xeno-canto: the world's birdsong archive
An open archive of wildlife sounds: more than a million recordings of birds, bats and other animals from thousands of recordists. Listen, download and crowdsource an ID for that mystery call.
What it is
xeno-canto is a website where people around the world share recordings of wildlife sounds. It started with birds and birds still dominate, but there are bats and other animals too. The homepage carries live stats: when we checked, more than 1.1 million recordings, about 13,400 species, over 13,000 recordists and more than twenty thousand hours of audio.
Why we picked it
This is one of those corners of the internet that runs on pure enthusiasm. Recordings come from researchers and from hobbyists with a handheld recorder, and the community helps identify mystery sounds, which is exactly what you need for that call you heard this morning and couldn't place. Every recording has a spot on the map, a date, a sound type such as song, call or alarm, and a sonogram, so after a while you start seeing bird voices as well as hearing them.
It's clearly alive, too. The news on the homepage mentions fresh batches from Finland, India and Madagascar and the first-ever recordings of a couple of pigeon and dove species, and the site recently added annotations and a new player built with Naturalis, the Dutch biodiversity center.
Where to start
- Search for a bird you already know, like a robin or a blackbird, and compare recordings from different countries.
- Open the map and listen to what's been recorded near where you live.
- Browse the mystery recordings and try your own guess.
- Look at the sonograms to see how a song differs from a call.
- If you've got a recording from a walk, upload it and ask for help with the ID.
Who it's for
Birders, naturalists, sound designers hunting for natural audio, biology teachers, and anyone who's ever wanted to know who's singing in the park at dawn.
Quick answers
Is it free? Yes, you can search and listen freely, and each recording lists its license for downloads.
Is it only birds? No. Birds make up most of it, but there are bats and other animals too.
Can I add my own recordings? Yes, the project welcomes new recordings and help with identifications.
