Getting started
From download to your first bird in about five minutes.
Your first five minutes
The four screens you see when you open Songlark for the first time.
Start
9:41
Songlark needs the microphone only while you tap Listen.
Allow while using
Not now
Allow the microphone. It is only on while you are listening.
9:41
Choose the birds of
Europe 412 species
North America 486
Australia 368
Choose your region. You can add more packs later.
9:41
412 species, 180 MB
Works with no signal once saved
Download on wifi
Download the song pack on wifi so it works offline.
9:41
Hear something?
Tap Listen
Your list: 0 birds
Go outside and tap Listen. Your first bird starts your list.
First-launch screens in tap order (sample app).
What Songlark asks for, and why
Four permissions, each asked for at the moment it is needed. You can change every one in your phone’s settings.
Microphone
Only while you tap Listen
To hear the bird. Recordings stay on your phone unless you share one.
Location
When you save a bird
To note where you heard it, rounded to 1 km. You can turn it off and type a place instead.
Notifications
Only if you turn them on
For a weekly note of what is singing near you. Off by default.
Contacts, photos, tracking
Never
The app does not ask for them and has no advertising.
Try it at dawn
Birds sing most in the first hour after sunrise. Stand still for a minute before you tap Listen; the birds get used to you faster than you think.
- Turn on quiet dawn mode before you go
- Keep the phone at chest height, microphone up
- One bird at a time: wait for a gap
Still stuck?
Tell us your device and app version and what you tapped. We reply by email, usually within two working days (sample).