Apps for species identification
| Type | Team Size | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Me, Myself and I | Group Collaboration | The Academic System | Software | 1 | 2-10 | 11-30 | 30+ |
Contents
What, why and when
Species identification apps are used to easily and quickly identify species during field trips, mostly by beginners. They are also increasingly used for citizen science projects such as iNaturalist and Flora Incognita. In such projects, people interested in ecology and nature conservation can identify species using the app and also upload the picture and location of the observation. This is then checked by experts. Of all uploaded and checked photographs, a database of species observations is created. However, not all of the identification apps are directly connected to such a project. Most apps allow you to create your own library of species observations on your device.
Goals
Learning to identify species is hard and takes a long time. To easily identify species and enable people to get to know birds, plants, insects and other taxa, many apps for smartphones and tablets were developed in the last couple of years.
List of apps sorted by taxa
Most species identification apps work with photographs that are taken through the camera of the device and then uploaded and compared to a picture database. The species with the highest similarity to the uploaded photograph are then displayed, so that the user can select the most fitting alternative.
Some apps do not take up any data input. In these cases, the app uses a species identification key or shows pictures that can be used for comparison. This is often the case for apps that are based on a book. In some cases, you can play a sound, e.g. of a bird, and compare it to the sound you heard on your field trip. Please be careful with this function as playing voices of animals in the wild can distract present animals. In Germany, this is even prohibited by law (§ 39 BNatSchG).
Please note: For many apps, there is a free version with the basic functions and you can buy more functions and species descriptions in the app. In this article, for free apps, only the version with the basic function is described. If you are interested in the app, please check out prices for additional functions in the app store.
Information about each app was retrieved from the respective app stores (Google Play Store, Apple App Store).
Plants
| Name | Species | Region | Language | Price (€) | Media | Operating System |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baum ID Deutschland | 105 trees | Germany | German | 6.99 | Photos | Android, iOS |
| Flora Incognita | 16,000 wild plants | Europe, in the future global | English, German and 18 other languages | 0 | Photos | Android, iOS |
| Flora Helvetica | 3,000 Wild plants | Switzerland | German, French | 99.99 | Photos | Android, iOS, Windows |
| iNaturalist | Unrestricted number of wild plants, animals, funghi | Global | English, German and 69 other languages | 0 | Photos | Android, iOS |
| Nature Free - Europa | 1,200 Wild plants, animals, funghi, lichens | Europe | English, German, French, Italian, Spanish | 0 | Photos, Sounds | Android |
| Nature My - Europa | 2,500 Wild plants, animals, funghi, lichens | Europe | English, German, French, Italian, Spanish | 6.99 | Photos, Sounds | Android |
| Pl@nt Net | 20,000 wild plants | global | English, German and 17 other languages | 0 | Photos | Android, iOS |
| Seek by iNaturalist | connected to the iNaturalist database | global | English, Spanish, Hindi, Chinese, Portuguese, German, and French | 0 | Photos | Android, iOS |
Birds
| Name | Species | Region | Language | Price (€) | Media | Operating System |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BirdNet | 3,000 bird species | global | German | 0 | Sound | Android, iOS |
| Der Kosmos-Vogelführer | over 900 bird species | Europe, Middle East, Northern Africa | German | 19.99 | No media input | Android, iOS |
| Die Vogel-App! | 235 bird species | Germany | German | 0 | Identification key | Android |
| iNaturalist | Unrestricted number of wild plants, animals, funghi | global | English, German and 69 other languages | 0 | Photos | Android, iOS |
| Merlin Bird ID | Unrestricted number of bird species | global | English, German and 8 other languages | 0 | Photos, sound | Android, iOS |
| NABU Vogelwelt | 308 bird species | Germany | German | 0 | No media input | Android, iOS |
| Nature Free - Europa | 1,200 Wild plants, animals, funghi, lichens | Europe | English, German, French, Italian, Spanish | 0 | Photos, sound | Android |
| Picture Bird | 1,000 | global | English, German and 10 other languages | 0 | Photos | Android, iOS |
| Seek by iNaturalist | connected to the iNaturalist database | global | English, Spanish, Hindi, Chinese, Portuguese, German, and French | 0 | Photos | Android, iOS |
| Vogelstimmen ID | 136 bird species | Central Europe | English, German | 4.99 | Sound | iOS |
| Zwitschomat | unknown number of bird species | Europe | German | 3.99 | Sound | iOS |
Insects
| Name | Species | Region | Language | Price (€) | Media | Operating System |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iNaturalist | Unrestricted number of wild plants, animals, funghi | global | English, German and 69 other languages | 0 | Photos | Android, iOS |
| NABU Insektensommer | 450 insect species | Germany | German | 0 | Photos | Android, iOS |
| Nature Free - Europa | 1,200 Wild plants, animals, funghi, lichens | Europe | English, German, French, Italian, Spanish | 0 | Photos, Sounds | Android |
| Orthoptera App | 119 grasshopper species | Europe | German | 11.50 | Identification Key | Android, iOS |
| Seek by iNaturalist | connected to the iNaturalist database | global | English, Spanish, Hindi, Chinese, Portuguese, German, and French | 0 | Photos | Android, iOS |
| Tagaktive Schmetterlinge | 160 butterfly species | Central Europe | German | 9.99 | Identification Key | Android |
| Zeit der Schmetterlinge | 50 butterfly species | Germany | German | 0 | Identification Key | Android, iOS |
Fungi
| Name | Species | Region | Language | Price (€) | Media | Operating System |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iNaturalist | Unrestricted number of wild plants, animals, fungi | global | English, German and 69 other languages | 0 | Photos | Android, iOS |
| Nature Free - Europa | 1,200 Wild plants, animals, fungi, lichens | Europe | English, German, French, Italian, Spanish | 0 | Photos, Sounds | Android |
| Pilze App | 200 species of fungi | Germany | German | 0 | Identification key | Android, iOS |
| Pilzator | unknown species of fungi | Germany | German | 0 | Photos | Android, iOS |
| Pilze 123 | 3,700 fung | Austria, Germany, Switzerland | German | 34.99 | Identification key | Android |
| Pilzsuche Ultra | 1,100 fung | Germany | German | 2.99 | Photos | Android |
| Seek by iNaturalist | connected to the iNaturalist database | global | English, Spanish, Hindi, Chinese, Portuguese, German, and French | 0 | Photos | Android, iOS |
Picture search engines
Species identification is also possible by using the picture search function of search engines such as Google Lens. Here, you just have to take a picture with your smartphone or tablet. Then, you go to Google, select Google Lens and upload the picture. It is also possible to upload the picture with Google Lens. Similar pictures from the internet will be shown. For owners of an Apple device, this works in a similar way.
