Compare iOS Birding Apps (Update October 18, 2013)
Sections: BASICS , MAJOR INCLUSIONS , CUSTOMER FEEDBACK , IDENTIFICATION BENEFITS , SEARCH ENGINE ATTRIBUTES , ARTWORK, PHOTOS & SONGS , AUDIO FEATURES , IDENTIFICATION AIDS , MISCELLANEOUS , NAVIGATION , PERFORMANCE , STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS , NOTES
For the Android version, see iBird vs the competition (Android).
On iPhone this table is best viewed in Landscape mode. Tap the Earth icon in upper right of iPhone screen to open table in Safari. Bold = best, most, etc.
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iBird Pro Guide to Birds 6.1 |
Waite’s Guide to Birds of North America |
The Sibley eGuide to Birds of North America
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Audubon Birds
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National Geographic’s Handheld Birds 2.0 |
Peterson’s Birds of North America 1.2.2 |
BirdsEye NORTH AMERICA
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BASICS back to top |
iBird | Waite’s | Sibley | Audubon | Nat Geo | Peterson | BirdsEye |
Developer/Publisher | Mitch Waite Group | Mitch Waite Group | Cool Ideas LLC | NatureShare | National Geographic Society | Appweavers Inc. | Birds in the Hand, LLC |
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Latest App Update | Feb 2013 | Sept 2013 | Jan 2013 | Jan 2013 | May 2013 | Aug 2013 | Jul 2013 |
Universal App? (works on iPhone and full-screen iPad) |
Yes | No, iPad only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Number of updates to date | 14 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
Number of species | 938 | 937 | 814 | 820 | 995 | 810 | 915 |
AppShopper.com Top 200 Charts (click charts to see full-size sales graphs) |
AppShopper.com |
No chart available | AppShopper.com |
AppShopper.com |
AppShopper.com |
AppShopper.com |
AppShopper.com |
MAJOR INCLUSIONS back to top |
iBird | Waite’s | Sibley | Audubon | Nat Geo | Peterson | BirdsEye |
Geographical range | North America + Hawaii | North America + Hawaii | North America | North America + Hawaii | North America | North America + Hawaii (1) | North America + Hawaii |
Hawaii included? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes (1) | Yes |
Includes Drawings? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Includes Photos? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Includes Drawings and Photos? | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Includes field marks? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Includes Search Engine? | Yes | Yes | Yes (2) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
eBird Hotspots? | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes (3) |
Observation System? | Yes (4) | Yes (4) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (5) |
Size of database | 620 MB | 1190 MB | 447 MB | 908 MB | 855 MB | 535 MB | 4 MB (6) |
Original Launch date | Dec 2008 | Jun 2013 | Feb 2010 | Oct 2009 | May 2009 | Dec 2010 | Apr 2013 |
Species Pages Click on a thumbnail to see how each app handles its “species” information pages. These all use the same bird: the Peregrine Falcon. |
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CUSTOMER FEEDBACK back to top |
iBird | Waite’s | Sibley | Audubon | Nat Geo | Peterson | BirdsEye |
App store Stars (current version as of 2-14-13) | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | New | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ |
No. of Ratings (current version) | 538 | New | 20 | 460 | 16 | 14 | 12 |
No. of Reviews (current version) | 242 | 0 | 13 | 214 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
App store Stars (all versions) | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ | ★ ★ ★ ½ | ★ ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ |
No. of Ratings (all versions) | 3344 | 58 | 158 | 1651 | 115 | 228 | 42 |
No. of Reviews (all versions) | 1526 | 18 | 101 | 720 | 68 | 166 | 34 |
IDENTIFICATION BENEFITS back to top |
iBird | Waite’s | Sibley | Audubon | Nat Geo | Peterson | BirdsEye |
Automatically shrinks list while typing bird name | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Search engine? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Number of searchable attributes | 38 | 36 | 4 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 0 |
Taxonomic search? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Band Code search? | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Latin name search? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
SEARCH ENGINE ATTRIBUTES back to top |
iBird | Waite’s | Sibley | Audubon | Nat Geo | Peterson | BirdsEye |
Shape | Yes | Yes | Yes (7) | Yes | No | Yes (7) | No |
Size | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Month | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
State or province | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (8) | Yes | No |
Observed State/Month | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
Region | No | No | No | Yes | No (8) | No | No |
Habitat | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Primary color | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Secondary color | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Backyard feeder | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Family | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Order | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No |
