SongLark
Thailand
Learn the bird calls of Central and Southern Thailand.
SongLark teaches you to name 53 birds of Central and Southern Thailand by ear. Each lesson takes about three minutes and uses real field recordings, and every bird comes back for review just before you would forget it.
Your first course is free, with no ads. On iPhone, sign in to the web app in Safari.
The course
The 53 birds of Central and Southern Thailand you will learn
The course starts with the birds you hear every day and works outwards, level by level. Each lesson introduces three or four of these birds by their calls.
Level 1: City, Wat & Garden
The birds of Bangkok streets and southern towns. 9 birds, 4 lessons.
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Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
Flat chirps and a dry 'tchip' from eaves, wires and market stalls.
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Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
Bubbling, chattering medley of squawks and gurgles.
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Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis
Gentle repeated 'coo-coo-croook'.
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Zebra Dove Geopelia striata
A soft, bubbling, accelerating coo — the background sound of every Thai street.
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Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus
The rising 'ko-EL, ko-EL' that carries across town at dawn.
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Oriental Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis
Long rising and falling whistled phrases from a rooftop or bare branch.
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Yellow-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus goiavier
Chirpy, bubbling phrases from every southern hedge and hotel garden.
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Asian Glossy Starling Aplonis panayensis
Loud metallic 'tsri-tsri' calls from a noisy flock over town.
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Coppersmith Barbet Psilopogon haemacephalus
An endless metronomic 'tuk… tuk… tuk', like a hammer on copper.
Level 2: Park, Canal & Coconut Grove
The green corners of town and village. 12 birds, 5 lessons.
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Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius
A tireless loud 'cheeup-cheeup-cheeup' from deep inside a hedge.
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Streak-eared Bulbul Pycnonotus conradi
Dry, scratchy chattering notes — the default bulbul of Thai gardens.
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Malaysian Pied-Fantail Rhipidura javanica
A sweet, sliding whistled phrase, sung while fanning the tail.
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White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis
A laughing, descending rattle, often given from a wire far from water.
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Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis
A deep resonant series of 'hoop' notes, falling then rising in pitch.
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Plaintive Cuckoo Cacomantis merulinus
A sad descending whistled series, repeated over and over in the heat.
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Pink-necked Green-Pigeon Treron vernans
Soft wheezy coos and low growls from inside a fruiting fig.
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Black-collared Starling Gracupica nigricollis
Loud ringing whistles and chatter from open ground and playing fields.
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Ornate Sunbird Cinnyris ornatus
Sharp metallic 'tsik' notes and a quick twittering song. Split from Olive-backed Sunbird.
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Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker Dicaeum cruentatum
A hard 'tik tik' from a treetop, usually before you find the bird.
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Asian Palm Swift Cypsiurus balasiensis
Thin rippling twitters from overhead, always near sugar palms.
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Common Iora Aegithina tiphia
A long drawn-out whistle that drops away, then a sharp 'chee-chip'.
Level 3: Paddy & Marsh
The central plains, flooded and noisy. 9 birds, 4 lessons.
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White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus
Loud repeated 'kruak' notes building into a raucous chorus at dusk.
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Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus
The shrill 'did-he-do-it' alarm, day or night.
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Lesser Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna javanica
A high two-note whistle given constantly in flight, by day and night.
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Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus
A wheezy, hissing chorus from the whole nesting colony at once.
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Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis
A monotonous 'zit… zit… zit' dropped from a bouncing song flight.
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Plain Prinia Prinia inornata
A wheezy buzzing trill and sharp 'tee-tee' notes from tall grass.
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Bronze-winged Jacana Metopidius indicus
A wheezy, piping 'seek-seek' from the lily pads.
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Yellow-bellied Prinia Prinia flaviventris
A nasal, mewing 'chew-chew-chew' and a snapping wing rattle.
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Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
Harsh grating notes and clipped whistles from a roadside wire.
Level 4: Mangrove & Shore
Tidal mud, sea cliffs and the Gulf coast. 9 birds, 4 lessons.
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Collared Kingfisher Todiramphus chloris
A harsh, ringing 'kek-kek-kek' over the tide line.
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Golden-bellied Gerygone Gerygone sulphurea
A thin, wavering, silvery song that fades away at the end.
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Ashy Tailorbird Orthotomus ruficeps
A rapid 'chee-chee-chee' from mangrove scrub, harder than Common Tailorbird.
