SongLark
Australia
Learn the bird calls of Victoria.
SongLark teaches you to name 48 birds of Victoria 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 48 birds of Victoria 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: Melbourne Backyard
The birds you hear every day. 9 birds, 4 lessons.
-
Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen
Fluty, warbling phrases; often daytime chorus.
-
Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae
Famous rolling laughter, often in groups.
-
Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus moluccanus
Continuous screeching chatter, very loud in flocks.
-
Common Blackbird Turdus merula
Rich, mellow fluting song from an exposed perch; sharp alarm chatter.
-
Willie Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys
Scolding 'chit-chit' and sweet descending song at dawn.
-
Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala
Sharp 'pwee' alarm pips and constant chatter in colonies.
-
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Monotonous cheeping and chirping around buildings.
-
Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
Bubbling, chattering medley of squawks and gurgles.
-
Little Raven Corvus mellori
Short, clipped 'kar-kar-kar' notes, often in a rapid series.
Level 2: Parrots & Cockatoos
Loud, colourful and hard to miss. 9 birds, 4 lessons.
-
Galah Eolophus roseicapilla
High-pitched 'chi-chi' screeches, often from flocks.
-
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita
Raucous, harsh screeching that carries a long way.
-
Long-billed Corella Cacatua tenuirostris
Harsh, wavering screeches and a distinctive rising 'currup'.
-
Gang-gang Cockatoo Callocephalon fimbriatum
Creaky, drawn-out call like a rusty gate or a cork being squeaked.
-
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Zanda funerea
Mournful, drawn-out 'kee-ow' wails from passing flocks.
-
Musk Lorikeet Glossopsitta concinna
Sharp, metallic screeches in flight; high chittering while feeding.
-
Crimson Rosella Platycercus elegans
Mellow bell-like piping and chattering contact calls.
-
Eastern Rosella Platycercus eximius
Bright bell-like 'kwink-kwink' notes and chatter.
-
Australian King Parrot Alisterus scapularis
Shrill, ringing 'crassik-crassik' in flight.
Level 3: Honeyeaters & Small Birds
Wattlebirds, bellbirds and tiny voices. 9 birds, 4 lessons.
-
Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata
Harsh, coughing 'yak-a-yak' and raucous chacking.
-
Little Wattlebird Anthochaera chrysoptera
Raucous, grating 'fetch-the-gun' and cackling calls.
-
New Holland Honeyeater Phylidonyris novaehollandiae
Busy, chittering twitter with sharp metallic notes.
-
White-plumed Honeyeater Ptilotula penicillata
Bright, cheerful 'chick-o-wee'; sharp chattering.
-
Bell Miner Manorina melanophrys
Single, bell-like 'ting' notes, endlessly repeated across the colony.
-
Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
Rapid, high-pitched piping trill; whirring wingbeats.
-
Magpie-lark Grallina cyanoleuca
Loud, repeated 'pee-o-wit' often in duet.
-
Grey Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa
Thin, tinkling, ascending sequence of high notes.
-
Spotted Pardalote Pardalotus punctatus
Repeated, soft, far-carrying 'sleep-may-bee' whistle.
Level 4: Fairywrens & Little Bush Birds
Small birds with subtle songs. 9 birds, 4 lessons.
-
Superb Fairywren Malurus cyaneus
High, tinkling trills; often in scrubby habitats.
-
Silvereye Zosterops lateralis
Warbling, tinkling song and thin 'tsee' contact calls.
-
Red-browed Finch Neochmia temporalis
High, thin 'sssit' contact calls from busy flocks.
-
Brown Thornbill Acanthiza pusilla
Rich musical warble with harsh churrs; a mimic.
-
White-browed Scrubwren Sericornis frontalis
Scratchy churring scolds from dense undergrowth.
-
Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis
Soft, piping 'chop-chop' and pre-dawn piping song.
-
White-throated Treecreeper Cormobates leucophaea
Piercing, evenly-spaced piping notes up a trunk.
-
Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena
Twittering chattering warble; sharp 'seet' in flight.
-
Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis
Gentle repeated 'coo-coo-croook'.
Level 5: Woodland Songsters
Whistlers, butcherbirds and forest icons. 9 birds, 4 lessons.
-
Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis
Rich rising whistles ending in a sharp whip-crack.
-
Rufous Whistler Pachycephala rufiventris
Ringing, joyful 'ee-chong' whistles in bursts.
-
Grey Shrikethrush Colluricincla harmonica
Mellow, musical piping phrases.
-
Grey Butcherbird Cracticus torquatus
Rich, piping fluty phrases delivered from a high perch.
-
Pied Currawong Strepera graculina
Ringing, far-carrying 'currawong' calls.
-
Black-faced Cuckooshrike Coracina novaehollandiae
Soft rolling, churring 'skair-eek', often in flight.
-
White-winged Chough Corcorax melanorhamphos
Descending, mournful whistles and harsh grating notes.
-
Satin Bowerbird Ptilonorhynchus violaceus
Wheezy, buzzing, mechanical notes and mimicry.
-
Superb Lyrebird Menura novaehollandiae
Loud, elaborate song built from expert mimicry.
Level 6: Water, Paddocks & Night
Wetlands, open country and the bush after dark. 3 birds, 3 lessons.
-
Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles
Loud staccato 'kekekek' alarm, day or night.
-
Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca
Mostly silent; low croaks and grunts at colonies.
-
Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides
Low, repetitive soft 'oom-oom-oom' at night.
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 Victoria.
Get SongLark
Start learning the birds of Victoria today
Install SongLark, sign in, and choose Birds of Victoria 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 Victoria course teach?
48 birds of Victoria, in six levels: Melbourne Backyard, Parrots & Cockatoos, Honeyeaters & Small Birds, Fairywrens & Little Bush Birds, Woodland Songsters and Water, Paddocks & Night. 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 Victoria.
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.
Other regions
