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The eBird v1.0 API, which has been deprecated since January 2010, has now been shut down. We left that version of the API up as long as possible, but a move to new application servers requires a definite shut down at this time.

At this point all applications and gadgets should be using the eBird v1.1 API instead. Please contact clois-api@cornell.edu if you have questions.

With the WildLab, an innovative science curriculum, teams of students use an iPhone, binoculars, and their brains to see their local environment in a new way. Launched October 2009 in New York City schools, the five-day science curriculum engages students in real field science, by identifying and logging birds seen in city parks and streets. The technology makes collecting rigorous bird data easy and fun, focusing students on the ecological questions. The pilot program was funded by the MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Competition.

Over 500 students have collected thousands of bird sightings in the field with their phones, which are used more as mobile computers and have restrictions placed on their use. Each sighting contains date, time, weather, latitude, and longitude. Back in the classroom, students reflect on and analyze the data they collect, which are available in their classroom's WildLab account. On their account's map, students can see where they saw birds, relate habitat and weather conditions to sightings, and develop their own lines of inquiry. At the end of the program, classrooms submit their data to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; researchers use the Lab's historical bird data to answer questions regarding global warming and biodiversity. Sightings are also "tweeted" to the WildLab's Twitter account, creating a real-time, searchable database.

The inquiry-based curriculum encourages questions. After sighting numerous pigeons on the way to a park, one student asked, "Where do pigeons go to die?"--an apt question, given the preponderance of the species. Last week, one student guessed there were only three species of birds in Brooklyn; within that class, she sighted more than that, and found out there are actually hundreds of species that fly through New York City every year.

With the phone application, students identify the habitat and bird silhouette, and then are given a list of birds, ordered by likelihood for that location and time of year. They can listen to the birds' songs and look at range maps and photos of the species to confirm their IDs. Students have already been able to correctly identify more subtle species, like a White-throated sparrow. Analytics embedded in the app help assess the performance and features of the app, as well as how the students are using the phones in data collection. Students also are able to share sightings via Facebook with their friends. The WildLab Edu app for iPhone and iPod Touch was launched in the iTunes app store on May 9, 2010 and is available for free; associated curricula are available on http://thewildlab.org. An Android version is also in the works, and an SMS citizen science protocol is available for those without smartphones.

Bird watchers and iPhone enthusiasts rejoice! A new iPhone and iPod touch app called "BirdsEye" just hit the App Store: http://itunes.com/app/birdseye. This app was built on the eBird API and allows users to pull in the most recent bird sightings at hotspots in their area, then gives them a map to get there themselves. It also features sounds for each species from the Macaulay Library. Kenn Kaufman wrote the species accounts. Images come from VIREO at the Academy of Natural Sciences. You can also keep track of your life list. The bottom line: getting people to see more birds.

Hugh Powell has written a terrific blog about it: http://redesign.birds.cornell.edu/

You can also visit the BirdsEye web page: www.getbirdseye.com

Here's the official news release: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1538

Congratulations to team at Birds in the Hand LLC of Virginia, who created this application and to all those who partnered to make it happen.

We have deployed a crossdomain.xml file for ebird.org to allow access by some Adobe clients to data at eBird.org. See this page for more details.

We are very interested to see how you use these APIs. Add a comment to the eBird APIs in Action or AKN APIs in Action pages if you use these APIs or if you see them in use in the wild.

Thanks!

New API Version

Version 1.1 of the eBird API has now been released. Version 1.1 expands and enhances version 1.0 with much more data available and many new query possibilities.

New Terms of Use

All the eBird APIs now have a formal Terms of Use statement that describes acceptable usage for the APIs. Read the statement for details, but one of the new aspects of the eBird APIs is that reasonable use use is free and open for noncommercial purposes; commercial uses require written authorization. Web sites and developers interested in exploring commercial usage should contact Mary Guthrie, Director of Marketing for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, at msg21@cornell.edu

Previous Versions Deprecated

Along with this new version release, the versions of the APIs that we had previously released have been deprecated. Version 0.9 of the ebird API will be retired on January 1, 2010. Version 1.0 of the ebird API will be retired on July 1, 2010. While deprecated, the APIs will still function as before. At their retirement, the API will cease to respond to requests. We encourage current users of these APIs to begin planning to end their use of these APIs now.