In many cases, the results already include a species or genus name or at least a hint towards the taxonomic family. However, the result might not always be correct, especially on the species level. Distinctions between species that are closely related might not always be clear. The distinction on a species level therefore only works for species with very distinct characteristics.
iNaturalist and Seek - A citizen science example
The iNaturalist project began as a project by a Masters's student at UC Berkeley in 2008 and subsequently became an initiative supported by the California Academy of Sciences in collaboration with National Geographic. Since 2023 it is an independent non-profit organization that partners with a wide network of institutions (iNaturalist 2024 a, b). The iNaturalist community consists of hobby biologists and experts representing diverse levels of knowledge from all over the world. The majority of members use the app as ‘observers’ and upload their pictures and other data, while the ‘identifiers’ have curative functions of identifying observations or verifying identifications coming from the community. Community members with a certain number of certified identifications can be promoted to curators (iNaturalist 2024 c).
How iNaturalist works (from the App instructions):
- Observe: Find a species and take a good picture for identification
- Share: Upload the picture to the iNaturalist community and give details about the location, time and specific characteristics of the environment
- Learn: The community can now join the discussion about identification of the species and make suggestions.
- Citizen science: Observations are shared with a network of scientists who determine the quality of observation and identification and build a database for understanding patterns in nature and for protecting biodiversity.
Seek by iNaturalist
Seek is an app that is connected to the iNaturalist database and is targeted at beginners. Via the device camera the species is observed and identified. The camera observation window shows the taxonomic rank that can be identified from this particular photo and the scientific name. Ideally, the respective living entity is identified as a specific species to be filed, but all ranks can be saved into the library of observations, e.g. for later specification or verification. The library shows the full taxonomic classification, the scientific and respective language trivial names, the date and location of observation, similar observations nearby, and observational statistics from the iNaturalist database, e.g. the seasonal distribution of observations (iNaturalist 2024 d).
The Seek app works independently of an iNaturalist account and creates a library on the device that is private. The private library can however be synchronized with the iNaturalist account and observations are then shared with the community.
The citizen science project connects a wide range of knowledge levels, with the Seek App being great for kids and beginners, the iNaturalist community of hobby and expert observers being an interactive learning platform, and the database being used by scientists or organizations in scientific and conservation projects.
Normativity
Species identification apps are increasingly used in citizen science projects such as iNaturalist. This method of data collection is controversially discussed among scientists. The reason for this is that the algorithm used for the app might not identify the correct species from the picture or sound file and that the citizen scientist might not be able to assess if the identification result is correct. Therefore, there might be some misidentification within a data set that was obtained by citizen scientists using species identification apps. It is possible to obtain large data sets by using these apps, so that a few identification mistakes might not influence the bigger picture. However, the circular reproduction of identifications from the database to the app user back into the database is more concerning. There could also be a temporal and spatial sampling bias of species occurrences based on who is using the app where and when (Dimson & Gillespie 2023). Tourists without deeper knowledge of the ecosystem may use the app more frequently than local people, and easily (or legally) accessible places are much better observed than locations in less populated or popular areas (see map in Figure 1).
Another reason for a general concern about identification apps is the loss of ability to work with identification keys. For well known species with distinct characteristics, identification via pictures is simple and fast. Looking at the kingdom of fungi or the class of insects, very often a picture alone cannot reveal enough information for a certain identification (which in case of fungi identification may be vital, if fungi should be eaten). A close scrutiny of characteristics and independent verification via identification keys is always recommended. Some apps like e.g. Die Vogel-App! or Pilze 123 have identification keys included.
References and further links
Apple (2024). App Store. https://www.apple.com/de/app-store/ (last access: 11/02/2024)
Dimson, M., & Gillespie, T. W. (2023). Who, where, when: Observer behavior influences spatial and temporal patterns of iNaturalist participation. Applied Geography, 153, 102916.
Google (2024). Google Play. https://play.google.com/store/apps (last access: 11/02/2024)
iNaturalist (2024 a). About. https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/about (last access: 11/02/2024)
iNaturalist (2024 b). Curator Guide. https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/curator+guide#:~:text=In%20order%20to%20apply%20to,promote%20another%20user%20to%20curatorship. (last access: 11/02/2024)
iNaturalist (2024 c). Network. https://www.inaturalist.org/sites/network (last access: 11/02/2024)
iNaturalist (2024 d). Seek App. https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app (last access: 11/02/2024)
Welt.de (2024). Natur-Apps - Vögel, Insekten und Pflanzen per Smartphone bestimmen. https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/webwelt/article195734785/Natur-Apps-Voegel-Insekten-und-Pflanzen-per-Smartphone-bestimmen.html (last access: 22/02/2024)
The authors of this entry are Anna-Lena Rau and Dagmar Berg-Mölleken.