Length, weight, wingspan | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Search by song and song pattern? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
Leg color | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Tail shape | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Wing shape | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
Flight pattern | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
Bill shape and length | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Ear Tufts | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Pattern related: Head, breast, belly and back pattern | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Game Bird | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Head related Crown, forehead, cere, throat, nape, eye color | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
ARTWORK, PHOTOS & SONGS back to top |
iBird | Waite’s | Sibley | Audubon | Nat Geo | Peterson | BirdsEye |
Multiple photos per species? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Slideshow Feature? | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Multiple illustrations per species? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Multiple songs per species? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Zoomable Images? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Zoom range | 200% | 200% | 10% | 200% | 100% | 200% | None |
AUDIO FEATURES back to top |
iBird | Waite’s | Sibley | Audubon | Nat Geo | Peterson | BirdsEye |
Animated Waveform? | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Animated Spectrogram? | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Detailed Vocalization explained? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Similar Sounding? | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Phonetics Text? | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Loop Sounds? | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No |
IDENTIFICATION AIDS back to top |
iBird | Waite’s | Sibley | Audubon | Nat Geo | Peterson | BirdsEye |
Range maps? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Similar birds? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Similar song links? | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Conservation details? | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Family descriptions? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Flickr? | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Wikipedia? | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Interesting/Cool Facts | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Depth of database | High | High | Low | Medium | Medium | High | Low |
MISCELLANEOUS back to top |
iBird | Waite’s | Sibley | Audubon | Nat Geo | Peterson | BirdsEye |
Compare 2 Birds | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Camera to add photos | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Gallery | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
Favorites/checklist | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Species notes/life list | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Quizzes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Online or iTunes backup | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Embedded help | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
NAVIGATION back to top |
iBird | Waite’s | Sibley | Audubon | Nat Geo | Peterson | BirdsEye |
Previous/Next for illustrations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Previous/Next for photos | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Previous/Next for range maps | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Previous/Next for songs | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
PERFORMANCE back to top |
iBird | Waite’s | Sibley | Audubon | Nat Geo | Peterson | BirdsEye |
Responsiveness | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Typical | Typical | Typical | Fair |
Page Refresh | Very Fast | Excellent | Quick | Typical | Typical | Typical | Typical |
Lookup Speed | Very Fast | Excellent | Very Fast | Sluggish | Typical | Typical | Typical |
Startup Time | Quick | Excellent | Very Fast | Typical | Sluggish | Very Fast | Very Fast |
No Internet Connection Required | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES back to top |
iBird | Waite’s | Sibley | Audubon | Nat Geo | Peterson | BirdsEye |
Strengths | Beautiful images and slideshows with excellent bird sounds. Bird feeder search feature for hobbyists. Outstanding search engine, large amount of data per species. | Unique Birds Around Me (BAM) feature. High-resolution photos and illustrations designed for the iPad Retina Display. Excellent search features and field marks. | Sibley is the only app that offers a comparison feature. Superb art. Plenty of images. | E-bird hot-spot locator. Search by song vocalization, Thorough details for each species. Multiple song vocalizations. | Detailed species information. Quiz feature allows users to test their knowledge. User-friendly toolkit. Real-time news-feed. | Peterson’s illustrations include multiple side-by-side variations with explanations. Observation list allows users to “check off” birds that they’ve seen. | Recent and real-time sightings via eBird. Displays eBird observations around your GPS location. |
