Forest bird sounds
A countryside dawn chorus. Better for waking slowly or reading than for the middle of the night.
A 2-minute recording played in random overlapping segments, the way the app plays it, so you won't hear a loop. Start with your volume low. Keep this tab open.
About this sound
A dawn chorus in a forest: many birds singing at once, near and far, with the quiet of the trees between the calls.
We used almost 10 minutes of the original, cut the low rumble below 120 Hz and removed a steady tone at 503 Hz that ran under the birdsong. The app plays random stretches of about half a minute joined with 4-second crossfades and a gentle drift in volume, so the same song does not come back in a recognizable order. The player on this page uses a 2-minute excerpt.
How people use it
Birdsong is full of distinct calls, which is lovely for waking up slowly, reading or working, but busy for the middle of the night. If you use it to fall asleep, keep it quiet and set a sleep timer.
Over a river or wind it sounds like early morning in the woods. Turning the Tone control down softens the highest calls.
Questions
Are bird sounds good for sleep?
Some people like them, but birdsong has many separate events that can hold attention. Steadier sounds like rain or a river are usually easier for the middle of the night.
Is it a real recording?
Yes, a real dawn chorus, cleaned of low rumble and one steady background tone.
Is the same birdsong repeated?
The app uses almost 10 minutes of recording and plays random parts of it, each coming back only after most of the others, so no recognizable pattern forms.
Get forest birds on your phone
Nightwool is coming to iPhone and Android. One e-mail when it launches, then we delete the list.