Birdle US

About Birdle US

Birdle comes from Raining Rock Studio and was created with BirdLife South Africa to get more people interested in birds and their conservation, whatever their experience. It says it was inspired by Wordle and Worldle. The same game runs in separate editions for South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, Mexico, India and New Zealand; birdle.us is the American one, with North American birds and size examples such as the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and the Sandhill Crane.

A day's game is a set of categories rather than one word. You answer the bird's name and questions about it: what food it eats, its size band, its habitat, and what its feet are adapted to do. After each round, green boxes show which categories you have right, and a photo of the bird becomes a little clearer. You have five rounds and need every category correct to win. Most days there is a recording of the bird's call too, though it is left out for some species at high risk of extinction, for conservation reasons.

The free game has stats, streaks and badges for things like guessing an owl or winning on the first try. Birdle PRO, a subscription, adds the last 14 days of games and Birdle Academy, a set of mini-games such as matching photos to calls. Proceeds go to bird conservation as well as to running the game.

Birdle plays in the browser and in apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, which can import your web statistics.

How to play Birdle US

1. Open Birdle US and look at the partly hidden photo of the day's bird.
2. Play the bird's call if you want an extra clue.
3. Answer each category: the bird's name, its food, its size, its habitat and what its feet are for.
4. Submit the round and see which categories turn green.
5. Use the clearer photo and your correct answers to fix the rest in the next round.
6. Get every category right within five rounds, then share your result.

Screenshots

Tips

• Answer the broad categories first; size and habitat narrow the name a lot.
• Listen to the call early; it often gives away the family before the photo does.
• The size question uses familiar birds as yardsticks, so compare with birds you know.
• Turn on daily reminders if you want to keep a streak and the badges that come with it.

Questions