Help Expand Merlin in Europe, North Africa, and the Levant
More than 150 recordings of each bird species are needed to train Merlin to identify a species by sound, but only 20% of bird species worldwide have enough recordings in eBird and the Macaulay Library.
You can help Merlin Sound ID learn new species and expand to new areas by making sound recordings, uploading them to eBird checklists, and tagging the background species audible in the recording.
Target Species
Updated: 20 February 2026
The species below do not yet have the required number of recordings to train Merlin Sound ID to learn the species, but we’re close. With your help, we can reach 150+ for each species and add them to Sound ID!
Interested in seeing target species for your specific region? Go to the Sound Recording Dashboard and search your region’s name to see a list of the most likely species you could go record today. And if you’d like a full accounting of audio for all species in the Western Palearctic, you can also download a CSV of recording counts here.
- Taiga Bean-Goose (Anser fabalis)
- Tundra Bean-Goose (Anser serrirostris)
- Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)
- Garganey (Spatula querquedula)
- Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
- Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
- Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus)
- Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta)
- Black Grouse (Lyrurus tetrix)
- Lady Amherst’s Pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae)
- Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis)
- Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata)
- Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Pterocles orientalis)
- Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax)
- Plain Swift (Apus unicolor)
- Red-knobbed Coot (Fulica cristata)
- Spotted Thick-knee (Burhinus capensis)
- Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus)
- Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
- Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
- Temminck’s Stint (Calidris temminckii)
- Little Stint (Calidris minuta)
- Small Buttonquail (Turnix sylvaticus)
- Collared Pratincole (Glareola pratincola)
- Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus)
- Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)
- Black Guillemot (Cepphus grylle)
- Brünnich’s Guillemot (Uria lomvia)
- Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus)
- Audouin’s Gull (Ichthyaetus audouinii)
- Mediterranean Gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus)
- Caspian Gull (Larus cachinnans)
- Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus)
- Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides)
- White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)
- Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
- Arctic Loon (Gavia arctica)
- European Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus)
- Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)
- Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea)
- Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus)
- European Shag (Gulosus aristotelis)
- Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)
- European Honey-buzzard (Pernis apivorus)
- Short-toed Snake-Eagle (Circaetus gallicus)
- Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis)
- Spanish Eagle (Aquila adalberti)
- Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
- Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
- Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus)
- Rough-legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus)
- Cyprus Scops-Owl (Otus cyprius)
- Marsh Owl (Asio capensis)
- Arabian Green Bee-eater (Merops cyanophrys)
- European Roller (Coracias garrulus)
- Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni)
- Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor)
- Masked Shrike (Lanius nubicus)
- Sombre Tit (Poecile lugubris)
- Caspian Tit (Poecile hyrcanus)
- Desert Lark (Ammomanes deserti)
- White-winged Lark (Alauda leucoptera)
- Turkestan Short-toed Lark (Alaudala heinei)
- Pale Crag-Martin (Ptyonoprogne obsoleta)
- Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler (Phylloscopus orientalis)
- Scrub Warbler (Scotocerca inquieta)
- Eastern Subalpine Warbler (Curruca cantillans)
- Balearic Warbler (Curruca balearica)
- Ashy-throated Parrotbill (Suthora alphonsiana)
- Arabian Babbler (Argya squamiceps)
- Tristram’s Starling (Onychognathus tristramii)
- Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush (Monticola saxatilis)
- Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus)
- Amur Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri)
- Atlas Wheatear (Oenanthe seebohmi)
- Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti)
- Western Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica)
- Eastern Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe melanoleuca)
- Blackstart (Oenanthe melanura)
- Black Wheatear (Oenanthe leucura)
- Hume’s Wheatear (Oenanthe albonigra)
- White-crowned Wheatear (Oenanthe leucopyga)
- Rüppell’s Weaver (Ploceus galbula)
- Black-headed Weaver (Ploceus melanocephalus)
- Yellow-crowned Bishop (Euplectes afer)
- Berthelot’s Pipit (Anthus berthelotii)
- Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch (Fringilla polatzeki)
- Trumpeter Finch (Bucanetes githagineus)
- Citril Finch (Carduelis citrinella)
- Cretzschmar’s Bunting (Emberiza caesia)