Site header

On the left, Mike Marshall’s photo of a Mountain Bluebird perched on a branch beside a pine trunk, in a slightly tilted white Polaroid-style print captioned Mountain Bluebird. From the print’s edge the photo breaks into a curving stream of colored pixel squares, light streaks and binary code that arcs across the dark teal background and gathers in a soft glow at an iPhone on the right showing the FeatherDex species grid, landing on the same bluebird’s badge. Centered between them, above the arc, are the FeatherQuest logo, a thin gold rule and the word FeatherDex in aqua italic

FeatherDex

Turn the bird photos you already have into a collection you’ll love coming back to

Join the iPhone Beta

Join the iPhone Beta

You Already Took the Photos

FeatherDex helps you enjoy them

If you photograph birds, your camera roll is probably full of them: backyard feeders, family hikes, that one great shot of a heron, and a hundred blurry frames of a warbler that would not sit still. The photos are all there. They’re just hard to enjoy.

FeatherDex finds the birds in the photos you already have and turns them into a personal collection, organized by species. Every species gets a badge, your best shots rise to the top, and your life list grows. No re-shooting and no starting over.

It works alongside the birding apps you already love, like Merlin and eBird. They help you identify and log birds. FeatherDex is a home for your photos of them.

FeatherDex collection screen in badge view: a search bar reading Search species, places, dates, ratings, with Filters, Sort and Display buttons, above round species badges for American Avocet, American Oystercatcher, American Wigeon and Cassin’s Finch. Each badge has a gold FQ Rating pill such as 4.0 or 4.5 and a yellow date pill such as 2011 05/14
Your Collection

From Camera Roll to Collection

Same photos, a whole new way to see them
Before: a cluttered iPhone camera roll mixing bird shots with everyday photos like food, screenshots and a drawing. After: the same bird photos organized into the FeatherDex photo grid, labeled American Avocet, Cassin’s Finch, Downy Woodpecker, Canada Jay, Pied-billed Grebe, Snowy Egret, Golden-crowned Kinglet and more

How FeatherDex Works

Three steps from camera roll to collection
FeatherDex Discovery screen listing photo sources: Add Source and Add Photos buttons above three Apple Photos albums named All Birds, Wild Birds and Best of Best Birds, each with its photo and bird-photo counts, followed by View all sources, Discover New Birds, Excluded photographs and Import eBird Life List
1. Connect Your Photos

Start with Apple Photos, where your dates, locations and albums are already in place. Google Photos, Google Drive and Files folders work too.

A FeatherDex photo of rosy-finches on snow, with four numbered boxes drawn around the birds. Below, a Birds list shows bird 1 as Black Rosy-Finch at 99.2 percent and bird 2 as Black Rosy-Finch at 57.3 percent, each with Confirm Species and Change Species buttons
2. Discover the Birds

FeatherDex finds each bird in a photo and suggests a species, right on your phone.

FeatherDex Change Species sheet for a Mountain Bluebird, listing AVES suggestions with percentages: Mountain Bluebird 99.9 percent, then Western Bluebird, Townsend’s Solitaire, Pinyon Jay and Eastern Bluebird, plus a combined family score for Thrushes and Allies, a species search field and a Mark Unknown option
3. Build Your Collection

Confirm the suggestions you agree with, and each species joins your collection with its own badge.

Get started with FeatherDex: connecting sources, reviewing IDs, and big libraries.

Make It Yours

A collection built from your own photos
FeatherDex collection in badge view: round scalloped badges for American Avocet, American Oystercatcher, American Wigeon, Cassin’s Finch, a chickadee and a Common Loon
A Badge for Every Species

Collect beautiful species badges, each one cut from your own photograph.

FeatherDex Quick Rating screen showing a Mountain Bluebird perched in a pine, with a gold FQ Rating pill reading 3.0. Below are My Rating star buttons from 1.0 to 5.0 in half-star steps, Undo and Clear Rating controls, a counter reading 6 of 9, and a filmstrip of the other bluebird photos
Your Best Shots

Discover your favorite shots and rate them with a tap. The best rise to the top.

FeatherDex Mountain Bluebird species page with a large badge dated 2022 09/17, eye, ear and camera icons for seen, heard and photographed, and the start of the species photo grid
Seen, Heard, Photographed

Track your birding life species by species, with Seen, Heard, and Photographed kept separate.

See all FeatherDex features: stacks for bursts, search and filters, locations, photographer credits, and more.

Your Photos Stay Yours

Private by design, and you’re always in charge

Bird ID on Your Phone

FeatherDex identifies birds right on your iPhone. Your photos aren’t uploaded anywhere to be identified.

Originals Untouched

FeatherDex never changes your original photos or their metadata. Your ratings, species, and badges live in FeatherDex.

You Make the Call

Every ID is a suggestion until you confirm it. Change it, choose just the family, or mark it Unknown. How FeatherDex handles your photos

Explore FeatherDex

Want the details? Each of these pages goes deeper.

Features

Badges, ratings, stacks, search and filters, your life list, locations, and photo credits.

Getting Started

Connect your photos, let FeatherDex find the birds, and review each ID.

eBird Import

Bring your eBird life list in, step by step, and review it before it’s saved.

Privacy

On-device bird ID, untouched originals, and when FeatherDex uses the internet.

FAQ

Answers about photos, identification, eBird, and the beta.

Birding Apps & Tools

The apps Mike actually uses in the field, including Merlin and eBird.

Help Shape FeatherDex

Now in beta on iPhone
FeatherDex by FeatherQuest logo

We’re inviting bird photographers and birders to test FeatherDex on iPhone. Explore your collection, find the rough edges, and help us make something worth using every day.

Joining puts you on the FeatherDex beta waitlist. It isn’t instant access: when we’re ready for you, we’ll email you an invitation to install the beta with TestFlight, Apple’s app for testing new iPhone apps. Sign-up uses the FeatherQuest email list, so you may also hear about new Quests and Guides. Unsubscribe anytime.

Join the iPhone Beta

Questions or ideas? We’d love to hear them. Contact us.