Weakness | No field marks. Needs more female and juvenile illustrations. iBird Journal not yet available. | Not good for outdoor field use because app was specifically designed for the iPad. No version for the iPhone or iPod. | Few search features. Weak zoom feature and database depth. | No illustrations. Many photos are fuzzy. User interface not very intuitive. | Illustrations are fuzzy when zoomed. Limited search features. No photos. | Illustrations are fuzzy when zoomed. Difficult viewing on the iPhone for some species. Limited search features. | Offline functionality is limited as it relies on data stream from eBird. |
FOOTNOTES back to top |
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(1) Peterson includes Hawaiian birds, however, their information is noticeably incomplete — including non-existent range maps. (2) Sibley’s search engine uses broad categories including distinguishing features, all water birds, sparrow size, etc. (3) BirdsEye is the only app that shows hotspots on a range map. (4) Waite’s Guide and iBird offers the iBird Journal where birders can save observations. (5) BirdsEye’s My Bird List requires the use of an eBird account. (6) BirdsEye’s database will grow as images and sounds are downloaded from eBird’s data stream. (7) Petersen and Sibley use a “Type” search attribute in place of “Shape.”” (8) National Geographic’s Region search attribute search by State instead of Region” |
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iBird Pro
In iBird the illustration and all the data about it are accessed by a sliding array of 14 buttons at the bottom of the page. Each button opens a large scrolling screen full of information about each topic. There are over 14 full pages of data per species. |
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iBird Full Screen
A single tap opens the illustration in full screen. The details displayed with the image are crisp, comprehensive and easy to read. At a glance you will see the Latin name, family name, order, bandcode and overview of the species. |
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iBird Photo
In addition to beautiful hand drawn illustrations iBird also provides several thousand photos. In this case we see a detailed flight view of the Peregrine falcon. iBird is the only app that offers BOTH illustrations and photographs. |
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Sibley
In Sibley the only detail is provided in a short paragraph under the drawing. Range map and audio are accessed by two buttons. This lack of information is somewhat compensated by the larger number of drawings of each species. However the drawings are the same tiny size as those in his book. |
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Sibley Full Screen
Here is the Sibley drawing after tapping it once to make it full screen. Note how small the image is and that it can’t be zoomed any larger. Other than it being an adult of the Pacific variety no additional information is provided. To read about the bird you need to close the screen and scroll the tiny half devoted to text. |
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Audubon
Audubon has a static menu of 8 buttons at the bottom of the screen. To read about the species you close the photo and tap the section called Description. The quality of the information in the app is very good. The app uses only photos, there are no illustrations like are found in Sibley and iBird. |
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Audubon Full Screen
Here is the Audubon photo after tapping it once to make it full screen. Note the image does not use entire screen of the iPhone. While the photo can be zoomed it becomes fuzzy. |
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National Geographic
The National Geographic app has a single scrolling page. To access the remaining information about the bird you scroll down to 5 categories for describing the bird. The information is adequare but not as extensive as other apps. Suprisingly the company that produces the finest printed field guide on the market did not put the same effort into their app. |
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National Geographic Full Screen
To see the larger version of the illustration you tap the Images menu. Unfortunately when the image is zoomed it pixelates and becomes fuzyy as you can see here. The National Geographic app is also one of the smallest with only about 83 MB while the others are all around 500 MB. |
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Peterson
Peterson can be a perplexing app to navigate. There is no single isolated image of the species, instead its part of a collage of other drawings. It’s the only app that has no search box where you can access the bird by typing its name. Instead you must manually scroll though “pages” of drawings until you find the composite containing the species you want, tap it, then tap an icon to see the illustration full size. |
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Peterson Full Size
Here we see the largest view of the species. Unfortunately Roger Peterson drew a collection of birds which overlap so its not possible to isolate just a single view of any species. As you can see the head of the female is cut off. There is no way to pan the drawing to bring it into view nor can it be zoomed to see more detail. |
