That tool exists -- and it's called the Merlin Bird ID app, which is produced by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and it is a veritable wizard in drawing you into the world of our feathered friends.

If you’ve ever heard a bird sing and wondered how you could possibly figure out what type of bird it could be without laboriously searching through recordings, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology now ...

The hugely popular Merlin Bird ID app has outgrown its nest and spread it wings to now enable the identification of more than 10,300 species around the globe. “The original idea for Merlin was ...

Is that a bufflehead? A coot? Maybe a loon? Get close enough to take a picture and the Merlin bird identification app will tell you in seconds — sort of like a Shazam for would-be ornithologists.