Basics of the Terra Listens App
The Terra Listens app gives users the ability to setup their new Terra, listen to their Terra(s), see IDs and ID histories, and also listen to public sites from around the world. Here's a basic manual on using the app.
Installing the App
The Terra Listens app is available for both Android and iPhone. You can download it at the Google Play Store or on the Apple App Store by searching for "Terra Listens". The app icon looks like this:
Note that we do periodic updates to the app, so if you already installed the app, make sure that there are no updates available, or just delete and redownload the app to be sure you're working with the latest version. If you are using an old version of the app with a tree icon, be sure to remove that and download the new version.
App Startup
The first time you use the app you'll see some onboarding screens about Terra Listens, and you may also be asked to grant permissions for location, microphone, and bluetooth. Be sure to allow all these permissions - otherwise you may have trouble setting up or using your Terra.
You may also be asked to login or register. If you already have a user name/password from ordering your Terra, then you can login with the same credentials. If you forgot your password then just click "Forgot Password" and you'll be sent an email link to reset it. If you haven't created a name/password (for example if bought the Terra in person), then click on the "Register" button at the top of the screen to create a new account.
Live Listen/Home Page
Once you're in the app proper, you'll be on the Live Listen or Home page. This is where you can access different Terras (your own and public ones) as well as setup a new device.
If you haven't set up a Terra yet, you'll just see the Listen Live section, which has a number of public sites for you to listen to. Tap any of the squares to go to that location and start listening.
If you have setup up a Terra, you'll also see a "My Terra" section at the top of the page, and one or more square underneath for your Terra(s). You can click these to go to your Terra(s) and listen to them as well.
At the top right corner of the screen you'll see four colored dots - click those to access the Menu tray. This area gives you a number of options and controls for the app.
Listen takes you to the Live Listen/Home page
Setup Your Terra takes you to the setup pages for adding a Terra Station to your system
Login/Register lets you login to your Terra account (only visible when you're logged out)
Account allows you to change your account settings (name, email and password)
Get Involved describes why Terra is important to conservation and has a like for purchasing a Terra Station
About is a brief history of the Terra Project and its creation
Legal has our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions
FAQ has answers to some common questions
Support takes you the Terra Support page, including a knowledge base and the ability to submit a support ticket
Recommend gives you a basic email text for sharing Terra with your friends, and links to give a review on the App/Google Play stores
Feedback connects you to our contact page to let us know what you think
Logout logs you out of your account (only visible when you're logged in)
Social Media Links there are links at the bottom of the menu to your social media (Instagram, Facebook and X/Twitter)
After you've played a Terra Station, you'll see a large yellow circular controller in the bottom right corner of the app. Clicking this gives you several options for playback from anywhere in the app.
Clicking the "+" opens the controller, and when open, clicking the "x" closes it.
Pressing the center button toggles between play and stop for whatever location you listened to last / are listening to.
The remaining buttons are features that are not currently enabled, but will be coming in the future. They are:
Clock (upper left) a timer function that will let you set a sleep or wake timer for a location
Wave (lower left) will give a sonogram view of the location you're listening to
Reset (lower right) will reset the current locations Live ID tab and clear any IDs currently showing
Speaker (upper right) will allow you to connect to a bluetooth speaker - currently this sends you to your phone's bluetooth settings, where you can select a bluetooth device (if available) to stream to
Location Page
When you click on any location square from the Listen Live/Home page, you'll go to that location's page. You can start/switch playback to the location with the play button near the top of the screen, or by using the yellow controller on the bottom right. There are three primary tabs on this page:
Live ID the Live ID tab allows you to see bird IDs as they happen on the device. Note that the Terra IDs birds 24/7, even if you're not listening.
Likely shows likely species for your location. It's currently based on ID history, but in the future will be based on a more comprehensive list that Terra curates. You can choose "Taxonomic" or "Alphabetic" sort order for the list - Alphabetic is just A-Z by species name, while Taxonomic follows the outline of most bird guides, grouping bird species by their families (ie. Shorebirds, Raptors, Warblers, etc).
ID History shows all the IDs that the Terra Station has made at the location. Note that there is filter that allows you to control how you see the data on this screen.
The filter gives you several options:
Time Period is the time range that you want to see - from the last 24 hours to the last year
Sort By gives you three options: Alphabetic (A-Z by species common name), Taxonomic (groups species by Families), and Time (shows IDs by time recorded)
Display lets you see all your IDs, or just one for each species that was IDed - this is useful if you want to see what species of birds are in a time period, and don't want to scroll through every single example of a House Finch, etc.
Other Features
We are currently testing other features for the app online at our Featherworks section of the website. You can find out more here
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