Listen to wildlife

The British wildlife recordings collection offers the opportunity to listen to over 600 recordings of wildlife from around the UK. Captured by three British wildlife enthusiasts from the 1960s to the 1990s, most are published online for the first time.

The selection of sound recordings of all kinds of wildlife from around Britain is from the British Library's Sound Archive's unrivalled natural sounds collection. Made for the most part in nature reserves and wild locations, the recordings often have special significance in documenting ancient habitats that are gradually vanishing.

Some habitats continue to dwindle under the pressure of development: peat bogs, old Caledonian forest and lowland heaths are all slowly disappearing. In others, wildlife populations have increased: on the Scottish moors, for example, as a consequence of the extensive re-planting of forests there. Every shift in the balance alters the sound of the countryside. The recordings selected here include not only the familiar noises of country gardens and suburban parks, but also the increasingly elusive cries of some of the country''s rarest creatures. Together, they paint a fascinating sound picture of Britain''s ever evolving landscape. Further information here.