About Big Year of African Sounds

Capped Wheatear by Dorian Anderson | Macaulay Library

Why Big Year of African Sounds?

What is the Macaulay Library?

The Macaulay Library is the oldest and largest collection of bird sounds in the world. The Macaulay Library safely and freely stores your recordings for you when you submit media through eBird. Anyone can listen to them online and see your contributions for free. These recordings directly support scientific research, conservation, and the advancement of tools like Merlin Sound ID.

African birds are dramatically under-represented in global sound archives. In most African countries, less than 30% of bird species have the 150 recordings needed to train AI-powered tools like the Merlin Sound ID app. This gap limits both scientific research and the birding tools available to millions of people across the continent.

The Big Year of African Sounds aims to change that. Throughout 2026, we’re rallying the community to build a richer sound library that will power better identification tools, support acoustic monitoring, and advance our understanding of African birdlife. Every bird sound recording uploaded through eBird to the Macaulay Library in 2026 directly supports these goals.

Big Year of African Sounds Goals for 2026:

  1. Record over 1,800 species of birds
  2. Record birds in over 50 countries

How to Participate

Sound recording event in Uganda

For Recordists: Grab your phone or other microphone and get out there! Every recording counts, whether you’re documenting common backyard birds or seeking rare species. Your contributions will appear on our live metrics dashboard tracking progress by region, country, and individual recordist. Learn to record here.

For Organizations: Become a formal partner by promoting the initiative and hosting at least one sound recording event in 2026. We have limited grants available to support workshops and recording events.

For Everyone: Help spread the word, join seasonal recording challenges, tap into our online resources, or attend local workshops. Whether you’re a seasoned recordist or just starting out, there’s a place for you.

The Partners

The Big Year of African Sound is a collaboration between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, BirdLife South Africa, and a growing network of partners across the continent. See all partners here.