eBird shows what is there. Nature By Name helps you recognise it.
eBird is the world’s largest bird observation project. You log checklists, explore hotspots and see what others have reported. If you bird, you probably use it.
It assumes you already know what you are looking at. It can tell you twenty-three warblers have been reported at a hotspot. It will not teach you to tell them apart.
Nature By Name does that part, and it starts from your own eBird data if you like.
eBird: what was seen, and where
Checklists, hotspots, bar charts and life lists. It answers when and where birds occur.
Nature By Name: what it looks and sounds like
Practise the species from a place before you go, from photos and recordings. When you arrive, you recognise them instead of guessing.
Side by side
| eBird | Nature By Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Log sightings and explore records | Learn to name species yourself |
| Wildlife covered | Birds | Birds, plants, insects, fungi, mammals and more |
| Your life list | Detailed lists by year, county and yard | Import your eBird download and study it |
| Trip preparation | Hotspots, recent sightings, timing | A deck for the place and months, at a pace that has you ready before you leave |
Using them together
Use eBird to decide where to go and to log what you find. Use Nature By Name to learn the species before and after.
Download your data from eBird and import the zip here. Every species you have logged, including Merlin and Audubon sightings, becomes something you can practise.
Reach for eBird when
- You want to log sightings for science
- You want to know what has been seen recently and where
- You want detailed life, year and county lists
Reach for Nature By Name when
- You want to recognise the species eBird lists
- You want to learn more than birds
- You want practice, not a list to scroll
What people ask for
“There are potentially 650 species in the areas we’re going to. How do you absorb all this information?”
Reddit r/birding. Read the post
“I would like to make my own quizzes... a quiz that includes all gull species in a specific region, at various life stages, or a quiz that tests you on different sparrow songs and pictures from a certain region.”
Reddit r/birding. Read the post
Learn the birds on your life list.
Other comparisons: iNaturalist · Merlin · Anki · Seek · BirdWise · Field guides