Old World flycatchers, belonging to the family Muscicapidae, are small birds predominantly found in Europe, Africa, and Asia, with a few species reaching North America. Initially classified by Scottish naturalist John Fleming in 1822, the family's Latin name encapsulates their insect-catching habits, and today includes 352 species across 51 genera. Their appearance is diverse, often presenting in brown or brightly colored plumage, and they have evolved wide, flat bills ideal for aerial insect hunting, though some also forage on the ground. They inhabit a range of woodland and forest environments, with many migrating to warmer areas during winter. Their nesting habits vary from well-constructed cups to simple linings in tree holes, and their clutch sizes differ with an average of eight eggs for hole-nesters. Over time, taxonomic revisions, often influenced by molecular studies, have both expanded and refined the family's composition, with some genera being reclassified or reshuffled, reflecting the dynamic nature of avian taxonomy.
Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.
What Our Birders Say
Alice J
Awesome Birding Community
I absolutely love the community aspect of this app. The app is so user friendly and has fun interactive challenges to get you out birding. I’ve tried others but since I’ve started using Birda I’ve not gone back!
SuperOliviaGirl
Really great app
It’s easy to use and it’s fun to log the birds you notice on a walk or just in your garden. There’s a option to record the birds you see in a session which is really nice. Good excuse to stop for a while and just watch birds. I am also enjoying the information part where you can find out fact about birds from all over the world.
Dunners12345
Great App
Great app to use for logging and communicating with others who are interested in birds
Jake W
Great app
I use this app all the time as it’s quick and easy to log individual sightings or whole birding sessions. It’s an excellent way to meet new people and the forum is full of really friendly people. The challenges are a great way to get involved and learn more about birds. Cannot recommend it enough!
Robred 2
Fun way to add to your birdwatching experience
I enjoy watching birds in my backyard, but this app helped me really pay attention while on vacation this summer. It was fun to add new birds to my bird watching app.
Dan R
Great app for bird fanatics
Great app for bird fanatics - very user friendly and a perfect place to share sightings.
Nicole
Gets me outdoors more
I'm still loving this app. I use it most days & gets me outdoors more. Enjoying watching others progress and photo's, it's improved my wellbeing.... I love this app! I can keep a record of sightings and see what others have seen too.
Leonie
We've been waiting for an App like this
Excellent! We've been waiting for an app like this! Thank you! It would be nice if you could assign additional birds to sessions later!
Carl B
Helped me to identify more birds
Love this app and has helped me to identify more birds. The challenges and badges are great for keeping the motivation going to get out and keep birding.
Nick S
Work together with community
Been loving using this app to log my bird sightings and work together with community members to identify different birds. I've already learned a lot since I started about a month ago!
As featured in
BBC RadioABC NewsFox NewsForbesTimeoutAndroid CentralBirdWatching DailyPetapixel