Our community thrives on real-world data, and one of the most valuable ways you can contribute is by recording and sharing bird sounds. Here’s a straightforward guide to help you get started.

To see the list of species in the Songbirdz project that are missing audio recordings, see here.

Head over to xeno-canto and create a free account.

Once you're in:

• Go to Your Account → Licenses

• Select Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0

This license allows Songbirdz (and others) to:

• Share and remix your recordings

• Use them commercially

• Build on your contributions

👉 Take a moment to review the terms so you understand how your audio can be used.

You can change the default recording license at any time for your account, but this will not affect any recordings you had previously uploaded.

Download the Merlin Bird ID app.

Steps:

• Open the app and tap “Sound ID”

• Enable location services (this improves accuracy)

• Hit Record and capture bird sounds around you

• Stop when done and Save your recording

To export your file:

• Tap the Share button

• Download or transfer the .wav file to your computer

Before uploading, clean up your recording:

• Trim unnecessary noise

• Reduce background interference if possible

• Normalize volume to -3 dB

You can follow guidelines from eBird for best practices on audio quality and the recommended processing steps.

Go to the upload page on xeno-canto and:

• Upload your processed audio file

• Fill in details (species, location, date, etc.)

• Make sure the license is Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 in order for Songbirdz to have permission to use it

• Submit your recording

Once uploaded, your file will receive a unique link like:
https://xeno-canto.org/XXXXXXX

Send your recording link to the community:

• On X (Twitter)

• Farcaster

• Telegram group

This helps others discover, use your contribution, and grows the Songbirdz dataset.

Every recording helps:

• Improve bird identification tools

• Expand open-access biodiversity data

• Power projects like Songbirdz

Even simple backyard recordings can be valuable. Consistency matters more than perfection.

Our community thrives on real-world data, and one of the most valuable ways you can contribute is by recording and sharing bird sounds. Here’s a straightforward guide to help you get started.

To see the list of species in the Songbirdz project that are missing audio recordings, see here.

Head over to xeno-canto and create a free account.

Once you're in:

• Go to Your Account → Licenses

• Select Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0

This license allows Songbirdz (and others) to:

• Share and remix your recordings

• Use them commercially

• Build on your contributions

👉 Take a moment to review the terms so you understand how your audio can be used.

You can change the default recording license at any time for your account, but this will not affect any recordings you had previously uploaded.

Download the Merlin Bird ID app.

Steps:

• Open the app and tap “Sound ID”

• Enable location services (this improves accuracy)

• Hit Record and capture bird sounds around you

• Stop when done and Save your recording

To export your file:

• Tap the Share button

• Download or transfer the .wav file to your computer

Before uploading, clean up your recording:

• Trim unnecessary noise

• Reduce background interference if possible

• Normalize volume to -3 dB

You can follow guidelines from eBird for best practices on audio quality and the recommended processing steps.

Go to the upload page on xeno-canto and:

• Upload your processed audio file

• Fill in details (species, location, date, etc.)

• Make sure the license is Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 in order for Songbirdz to have permission to use it

• Submit your recording

Once uploaded, your file will receive a unique link like:
https://xeno-canto.org/XXXXXXX

Send your recording link to the community:

• On X (Twitter)

• Farcaster

• Telegram group

This helps others discover, use your contribution, and grows the Songbirdz dataset.

Every recording helps:

• Improve bird identification tools

• Expand open-access biodiversity data

• Power projects like Songbirdz

Even simple backyard recordings can be valuable. Consistency matters more than perfection.