If you’re curious about the diverse array of flowers, trees, birds, or animals in your surroundings and seek assistance in identifying them, iNaturalist is worth exploring. This platform, supported by apps for both Android and iOS, specializes in helping individuals recognize local flora and fauna. Previously, we’ve highlighted birding apps suitable for enthusiasts, but iNaturalist expands its scope beyond just birds and is entirely free, making it particularly appealing to nature enthusiasts.
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The website of iNaturalist offers a wealth of information, though its app stands out as a primary reason to engage with the platform. Users can capture or upload images of plants and animals, which the app then attempts to identify via image recognition technology. The accuracy of this feature has impressed many users. Our testing involved uploading numerous images of various species, and in most instances, iNaturalist successfully provided either precise species identifications or at least classified them within the correct family. For example, a photo of a crow yielded a suggestion linking it to the “Crows and Ravens” group, while an image of a hibiscus flower corroborated a Chinese hibiscus identification, confirming the app’s utility in identifying species.
This image identification capability is arguably the app’s strongest feature, helping users uncover the names of many plants and animals previously unfamiliar to them. More importantly, amateur observers are likely to benefit significantly. Additionally, iNaturalist incorporates a social dimension that enhances its functionality. During the registration process, users can choose to allow their photos to be utilized by others under a Creative Commons license, supporting research efforts. Even if the app cannot identify your images, community members can help with identifications, and there is a sufficiently active user base in India that users can expect responses.
After identifying a species, users can share images on the platform and engage in discussions with fellow nature enthusiasts. However, it’s unfortunate that the app does not fully support discussion features, with much of the community interaction occurring on the website. The app does allow users to view nearby observations and search for images by location or species. Users can express agreement or disagreement with others’ identifications and participate in commentary. Still, the limitation on community engagement within the app is a downside.
Each entry on the app is categorized as casual, needs ID, or research grade. If a user marks a species as captive or cultivated, that observation receives a casual grade. Conversely, wild observations marked as “needs ID” await further validation. When enough users agree on an identification, the observation earns a research-grade status, contributing to scientific endeavors. While research grade may sound stringent, it simply requires identifiable images. High-end camera quality is not a necessity; even images taken with standard smartphones—like a Xiaomi Mi Max 2—can qualify, emphasizing that a decent phone camera suffices.
The app also enables users to contribute photos to specific research projects. For example, users can enlist their observations of frogs located in the Western Ghats, easily integrating their contributions into existing projects. Many projects are notable for their thoroughness, especially those in proximity to Mumbai.
Additionally, the app includes various guides aimed at aiding species identification. However, while some guides tailored to India lack depth, those related to the US prove to be more informative. The Indian guides tend to be fairly generic, covering a limited number of species in contrast to the more detailed content found in international guides.
iNaturalist serves as an excellent tool for transforming casual observers into dedicated wildlife enthusiasts. Its user-friendly interface facilitates the recognition of plants and animals and the community aspects encourage contributions to research. While it could benefit from greater integration of website features, the app is an outstanding starting point for anyone interested in the natural world, likely encouraging further exploration of comprehensive guides both online and offline.
iNaturalist is available as a free download on the App Store and Google Play.
