BirdTalk Command Reference

This guide provides a comprehensive list of all BirdTalk commands, organized by category. Commands are listed in order of most commonly used within each category.

Essential Commands

Starting and Stopping

• When a checklist is started, successive bird entries are stored in order.
• Multiple entries of the same species are combined when the checklist is uploaded to eBird.
• When a checklist is stopped, new bird entries are no longer appended to the checklist. Use the insert commands to include forgotten birds into appropriate places in an old checklist.

Commands:

• Say Start checklist - Begins a new checklist at current location
• Say Start archival checklist - Begins a new checklist at current location, dated 31 days ago, so that it won't show up in eBird notifcations. Used for entering historical data.
• Say Stop checklist - Ends current checklist
• Say Resume - Resumes a stopped checklist, so new bird entries are again appended to the checklist. Leaves a gap of no birds for the period the checklist was stopped.
• Say Upload later - Saves current checklist for later upload to eBird. Must tap the top line or select the desired checklist before using.
• Say Shut down - Turns off BirdTalk listening. Same as tapping the Stop button at upper left. App remains running but doesn't hear voice commands until you tap the Start button at top left.

Basic Bird Entry

• Say three mockingbirds - Records multiple birds of a species
• Say one robin - Records a single bird
• Say mockingbird - Records one bird (number defaults to 1)

Shorthand examples:

• Say cal quail → California Quail
• Say slope → Pacific-slope Flycatcher
• Say yellow-crown → Yellow-crowned Night-heron
• See FAQ for more details.

Location Management

Hotspot Selection

• Say Next - Switches to next nearby hotspot in menu shown right after Start checklist
• Say Insert checklist - Creates new checklist header at current position, using the time and location of the following bird entry

Species and Count Management

Reviewing Counts

• Say How many species - BirdTalk says back total species count for checklist
• Say How many robins - BirdTalk says back total count for that species
• Say How many species today - BirdTalk says back species count across all today's checklists
• Say Choose robin - Select most recent entry of specified species

Adjusting Counts

• Say No, three - Changes count of last entry (e.g., from 2 to 3)
• Say One more - Adds one to current count
• Say One fewer - Subtracts one from current count
• Say No, towhee - Changes species of last entry
• Say Make that five total - Adjusts to reach specific total

Corrections

• Say Scratch that - Removes last entry or memo
• Say Restore - Restores last removed entry
• Say Mark that - Marks entry for review (turns red)
• Say Unmark that - Removes review mark
• Say Unmark entire checklist - Removes all review marks

Comments and Memos

Adding Checklist-Level Comments

• Say Select checklist - Selects the entire checklist
• Say Memo cloudy with light rain - After selecting the checklist, adds a comment that applies to the entire checklist

Adding Entry-Level Comments

• Say Memo singing from oak tree - Adds comment to selected entry
• Don't pause more than a second or two after saying Memo and before saying the comment.
• Say Memo from scratch carrying nesting material - Replaces existing memo
• Say Memo nest 10 meters north of coordinates - Includes coordinates from when bird was first entered
• Say Memo nest at current coordinates - Includes coordinates of your current position

Reading Comments

• Say Read back - BirdTalk says back current entry's memo
• Say Read entire - BirdTalk says back all memos for current species

Editing Comments

• Say Edit memo - Opens memo editor
• Say Scratch that - Removes last added memo text

Checklist Management

Navigation

• Say Choose newest - Selects most recent entry
• Say Show coordinates - Displays GPS coordinates of each point, along with altitude in meters
• Say Sort by family - Groups entries by species
• Say Sort by time - Shows entries chronologically

Observations sorted by time (default)

Observations sorted by family

Upload Management

• Say Upload later - Marks current checklist for later upload
• Say Unfreeze - Marks an uploaded checklist as not uploaded (allows re-uploading if needed)
• Say Delete entire checklist - deletes the checklist whose header line is selected.
• Say Delete all checklists - remove every single checklist from BirdTalk, whether uploaded or not. This is a dangerously powerful command so be very sure that's what you intend before using it. In fact it's best not to even say this phrase near other people who are using BirdTalk, on the chance that their mic picks up your words. As a safety measure this feature requires that you first select the top line of the first checklist in your BirdTalk display.

There's nothing wrong with keeping your most recently uploaded checklists in BirdTalk for a few days, until you're completely sure the checklist made it into eBird. However, you will want to remove old checklists eventually, as BirdTalk slows down if it is holding on to more than 20 or so checklists.

Information

• Say How far - BirdTalk says back distance traveled
• Say How long - BirdTalk says back elapsed time
• Say Time - BirdTalk says back current time

Sharing

• Say Share with three - marks the checklist as having 3 additional authors in addition to you.
• The total (4 people in this example) is used for the Party Size field in the uploaded checklist.
• Edit the checklist online, after upload, and use eBird's Share button to specify with whom you are sharing.

Device Management

• Say Mute or Ignore - Stops listening for commands
• Say Resume or Listen or Unmute - Resumes listening

Information

System Commands

• Say Time - BirdTalk speaks current time (also confirms it's listening)
• Say Feedback app is having difficulty recognizing Brandt's cormorant - Stores feedback for later transmission (note: feedback is saved but not sent immediately)
• Say Send feedback - Packs all stored feedback into a file that it asks you to email to us

Next: For more detailed advice on voice recognition, shorthand names, and troubleshooting, see the FAQ.