A mobile app is being used to track the movement and distribution of local rare birds. The BirdLasser app allows birders to record bird sightings and get them accurately submitted to a central database.Ornithologists are hoping the app will provide data on threatened bird species like the Wattled Crane, Secretary Bird, and Cape Parrot.Sighted endangered species are fed automatically to conservation causes like BirdLife South Africa's Threatened Species Cause.“As soon as you record something like a Secretary Bird, the app will ask for additional information like if they are breeding or with how many other birds,” said Ernst Retief, regional conservation manager, for BirdLife SA. “We can see where threatened birds are and where they are not.”The app works by recording the bird sighting through the mobile phone's GPS.The Secretary Bird is threatened because of loss of grassland habitat, but researchers who are too thin on the ground have difficulty in establishing population numbers.The idea is that the app will allow organisations like BirdLife to use crowd-sourcing to monitor species.Conservation organisations then vet the data, making sure it remains accurate. If a bird is recorded in an unusual area, they might ask for additional information or leave it out of the census.BirdLasser founder Henk Nel, explained that he began developing the app, five years ago.“I took up bird watching and the gogga bit me badly. But I hated the app tools that were out there,” he said.He explained that he wanted to create something that was more practical while out in the field.BirdLasser also records more common birds and is designed to work with the South African Bird Project. This where birds can be recorded by touching the screen. They are then, said Retief, uploaded to a database. It takes out the old problems of reading maps and time keeping.The app can be downloaded for free from Apple store, Google Play and Windows store...