instead of guessing.
Free to play
One catch a day is free. Forever.
The whole game is open: every album, every rarity, every achievement. Pro only removes the daily limit.
One catch every day. That is 365 birds a year if you never miss.
- All 800 birds and 51 albums
- Rarities, achievements, streaks
- Works offline
or $19.99 a year, which most people pick after the first weekend.
- Unlimited catches
- Every bird you hear becomes a card
- Cancel anytime in Settings
Questions people ask
Is Warble free?
Yes. Warble is free to download and play. Every day you get one free catch: identify a bird, add its card to your album, come back tomorrow for the next one. Warble Pro removes the daily limit for $3.99 a week or $19.99 a year.
How does Warble know which bird is singing?
You tap the button and the phone listens for up to 30 seconds. The sound is compared on the phone itself against the songs and calls of 800 North American birds. When one is clearly recognized, its card flips over. Nothing is uploaded.
Does it work without internet?
Yes. After a one-time download of about 100 MB on first launch, identification runs entirely on the phone, so it works deep in the woods, on a mountain or in a park with no signal.
Which birds can it catch?
800 species found in the United States, from backyard birds like the Northern Cardinal and American Robin to owls, hawks, ducks and warblers. Every state has its own album of the 100 birds most often reported there.
Is it a real bird identifier or a game?
Both. The identification is real and happens live, and the game part is what you do with it: collecting cards, filling state albums, chasing rare and legendary birds, and keeping a streak.
Is it good for kids?
Warble was designed to be fun for an eight-year-old and satisfying for an adult. There are no ads, no chat and no accounts. Sound is analyzed on the device and never leaves it.
Does it identify birds from photos?
No. Warble listens. Most birds are heard long before they are seen, which is why the game is built around sound. For photos, an app like Merlin Bird ID is a good companion.
Is there an Android version?
Not yet. Warble is an iPhone app and needs iOS 17 or later.
Guides
Learn the birds by ear
Short answers to the questions people actually type: which bird sounds like a car alarm, who is singing at 3 am, and how to start telling them apart.
What bird is that?
- Birds that say their own nameChickadee, phoebe, killdeer, whip-poor-will, bobwhite, pewee. The birds that introduce themselves, and why English named them that way.
- Which bird sounds like a car alarm?Nine times out of ten it is a Northern Mockingbird. Here is how to be sure, and who else gets blamed.
- Which bird sounds like a laser, a video game or a phone?The pew is a cowbird, the squeak from the sky is a hummingbird's tail, and the ringtone is a mockingbird. How to tell.
- Which bird sounds like a squeaky wheel, a rusty gate or a squeaky toy?The squeaky wheel is a Black-and-white Warbler. The rusty gate is a grackle. Here is how to sort the rest of the squeaks.
Learning bird songs
- Bird song mnemonics: the phrases birders use to remember songsDrink your tea, teakettle, who cooks for you: nineteen classic phrases, why they stick, and how to invent your own.
- Bird song vs. call: what is the difference?Songs are long, learned and about territory and mates. Calls are short and mostly built in. Hear both in four common birds.
- Birding by ear for beginners: how to hear birds you cannot seeMost birds are heard before they are seen. Five things to listen for, how to find the singer, and how to remember it.
- Why do birds sing in the morning? The dawn chorus, and what time it startsStill air, poor light for feeding and a night survived: why the loudest singing of the day happens before sunrise, and how to hear it.
Backyard and family
- Bird games for kids: screen time that ends up outsideA sound scavenger hunt, a breakfast contest, mnemonic charades, plus the apps and the board game worth a child's attention.
- Birding with kids: a first walk that actually worksPick a park with a pond and a treeline, go in the morning, follow three rules, and quit while it is still fun. Ten birds is a great day.
- How to attract songbirds to your yard (and hear them)Seven changes, in order of payoff, with the birds each one tends to bring and the songs you will start hearing from the kitchen.
- The 20 most common backyard birds in the US and what they sound likeDove, robin, junco, cardinal, chickadee, House Finch: the birds most yards share, and the sound that gives each one away.
Apps and how they work
- The best bird song identifier apps, compared honestlyMerlin, BirdNET, Audubon and Warble side by side: price, how each identifies a bird, offline use, and who each one is for.
- Bird collecting games: from Wingspan to your own backyardWingspan proved that people will happily collect birds on cards. Here is the family of games it belongs to, and the version you play with real birds.
- Does bird sound identification work offline?Some apps identify on the phone and work with no signal; others need a server. Which is which, and how to get ready for the trail.
- How accurate are bird sound identifier apps?What the published tests of Merlin and BirdNET found, what fools these apps, and how to get a better answer from any of them.
The birds are already singing.
Grab your phone, step outside, tap the green button. Your first card is waiting.
Free to play, one catch a day. iPhone, US birds.
