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Each bird in BirdTab comes with a recording of its call or song, sourced from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Audio is available in photo mode only. When video mode is active, the video’s own audio plays instead.

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Controls

Play / Pause

Click the play button in the toolbar to start or stop playback.

Volume

Drag the slider to adjust from 0–100%. Defaults to 30% on first install. Your level is remembered.

Mute

Click the speaker icon to mute or unmute. Mute state persists between sessions.

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Auto-play

When Auto-play Media is enabled in Settings, the bird’s call starts playing automatically each time you open a new tab. Disabled by default.
Auto-play is automatically suppressed during Quiet Hours — no need to manually disable it at night.

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Quiet Hours

Quiet Hours prevent audio from auto-playing during a set window so BirdTab doesn’t make noise when you don’t want it to.
SettingValue
Window8:00 PM – 8:00 AM (fixed)
IndicatorMoon icon appears in the toolbar
Auto-playSuppressed during the window
Manual playbackAlways available, even during Quiet Hours
Enable Quiet Hours in Settings → Quiet Hours.

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Keyboard shortcuts

With the new tab page focused:
KeyAction
+ or =Increase volume by 10%
- or _Decrease volume by 10%

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Recordist credit

Each audio clip is credited to the original recordist with a link to the Macaulay Library asset.
Not all birds have an audio recording. If no recording is available for the current bird, the audio controls are hidden.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Open Settings → Auto-play Media and toggle it off. Once disabled, audio will never start on its own — you can still play it manually at any time by clicking the play button in the toolbar.
Go to Settings → Quiet Hours and enable it. Quiet Hours automatically suppress audio auto-play between 8:00 PM and 8:00 AM. When Quiet Hours are active, a moon icon appears in the toolbar as a reminder. You can still trigger playback manually during this window.
Open Settings → Auto-play Media and toggle it on. BirdTab will then start playing the current bird’s call each time you open a new tab.
If audio doesn’t auto-play even with this enabled, check whether Quiet Hours is active (look for the moon icon). Quiet Hours overrides Auto-play during the 8 PM – 8 AM window.