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Pacific Swallow Hirundo javanica
Twittering chatter over beaches, cliffs and southern rooftops.
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Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
A thin, wheezy, drawn-out mew from over the harbour.
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White-bellied Sea-Eagle Icthyophaga leucogaster
A loud nasal honking duet, like a goose, from a headland perch.
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Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
A shrill piping 'swee-swee-swee' as it flicks away low over the water.
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Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
A ringing three-note 'tew-tew-tew' from the tidal flats.
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Eurasian Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
A rippling seven-note whistle across the mudflats.
Level 5: Lowland Rainforest
Kaeng Krachan, Khao Sok and the peninsular forest. 9 birds, 4 lessons.
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Black-crested Bulbul Rubigula flaviventris
Bright, hurried whistled phrases from the mid-storey.
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Dark-necked Tailorbird Orthotomus atrogularis
A fast, insistent 'to-wee-to-wee-to-wee' from forest undergrowth.
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Pin-striped Tit-Babbler Mixornis gularis
A monotonous 'chonk-chonk-chonk-chonk' repeated in long runs.
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Greater Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradiseus
An unpredictable mix of loud metallic notes and mimicry of everything else.
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Oriental Pied-Hornbill Anthracoceros albirostris
Loud cackling, braying notes, with the wingbeats audible between them.
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Green-billed Malkoha Phaenicophaeus tristis
A low croaking 'ko-ko-ko', mostly silent otherwise as it creeps through cover.
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Asian Fairy-bluebird Irena puella
A liquid, ringing 'wheet-wheet' from high in the canopy.
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Blue-winged Leafbird Chloropsis moluccensis
A varied whistled song with mimicry of drongos and minivets.
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Little Spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra
A hard, insistent 'chit-chit-chit' delivered in a fast run of notes.
Level 6: Southern Specialities & After Dark
Deep-south forest voices and the night shift. 5 birds, 3 lessons.
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Black-and-yellow Broadbill Eurylaimus ochromalus
An accelerating trill that rises to a whirring climax, then stops dead.
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Blue-eared Barbet Psilopogon cyanotis
A fast, high 'tk-trrt, tk-trrt' repeated without pause.
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Collared Scops-Owl Otus lettia
A single soft, frog-like 'poop' every ten seconds or so through the night.
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Brown Boobook Ninox scutulata
A soft, rising two-note 'oo-uk' repeated through the small hours.
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Large-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus
A steady 'chonk chonk chonk', like an axe on wood, from forest edge.
How it works
A course, not a soundboard.
Listen and answer
A call plays. You pick the bird. New species are mixed with the ones you have already met, so the answers never come from elimination.
Review at the right time
Every bird you meet gets a review date. Get one right and it slides further away; miss it and it comes back tomorrow.
Hear it outside
Three minutes a day is the whole commitment. Ten lessons in, you will pick calls out of the dawn chorus in Central and Southern Thailand.
Get SongLark
Start learning the birds of Central and Southern Thailand today
Install SongLark, sign in, and choose Birds of Central & Southern Thailand as your course. Not on Android? The same app runs in your browser.
- On Android? Install it from Google Play and sign in with Google.
- On iPhone? Open the web app in Safari and sign in. Add it to your home screen and it opens like any other app.
- One account, every device. Your progress syncs, so you can switch between your phone and your browser.
Questions
Frequently asked
Which birds does the Central and Southern Thailand course teach?
53 birds of Central and Southern Thailand, in six levels: City, Wat & Garden, Park, Canal & Coconut Grove, Paddy & Marsh, Mangrove & Shore, Lowland Rainforest and Southern Specialities & After Dark. It starts with Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Common Myna and Spotted Dove. The full list is on this page.
Is the course free?
Yes, your first course is free and there are no ads. When you first sign in, you choose one course to keep. Choose Central and Southern Thailand.
Do I need to know anything about birds already?
No. The course starts with the loudest, most common birds and adds three or four new species per lesson, reviewing earlier ones as you go.
Which phones can run SongLark?
On Android, install SongLark from Google Play. On iPhone, iPad or a computer, sign in to the web app at songlark.app/app. It is the same account, so your progress follows you between devices.
Does SongLark identify a bird I record myself?
No. That is the opposite of what SongLark does. Rather than having an app name the bird for you, SongLark trains your own ear so you can name it yourself.
How long does a lesson take?
About three minutes. A lesson opens with a short review of the calls you are due to forget, then introduces three or four new birds.
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