eBird is an online tool that collects information about birds seen by people around the world. Scientists, researchers, and birdwatchers use this data to learn about where birds live and how many there are. The project first included bird sightings from the Western Hemisphere. In 2008, it added New Zealand, and in June 2010, it expanded to cover all areas of the world. eBird is an example of using help from non-experts to collect information about nature for scientific research.

eBird shows how data can be gathered from many people. It is seen as a way to make science more accessible to everyone, by viewing citizens as scientists. This allows the public to use their own observations and the combined data from others to learn about the natural world.

History and purpose

eBird was started in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University and the National Audubon Society. It collects basic information about how many birds are in an area and where they live, at different times and places. The idea for eBird came from a database called ÉPOQ, created by Jacques Larivée in 1975. As of May 12, 2021, more than one billion bird observations had been recorded in this global database. In recent years, over 100 million bird observations have been added each year.

eBird’s purpose is to make bird observation data easy to use and access for both hobbyists and professional birdwatchers. Each person’s observations are added to a worldwide network. Because people may see different numbers of birds, artificial intelligence uses past data to help improve accuracy. The information is then available online in many formats.

Scientists have used the eBird Database to study how bird migrations are connected to monsoon rains in India, which supports traditional knowledge. It has also helped track changes in where birds live because of climate change and identify migration paths. A study found that eBird lists can accurately show bird population trends and distribution when there are 10,000 checklists for a specific area.

Criticism of data

eBird data collected in cities is unevenly distributed, with more information coming from neighborhoods where people earn more money. This means eBird data may not be trustworthy for planning or studying bird life in urban areas. These biases can become worse during events like the COVID-19 pandemic, when government rules limited where people could go, causing data to focus more on cities than other environments.

Another study found that eBird data gave a different result about where the Nilgiri pipit lives compared to data collected by scientists using field observations and research. Because of this, researchers say maps showing where birds live based only on eBird data should be used carefully.

eBird data is not only uneven in where it is collected but also when. Better roads and areas with more people provided most of the data. Also, the number of data uploads changed a lot each month, with most information coming from weekends. If analyses use eBird data without fixing these large and long-term biases, the results may reflect people’s habits more than birds’ habits.

A study noted that people who help collect data have different levels of experience, and it suggested that research should adjust for this. eBird was used as an example in this study.

Features

eBird records whether birds are present or absent, and how many birds are seen, using lists of observations. A website lets people share their bird sightings or look up results through search tools. Online tools help users keep track of their own bird records and show data using maps, graphs, and bar charts. As of 2022, the eBird website is available in 14 languages, with three languages offering different dialect choices. eBird also provides common bird names in 55 languages, with 39 regional versions, for a total of 95 sets of regional common names.

eBird is a free service. Data are kept in a safe place and saved every day. These data are available to anyone through the eBird website and other tools created by scientists who study biodiversity. For example, eBird data are used by the Avian Knowledge Network (AKN), which combines bird population data from across the western hemisphere. This data is also used by the Birds of North America reference. In turn, the AKN sends eBird data to international systems, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

In addition to accepting reports from computers and mobile devices, eBird has placed special computer stations at popular birdwatching spots, including one at the education center of the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island in Florida.

eBird is included in Starlink on the 2019 Subaru Ascent. This allows eBird to be used on the car's touchscreen.

Extent of information

eBird collects information from around the world, but most checklists are sent in from North America. The numbers in the table below show only complete checklists, where people report all the birds they can see and name during the time they are observing.

eBird includes several regional sections for different parts of the world, managed by local groups. These sections are listed below, grouped by region.

• Alaska eBird
• Arkansas eBird
• eBird Northwest
• Maine eBird
• New Hampshire eBird
• Minnesota eBird
• Montana eBird
• Vermont eBird
• Wisconsin eBird

• eBird Atlantic Canada
• eBird Canada
• eBird Québec

• eBird Caribbean
• eBird Puerto Rico

• eBird Mexico (aVerAves)

• eBird Central America
• eBird Costa Rica
• eBird Guatemala
• eBird Honduras

• eBird Argentina
• eBird Bolivia
• eBird Brasil
• eBird Chile
• eBird Colombia
• eBird Ecuador
• eBird Paraguay
• eBird Peru
• eBird Venezuela

• eBird España
• eBird Greece
• eBird Italia
• PortugalAves
• eKuşbank (eBird Turkey)

• eBird Rwanda
• eBird Zambia
• eBird Zimbabwe

• eBird Hong Kong
• eBird India
• eBird Israel
• eBird Japan
• eBird Malaysia
• eBird Mongolia
• eBird ROK
• eBird Singapore
• eBird Taiwan

• eBird Australia
• New Zealand eBird