SongLark
Australia
Learn the bird calls of New South Wales.
SongLark teaches you to name 49 birds of New South Wales 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 49 birds of New South Wales 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: Backyard Regulars
The birds you hear every day. 9 birds, 4 lessons.
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Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen
Fluty, warbling phrases; often daytime chorus.
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Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae
Famous rolling laughter, often in groups.
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Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus moluccanus
Continuous screeching chatter, very loud in flocks.
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Willie Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys
Scolding 'chit-chit' and sweet descending song at dawn.
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Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala
Sharp 'pwee' alarm pips and constant chatter in colonies.
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Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
Bubbling, chattering medley of squawks and gurgles.
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House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Monotonous cheeping and chirping around buildings.
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Australian Raven Corvus coronoides
Drawn-out, descending wailing 'aaah-aaah-aaaaah'.
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Magpie-lark Grallina cyanoleuca
Loud, repeated 'pee-o-wit' often in duet.
Level 2: Parrots & Honeyeaters
Loud, colourful and hard to miss. 9 birds, 4 lessons.
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Galah Eolophus roseicapilla
High-pitched 'chi-chi' screeches, often from flocks.
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Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita
Raucous, harsh screeching that carries a long way.
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Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Zanda funerea
Mournful, drawn-out 'kee-ow' wails from passing flocks.
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Crimson Rosella Platycercus elegans
Mellow bell-like piping and chattering contact calls.
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Australian King Parrot Alisterus scapularis
Shrill, ringing 'crassik-crassik' in flight.
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Pacific Koel Eudynamys orientalis
Persistent, rising 'koo-el' heard through summer nights.
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Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata
Harsh, coughing 'yak-a-yak' and raucous chacking.
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Little Wattlebird Anthochaera chrysoptera
Raucous, grating 'fetch-the-gun' and cackling calls.
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New Holland Honeyeater Phylidonyris novaehollandiae
Busy, chittering twitter with sharp metallic notes.
Level 3: Bush & Scrub Songbirds
Small birds with subtle songs. 9 birds, 4 lessons.
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Superb Fairywren Malurus cyaneus
High, tinkling trills; often in scrubby habitats.
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Grey Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa
Thin, tinkling, ascending sequence of high notes.
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Spotted Pardalote Pardalotus punctatus
Repeated, soft, far-carrying 'sleep-may-bee' whistle.
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Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis
Soft, piping 'chop-chop' and pre-dawn piping song.
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Silvereye Zosterops lateralis
Warbling, tinkling song and thin 'tsee' contact calls.
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Red-browed Finch Neochmia temporalis
High, thin 'sssit' contact calls from busy flocks.
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Grey Butcherbird Cracticus torquatus
Rich, piping fluty phrases delivered from a high perch.
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Pied Currawong Strepera graculina
Ringing, far-carrying 'currawong' calls.
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Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus
Cheery, liquid 'pleased-to-meet-you' whistled phrases.
Level 4: Woodland Songsters
Whistlers and the songsters of the understorey. 9 birds, 4 lessons.
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Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
Rapid, high-pitched piping trill; whirring wingbeats.
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Lewin's Honeyeater Meliphaga lewinii
Staccato machine-gun-like rattle.
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Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis
Rich rising whistles ending in a sharp whip-crack.
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Rufous Whistler Pachycephala rufiventris
Ringing, joyful 'ee-chong' whistles in bursts.
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Grey Shrikethrush Colluricincla harmonica
Mellow, musical piping phrases.
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Brown Thornbill Acanthiza pusilla
Rich musical warble with harsh churrs; a mimic.
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White-browed Scrubwren Sericornis frontalis
Scratchy churring scolds from dense undergrowth.
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White-throated Treecreeper Cormobates leucophaea
Piercing, evenly-spaced piping notes up a trunk.
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Eastern Whipbird Psophodes olivaceus
Explosive whip-crack answered by a sharp 'choo-choo'.
Level 5: Parrots, Pigeons & City Life
Loud locals and introduced neighbours. 8 birds, 4 lessons.
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Eastern Rosella Platycercus eximius
Bright bell-like 'kwink-kwink' notes and chatter.
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Little Corella Cacatua sanguinea
Raucous, screeching, quavering flock calls.
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Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis
Gentle repeated 'coo-coo-croook'.
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Black-faced Cuckooshrike Coracina novaehollandiae
Soft rolling, churring 'skair-eek', often in flight.
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Olive-backed Oriole Oriolus sagittatus
Rich rolling liquid 'orry-orry-ole'.
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Australasian Figbird Sphecotheres vieilloti
Loud cheerful descending whistles and chatter.
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Pied Butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis
Gloriously clear, flute-like piping phrases.
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Satin Bowerbird Ptilonorhynchus violaceus
Wheezy, buzzing, mechanical notes and mimicry.
Level 6: Water, Paddocks & Icons
Open country, wetlands and the bush at night. 5 birds, 3 lessons.
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Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena
Twittering chattering warble; sharp 'seet' in flight.
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Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles
Loud staccato 'kekekek' alarm, day or night.
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Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca
Mostly silent; low croaks and grunts at colonies.
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Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides
Low, repetitive soft 'oom-oom-oom' at night.
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Superb Lyrebird Menura novaehollandiae
Loud, elaborate song built from expert mimicry.
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 New South Wales.
Get SongLark
Start learning the birds of New South Wales today
Install SongLark, sign in, and choose Birds of New South Wales 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 New South Wales course teach?
49 birds of New South Wales, in six levels: Backyard Regulars, Parrots & Honeyeaters, Bush & Scrub Songbirds, Woodland Songsters, Parrots, Pigeons & City Life and Water, Paddocks & Icons. It starts with Australian Magpie, Laughing Kookaburra and Rainbow Lorikeet. 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 New South Wales.
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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