diff --git a/chirp/chirp.go b/chirp/chirp.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fc717be19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/chirp/chirp.go
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2021 Tailscale Inc & AUTHORS All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+// Package chirp implements a client to communicate with the BIRD Internet
+// Routing Daemon.
+package chirp
+
+import (
+	"bufio"
+	"fmt"
+	"net"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// New creates a BIRDClient.
+func New(socket string) (*BIRDClient, error) {
+	conn, err := net.Dial("unix", socket)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to connect to BIRD: %w", err)
+	}
+	b := &BIRDClient{socket: socket, conn: conn, bs: bufio.NewScanner(conn)}
+	// Read and discard the first line as that is the welcome message.
+	if _, err := b.readLine(); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return b, nil
+}
+
+// BIRDClient handles communication with the BIRD Internet Routing Daemon.
+type BIRDClient struct {
+	socket string
+	conn   net.Conn
+	bs     *bufio.Scanner
+}
+
+// Close closes the underlying connection to BIRD.
+func (b *BIRDClient) Close() error { return b.conn.Close() }
+
+// DisableProtocol disables the provided protocol.
+func (b *BIRDClient) DisableProtocol(protocol string) error {
+	out, err := b.exec("disable %s\n", protocol)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(out, fmt.Sprintf("%s: already disabled", protocol)) {
+		return nil
+	} else if strings.Contains(out, fmt.Sprintf("%s: disabled", protocol)) {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return fmt.Errorf("failed to disable %s: %v", protocol, out)
+}
+
+// EnableProtocol enables the provided protocol.
+func (b *BIRDClient) EnableProtocol(protocol string) error {
+	out, err := b.exec("enable %s\n", protocol)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(out, fmt.Sprintf("%s: already enabled", protocol)) {
+		return nil
+	} else if strings.Contains(out, fmt.Sprintf("%s: enabled", protocol)) {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return fmt.Errorf("failed to enable %s: %v", protocol, out)
+}
+
+func (b *BIRDClient) exec(cmd string, args ...interface{}) (string, error) {
+	if _, err := fmt.Fprintf(b.conn, cmd, args...); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	return b.readLine()
+}
+
+func (b *BIRDClient) readLine() (string, error) {
+	if !b.bs.Scan() {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("reading response from bird failed")
+	}
+	if err := b.bs.Err(); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	return b.bs.Text(), nil
+}
diff --git a/cmd/tailscaled/depaware.txt b/cmd/tailscaled/depaware.txt
index 8762d12d0..44e8d12c4 100644
--- a/cmd/tailscaled/depaware.txt
+++ b/cmd/tailscaled/depaware.txt
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ tailscale.com/cmd/tailscaled dependencies: (generated by github.com/tailscale/de
         inet.af/peercred                                             from tailscale.com/ipn/ipnserver
    W 💣 inet.af/wf                                                   from tailscale.com/wf
         tailscale.com/atomicfile                                     from tailscale.com/ipn+
+  LD    tailscale.com/chirp                                          from tailscale.com/cmd/tailscaled
         tailscale.com/client/tailscale                               from tailscale.com/derp
         tailscale.com/client/tailscale/apitype                       from tailscale.com/ipn/ipnlocal+
         tailscale.com/control/controlclient                          from tailscale.com/ipn/ipnlocal+
diff --git a/cmd/tailscaled/tailscaled.go b/cmd/tailscaled/tailscaled.go
index 81a7c7053..8e1e19945 100644
--- a/cmd/tailscaled/tailscaled.go
+++ b/cmd/tailscaled/tailscaled.go
@@ -73,18 +73,20 @@ var args struct {
 	// or comma-separated list thereof.
 	tunname string
 
-	cleanup    bool
-	debug      string
-	port       uint16
-	statepath  string
-	socketpath string
-	verbose    int
-	socksAddr  string // listen address for SOCKS5 server
+	cleanup        bool
+	debug          string
+	port           uint16
+	statepath      string
+	socketpath     string
+	birdSocketPath string
+	verbose        int
+	socksAddr      string // listen address for SOCKS5 server
 }
 
 var (
-	installSystemDaemon   func([]string) error // non-nil on some platforms
-	uninstallSystemDaemon func([]string) error // non-nil on some platforms
+	installSystemDaemon   func([]string) error                      // non-nil on some platforms
+	uninstallSystemDaemon func([]string) error                      // non-nil on some platforms
+	createBIRDClient      func(string) (wgengine.BIRDClient, error) // non-nil on some platforms
 )
 
 var subCommands = map[string]*func([]string) error{
@@ -111,6 +113,7 @@ func main() {
 	flag.Var(flagtype.PortValue(&args.port, 0), "port", "UDP port to listen on for WireGuard and peer-to-peer traffic; 0 means automatically select")
 	flag.StringVar(&args.statepath, "state", paths.DefaultTailscaledStateFile(), "path of state file")
 	flag.StringVar(&args.socketpath, "socket", paths.DefaultTailscaledSocket(), "path of the service unix socket")
+	flag.StringVar(&args.birdSocketPath, "bird-socket", "", "path of the bird unix socket")
 	flag.BoolVar(&printVersion, "version", false, "print version information and exit")
 
 	if len(os.Args) > 1 {
@@ -152,6 +155,11 @@ func main() {
 		log.Fatalf("--socket is required")
 	}
 
