Xeno-canto
Recordings of very nearly every bird call on earth, uploaded by amateurs and searchable by species, country and even call type.
Opens in a new tab. We do not control this site and it may have changed since we catalogued it.
How to get the most from it
Xeno-canto sits in Odd Obsessions under Weird, filed as coffee break.
- Set aside five to fifteen minutes and give it your proper attention.
- It works on a phone or a desktop, so open it on whatever is nearest.
- Turn the sound up or put headphones on — it needs audio.
- No account needed — you can start without signing up.
- Go in expecting something calming and brainy.
About this category: Sites built by somebody who decided to document a single narrow thing completely. Shoelace knots. Candy wrappers. Utterly sincere.
Good for
- Filling a coffee break properly
- Winding down when your head is busy
- Giving your brain a workout
- Killing time on your phone
- Trying it with zero commitment
Xeno-canto: quick answers
Is Xeno-canto free?
Yes. Xeno-canto is free to use and needs no account.
Do I need an account to use Xeno-canto?
No. You can use Xeno-canto without signing up for anything.
Does Xeno-canto work on a phone?
Yes. Xeno-canto works on phones as well as desktop browsers.
Is Xeno-canto safe for work?
Yes, we file it as safe for work. It does need sound, so bring headphones.
How long does Xeno-canto take?
We file it as "Coffee break": Five to fifteen minutes of proper attention.
More in Odd Obsessions
All 13 in Odd ObsessionsPeople staple bread to trees and photograph it. There is no deeper explanation available and no sign of it stopping.
- 2 min
A scatterplot of six thousand music genres you have never heard of, each one clickable for a sample and a list of its bands.
- 1 hr+
- Sound on
- Desktop
Every known way to lace and tie a shoe, diagrammed by one Australian for over two decades, including a knot he invented himself.
- 10 min
The real museum of 25,000 banana-related objects has a website, and it looks exactly as you are already imagining.
- 2 min
Same mood: calming
All calming sitesOne expanding circle to breathe along with, adjustable to box breathing or 4-7-8, and nothing else on the page.
Old Faithful on a live feed, plus static cameras on the geyser basin and the north entrance, run by the National Park Service.
The Norwegian met office's forecast, famously accurate across Scandinavia and unusually calm about admitting uncertainty everywhere else.
- <1 min
Mahjong solitaire in a dozen layouts with no download and no account, exactly as it was on every family PC in 2004.
- 10 min
Keep exploring
Category
Time and mood
Have a site of your own? Suggest it for Detour or browse the AltFTool backlinks hub.