Last reviewed: 21 August 2026
Nature Intelligence

The Tadoba Field Sound Library

Fourteen sounds that tell you what a forest is doing. We're building this the slow way — recorded on our own drives, or properly licensed and credited. Nothing borrowed, nothing mislabelled.

Sambar

Rusa unicolor
Alarm — the “dhonk”

Deep, resonant, slowly repeated. The call experienced guides trust most.

Ours to record — no substitute exists

Chital

Axis axis
Alarm

Sharp, high, repeated. The most common alarm you'll hear at Tadoba.

Ours to record — no substitute exists

Langur

Semnopithecus entellus
Alarm

Harsh coughing barks from the canopy — often the animal that can actually see the cat.

Ours to record — no substitute exists

Barking Deer

Muntiacus muntjak
Alarm

A loud dog-like bark from thick cover. Heard far more often than the animal is seen.

Ours to record — no substitute exists

Indian Peafowl

Pavo cristatus
Alarm

A ringing “may-awe”, sometimes with a clatter of wings.

Check xeno-canto for a CC0 / CC BY recording

Gaur

Bos gaurus
Disturbance

Snorts and sudden movement rather than a formal call. Body language, not announcement.

Ours to record — no substitute exists

Wild Boar

Sus scrofa
Disturbance

Explosive bolting and snorting — a reaction worth reading even without a call.

Ours to record — no substitute exists

Rufous Treepie

Dendrocitta vagabunda
Alarm / mobbing

Harsh chatter, often directed at a resting predator.

Check xeno-canto for a CC0 / CC BY recording

Jungle Babbler

Argya striata
Mobbing

Agitated group scolding — the seven sisters giving something away.

Check xeno-canto for a CC0 / CC BY recording

Black Drongo

Dicrurus macrocercus
Calls

Varied, sharp, and a known mimic of other species' alarms.

Check xeno-canto for a CC0 / CC BY recording

Crested Serpent Eagle

Spilornis cheela
Call

The rising whistle heard over the canopy through most of the day.

Check xeno-canto for a CC0 / CC BY recording

Tadoba Dawn

Forest soundscape

First light at the gate — the layered chorus before the engines start.

Ours to record — no substitute exists

Tadoba Evening

Forest soundscape

The shift change as day birds settle and nightjars begin.

Ours to record — no substitute exists

Tadoba Monsoon

Forest ambience

Rain on teak, running water, and a forest at its loudest and greenest.

Ours to record — no substitute exists
Why this is taking a while. There is plenty of wildlife audio online labelled “no copyright”, and almost none of it is what it claims to be — European deer sold as sambar, hunters’ game calls sold as alarm calls, and recordings whose actual owner never agreed to any of it. A mislabelled file would undo the point of this whole section. So: our own recordings where we can, properly licensed and credited recordings where we can’t, and an honest gap where neither exists yet.