+	if args.birdSocketPath != "" && createBIRDClient == nil {
+		log.SetFlags(0)
+		log.Fatalf("--bird-socket is not supported on %s", runtime.GOOS)
+	}
+
 	err := run()
 
 	// Remove file sharing from Windows shell (noop in non-windows)
@@ -379,6 +387,13 @@ func tryEngine(logf logger.Logf, linkMon *monitor.Mon, name string) (e wgengine.
 		ListenPort:  args.port,
 		LinkMonitor: linkMon,
 	}
+	if args.birdSocketPath != "" && createBIRDClient != nil {
+		log.Printf("Connecting to BIRD at %s ...", args.birdSocketPath)
+		conf.BIRDClient, err = createBIRDClient(args.birdSocketPath)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, false, err
+		}
+	}
 	useNetstack = name == "userspace-networking"
 	if !useNetstack {
 		dev, devName, err := tstun.New(logf, name)
diff --git a/cmd/tailscaled/tailscaled_bird.go b/cmd/tailscaled/tailscaled_bird.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2be2a1263
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/tailscaled/tailscaled_bird.go
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2021 Tailscale Inc & AUTHORS All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+//go:build linux || darwin || freebsd || openbsd
+// +build linux darwin freebsd openbsd
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"tailscale.com/chirp"
+	"tailscale.com/wgengine"
+)
+
+func init() {
+	createBIRDClient = func(ctlSocket string) (wgengine.BIRDClient, error) {
+		return chirp.New(ctlSocket)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/docs/bird/sample_bird.conf b/docs/bird/sample_bird.conf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ed38e66c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/bird/sample_bird.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+log syslog all;
+
+protocol device {
+  scan time 10;
+}
+
+protocol bgp {
+  local as 64001;
+  neighbor 10.40.2.101 as 64002;
+  ipv4 {
+    import none;
+    export all;
+  };
+}
+
+include "tailscale_bird.conf";
diff --git a/docs/bird/tailscale_bird.conf b/docs/bird/tailscale_bird.conf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8211a50a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/bird/tailscale_bird.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+protocol static tailscale {
+  ipv4;
+  route 100.64.0.0/10 via "tailscale0";
+}
diff --git a/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_darwin.go b/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_darwin.go
index 0f1a8ff42..41585b78d 100644
--- a/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_darwin.go
+++ b/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_darwin.go
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import (
 	_ "strconv"
 	_ "strings"
 	_ "syscall"
+	_ "tailscale.com/chirp"
 	_ "tailscale.com/derp/derphttp"
 	_ "tailscale.com/ipn"
 	_ "tailscale.com/ipn/ipnserver"
diff --git a/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_freebsd.go b/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_freebsd.go
index 0de0939a9..6e7d939d5 100644
--- a/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_freebsd.go
+++ b/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_freebsd.go
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import (
 	_ "strconv"
 	_ "strings"
 	_ "syscall"
+	_ "tailscale.com/chirp"
 	_ "tailscale.com/derp/derphttp"
 	_ "tailscale.com/ipn"
 	_ "tailscale.com/ipn/ipnserver"
diff --git a/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_linux.go b/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_linux.go
index 0de0939a9..6e7d939d5 100644
--- a/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_linux.go
+++ b/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_linux.go
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import (
 	_ "strconv"
 	_ "strings"
 	_ "syscall"
+	_ "tailscale.com/chirp"
 	_ "tailscale.com/derp/derphttp"
 	_ "tailscale.com/ipn"
 	_ "tailscale.com/ipn/ipnserver"
diff --git a/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_openbsd.go b/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_openbsd.go
index 0de0939a9..6e7d939d5 100644
--- a/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_openbsd.go
+++ b/tstest/integration/tailscaled_deps_test_openbsd.go
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import (
 	_ "strconv"
 	_ "strings"
 	_ "syscall"
+	_ "tailscale.com/chirp"
 	_ "tailscale.com/derp/derphttp"
 	_ "tailscale.com/ipn"
 	_ "tailscale.com/ipn/ipnserver"
diff --git a/wgengine/userspace.go b/wgengine/userspace.go
index 159e46b9a..6f37f2cd2 100644
--- a/wgengine/userspace.go
+++ b/wgengine/userspace.go
@@ -93,8 +93,9 @@ type userspaceEngine struct {
 	dns               *dns.Manager
 	magicConn         *magicsock.Conn
 	linkMon           *monitor.Mon
-	linkMonOwned      bool   // whether we created linkMon (and thus need to close it)
-	linkMonUnregister func() // unsubscribes from changes; used regardless of linkMonOwned
+	linkMonOwned      bool       // whether we created linkMon (and thus need to close it)
+	linkMonUnregister func()     // unsubscribes from changes; used regardless of linkMonOwned
+	birdClient        BIRDClient // or nil
 
 	testMaybeReconfigHook func() // for tests; if non-nil, fires if maybeReconfigWireguardLocked called
 
