Useful tools and resources for plant/animal ID

Why AI?

With AI becoming increasingly integrated into our lives, I've embraced it as a tool to enhance my work, studies, and for fun! Primarily, I use these tools to confirm my plant ID, but sometimes I also rely on tools for bird calls, herping, and identifying a particularly perplexing insect. Generally, I consider myself an intermediate-to-expert at flora and fauna in the southeast region, but the further I get from North Carolina, the less accurate I become. I'll be the first to admit uncertainty, and in those cases I often have an app or a resource I rely upon to point me in the right direction. It's much easier to pull out my phone and try to identify something - rather than keying out plant species like I have had to do on many occasions for work that relied upon the correct wetland plant ID. Often times you get the correct answer, or you get close enough to use your results as a starting point for further research.

I've experimented with various tools, but I always cross-reference results to ensure accuracy. Here are a few I've tried out, including some of my favorites: 

PictureThis vs iNaturalist

iNaturalist is nice because it can ID plants AND animals. As a bonus it connects you to a community of citizen scientists - who help you with identification - and share your interests. It's also cool that the data you collect in iNaturalist often contributes to research and conservation projects. You can also record sounds that you're unfamiliar with and the community will help you ID it! I can generally depend on iNaturalist to get me down to Genus - but not always and not without devoting a bit of time to using the app. All in all, there are a lot of benefits to this app - it's versatile and it includes real people, which is nice! But my issue with it is that I don't always want to log my observations - and the process of "observing" takes time as you go through the steps. Sometimes I just need a quick answer! Since I haven't used iNaturalist regularly I don't have a lot of experience with its other features - but I do know that you can create new citizen science projects or join ongoing ones and analyze community observations in graphs or visualize data on a map, which is probably the most engaging feature in my opinion.

Screenshot from iNaturalist Observation

I found that PictureThis is more accurate than iNaturalist for plant ID in my tests - but I pay for the premium features which may enhance my capabilities. When I use iNaturalist sometimes I get the "we're not confident enough to make a decision" message. PictureThis seems to have an answer most of the time. However, the beauty of this app to me, is the simplicity. I can pull out my phone, take a quick photo, and have an ID within seconds without creating a new observation; but you do have the option to store your snaps in "your garden" which I find handy- because then I have a quick reference I can use when I've just learned a plant but can't remember the name. Additionally, all of my "snaps" are automatically stored in the app. The other reason I like PictureThis is that I can also use it for my indoor plants to identify diseases and other health issues. Yes, that's irrelevant to field-use, but I figured I'd mention it since it influenced my preferences!

Screenshot from PictureThis "Snaps" library

Merlin Bird ID - Cornell Lab of Ornithology 

This app is a game changer for bird enthusiasts! Once you're in, you download a "Bird Pack" which is essentially a customized database tailored to the region you are located in. This helps to narrow down results to species that occur in the area you're recording from. It works like this: By recording bird calls, it provides real-time identification. It even provides a sound frequency graph and and highlights the species you're hearing in-situ. The app stores the recordings so you can come back later to brag to your friends, or to get better at identifying the various bird calls. Recently my husband and I used it on the river when we heard a hawk we were unfamiliar with. The app identified it as a Peregrine Falcon, which we've never seen, so I was sure it was a mistake! Later, we researched it, and sure enough it was spot on! You also have the option to explore bird calls near your location based on what is "likely near" you. I like this option too, because you can learn calls without having to be in the vicinity of the bird you're interested in.

Screenshot from Merlin Bird ID during recording (Stolen from my Husband's Android)

Screenshot from Merlin Bird ID recording - 7.13.24

Amphibians and Reptiles of North Carolina - NC Partners for Amphibians and Reptile Conservation (NCPARC)

As an avid herper, I find myself relying upon this resource regularly! It's not AI-driven, but it's a reliable database of all the species of amphibians and reptiles that are known to occur in NC (my home state). Since many herps, especially snakes, tend to vary in their coloration and markings, it can be difficult at times to make the right ID. This site helps because it shows the range of the species as well as several photos showing various colorations, different age classes, habitats, and behaviors of the species you're looking for. 

Image Captured from Amphibians and Reptiles of North Carolina - Worm Snake 

Accessed 7.13.24 at https://herpsofnc.org/worm-snake/

It also gives gives pointers on how to identify the species accurately, and references potential look-alikes - which I have always found to be helpful. If you don't know what you're looking at even with the photos and information, you can submit your photos for identification and they'll follow up with you. Overall, this is a great resource for NC, but it's not applicable to the entire Southeast. I haven't found a single resource for that yet!

Image Captured from Amphibians and Reptiles of North Carolina - Need Help Identifying?

Accessed on 7.13.24 at https://herpsofnc.org/need-help-identifying-a-local-herp/

iPhone Visual Lookup: Apple

And finally, my go-to for a quick reference. More often than not, I just pull up the camera app on my iPhone to identify things when it can. It's also AI-driven, and it's not the best with accuracy - but it's right there at the bottom of my screen when I'm looking at a photo so it's rather convenient. I use this more often for insects and arachnids than anything else, since I pay for a plant ID and don't usually use an app to identify animals. Here are some examples of accuracy recently:

Screenshots (above and below) of iPhone Visual Lookup - Accurate Result

Screenshot of iPhone Visual Lookup feature - Inaccurate result 

Should be Echinacea purpurea (Coneflower)