This dataset covers the soundscape collection of Xeno-canto ("XC").

Xeno-canto (XC) is an online database and sound archive that provides access to sound recordings of wildlife from around the world. The recordings are shared by a worldwide growing community of thousands of recordists, amateurs and professionals alike. The aim of Xeno-canto is to eventually represent sounds of all animals, meaning of all taxa, to subspecies level, of their complete repertoire, with all of the geographic variability, at all stages of development. As of march 2026 the metadata also includes annotations of individual sounds in recordings, whenever they have been shared on XC.

The website of Xeno-canto (xeno-canto.org) was launched in 2005, and initially focussed on Neotropical birds. The scope of Xeno-canto is gradually widening. As of march 2026 the metadata also includes annotations of individual sounds in recordings. (For the annotation format see bibliography). It is run by the Xeno-canto Foundation for Nature Sounds in The Netherlands, with important and generous support from Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Transfer of metadata to GBIF has been in large part funded by NLBIF initially with grant nlbif2020.004. The extension of the metadata to include annotations has been made possible by NLBIF grant nlbif2024.010.

Please note that the soundscape dataset shared on GBIF is a subset of the entire collection that is available on Xeno-canto. Only the recordings by recordists who have given their permission to share recording metadata with GBIF are shared here.

GBIF url: https://www.gbif.org/dataset/ff571aeb-46bf-45c4-ad2c-af4d68315765
Citation: Vellinga W P, Planqué B (2026). Xeno-canto - Soundscapes from around the world. Xeno-canto Foundation for Nature Sounds. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/9u3zaq accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-06-11.