@@ -121,6 +122,8 @@ type userspaceEngine struct {
 	statusBufioReader   *bufio.Reader // reusable for UAPI
 	lastStatusPollTime  mono.Time     // last time we polled the engine status
 
+	lastIsSubnetRouter bool // was the node a primary subnet router in the last run.
+
 	mu                  sync.Mutex         // guards following; see lock order comment below
 	netMap              *netmap.NetworkMap // or nil
 	closing             bool               // Close was called (even if we're still closing)
@@ -144,6 +147,13 @@ func (e *userspaceEngine) GetInternals() (_ *tstun.Wrapper, _ *magicsock.Conn, o
 	return e.tundev, e.magicConn, true
 }
 
+// BIRDClient handles communication with the BIRD Internet Routing Daemon.
+type BIRDClient interface {
+	EnableProtocol(proto string) error
+	DisableProtocol(proto string) error
+	Close() error
+}
+
 // Config is the engine configuration.
 type Config struct {
 	// Tun is the device used by the Engine to exchange packets with
@@ -175,6 +185,10 @@ type Config struct {
 	// reply to ICMP pings, without involving the OS.
 	// Used in "fake" mode for development.
 	RespondToPing bool
+
+	// BIRDClient, if non-nil, will be used to configure BIRD whenever
+	// this node is a primary subnet router.
+	BIRDClient BIRDClient
 }
 
 func NewFakeUserspaceEngine(logf logger.Logf, listenPort uint16) (Engine, error) {
@@ -258,6 +272,14 @@ func NewUserspaceEngine(logf logger.Logf, conf Config) (_ Engine, reterr error)
 		router:           conf.Router,
 		confListenPort:   conf.ListenPort,
 		magicConnStarted: make(chan struct{}),
+		birdClient:       conf.BIRDClient,
+	}
+
+	if e.birdClient != nil {
+		// Disable the protocol at start time.
+		if err := e.birdClient.DisableProtocol("tailscale"); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
 	}
 	e.isLocalAddr.Store(tsaddr.NewContainsIPFunc(nil))
 	e.isDNSIPOverTailscale.Store(tsaddr.NewContainsIPFunc(nil))
@@ -759,6 +781,19 @@ func (e *userspaceEngine) updateActivityMapsLocked(trackDisco []tailcfg.DiscoKey
 	e.tundev.SetDestIPActivityFuncs(e.destIPActivityFuncs)
 }
 
+// hasOverlap checks if there is a IPPrefix which is common amongst the two
+// provided slices.
+func hasOverlap(aips, rips []netaddr.IPPrefix) bool {
+	for _, aip := range aips {
+		for _, rip := range rips {
+			if aip == rip {
+				return true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 func (e *userspaceEngine) Reconfig(cfg *wgcfg.Config, routerCfg *router.Config, dnsCfg *dns.Config, debug *tailcfg.Debug) error {
 	if routerCfg == nil {
 		panic("routerCfg must not be nil")
@@ -787,9 +822,15 @@ func (e *userspaceEngine) Reconfig(cfg *wgcfg.Config, routerCfg *router.Config,
 		listenPort = 0
 	}
 
+	isSubnetRouter := false
+	if e.birdClient != nil {
+		isSubnetRouter = hasOverlap(e.netMap.SelfNode.PrimaryRoutes, e.netMap.Hostinfo.RoutableIPs)
+	}
+	isSubnetRouterChanged := isSubnetRouter != e.lastIsSubnetRouter
+
 	engineChanged := deephash.Update(&e.lastEngineSigFull, cfg)
 	routerChanged := deephash.Update(&e.lastRouterSig, routerCfg, dnsCfg)
-	if !engineChanged && !routerChanged && listenPort == e.magicConn.LocalPort() {
+	if !engineChanged && !routerChanged && listenPort == e.magicConn.LocalPort() && !isSubnetRouterChanged {
 		return ErrNoChanges
 	}
 
@@ -859,6 +900,22 @@ func (e *userspaceEngine) Reconfig(cfg *wgcfg.Config, routerCfg *router.Config,
 		}
 	}
 
+	if isSubnetRouterChanged && e.birdClient != nil {
+		e.logf("wgengine: Reconfig: configuring BIRD")
+		var err error
+		if isSubnetRouter {
+			err = e.birdClient.EnableProtocol("tailscale")
+		} else {
+			err = e.birdClient.DisableProtocol("tailscale")
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			// Log but don't fail here.
+			e.logf("wgengine: error configuring BIRD: %v", err)
+		} else {
+			e.lastIsSubnetRouter = isSubnetRouter
+		}
+	}
+
 	e.logf("[v1] wgengine: Reconfig done")
 	return nil
 }
@@ -1077,6 +1134,10 @@ func (e *userspaceEngine) Close() {
 	e.router.Close()
 	e.wgdev.Close()
 	e.tundev.Close()
+	if e.birdClient != nil {
+		e.birdClient.DisableProtocol("tailscale")
+		e.birdClient.Close()
+	}
 	close(e.waitCh)
 }