📥 Download Samples#
At present, the most popular websites to download field recordings are Xeno Canto and eBird. The main difference is the data adquisition. To download data from eBird you have to request the audios, Requesting and downloading media, while the datos in Xeno Canto are public and can be donwload via the website or via API, Application Programming Interface (API v2).
Google Colab Execution
If you are using Google Colab install the pacakge via pypi with the following code:
!pip install wavesongs
🎶 Xeno Canto#
You can query and download audio recordings from Xeno-Canto using the wavesongs.data.xc module. Although this is the fastest way, you can also check the website to get more information about the audios, such as sonograms or recording details. The website also offers a map to browse by region, or you can check by taxonomy.
At present, 2025, the available taxonomies are:
Taxonomy |
No. Samples |
|---|---|
Birds |
865731 |
Grasshoppers |
32059 |
Bats |
2729 |
Frogs |
2245 |
Land Mammals |
1121 |
Note
eBird website focuses on birds and also offers a map service.
🔎 Query Audios#
First, create a query for the desired sounds. To do this, you need the scientific name of the specie. You can also include additional details such as the country or location where the recording was made to refine your search. Check the Xeno Canto API to check other possible filters.
You can also query multiple species by providing a list of common names along with their corresponding scientific names.
specie_names = [
["Rufous-collared Sparrow", "Eurasian Three-toed"],
["Zonotrichia capensis", "Picoides tridactylus"]
]
from wavesongs.data.xc import download_audios, query_audios
# Define the query parameters
info = {
"cnt": "Colombia",
"loc": "Bogota",
}
df_query = query_audios(
specie_names = ["Rufous-collared Sparrow", "Zonotrichia capensis"],
info = info,
max_nb_files=None, # Number of files to download
format_time=True,
format_date=True
)
Loading page 1...
https://www.xeno-canto.org/api/2/recordings?query=Zonotrichia%20capensis%20cnt:Colombia%20loc:Bogota&page=1
Keeped metadata for 34 files after formating time
Keeped metadata for 21 files after formating date
Found 1 pages in total.
Saved metadata for 21 files
df_query
| id | gen | sp | ssp | group | en | rec | cnt | loc | lat | ... | animal-seen | playback-used | temp | regnr | auto | dvc | mic | smp | week | datetime | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 542500 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Mauricio Cuellar Ramirez (@Birding.travel) | Colombia | Cerro de la Conejera (Bogota) | 4.770900 | ... | yes | no | no | 48000 | 52 | 2019-12-28 11:00:00 | |||||
| 1 | 380282 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Andres Angulo | Colombia | Bogotá, Bogotá | 4.705600 | ... | yes | no | no | 48000 | 29 | 2017-07-17 06:00:00 | |||||
| 2 | 11293 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Doug Knapp | Colombia | Bogota, Quebrada la Vieja | 4.623100 | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 44100 | 50 | 2002-12-12 07:00:00 | |||||
| 3 | 842155 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Urias Edgardo Gonzalez Carreño | Colombia | Bosque de Hayuelos Park (near Bogotá), Bogotá | 4.662500 | ... | yes | no | no | Grabadora Sony | 44100 | 46 | 2023-11-13 14:02:00 | ||||
| 4 | 553918 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Marcela Morales sánchez | Colombia | Bogotá, Barrio La Macarena | 4.615000 | ... | yes | unknown | no | 16000 | 17 | 2020-04-20 11:42:00 | |||||
| 5 | 436611 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Jorge Eduardo Santos Moreno | Colombia | Villa Inés, Bogotá | 4.606100 | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 48000 | 24 | 2018-06-14 05:30:00 | |||||
| 6 | 89322 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Oswaldo Cortes | Colombia | Humedal Jaboque, ciudad de Bogota | 4.707500 | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 44100 | 43 | 2011-10-28 08:00:00 | |||||
| 7 | 380281 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Andres Angulo | Colombia | Barrio el Batan, Bogotá D.C, Colombia | 4.705000 | ... | yes | no | no | 48000 | 29 | 2017-07-17 16:30:00 | |||||
| 8 | 89325 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Oswaldo Cortes | Colombia | Humedal Jaboque, ciudad de Bogota | 4.707500 | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 44100 | 43 | 2011-10-28 08:00:00 | |||||
| 9 | 89323 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Oswaldo Cortes | Colombia | Humedal Jaboque, ciudad de Bogota | 4.707500 | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 44100 | 43 | 2011-10-28 08:00:00 | |||||
| 10 | 89320 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Oswaldo Cortes | Colombia | Humedal Jaboque, ciudad de Bogota | 4.707500 | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 44100 | 43 | 2011-10-28 08:00:00 | |||||
| 11 | 89319 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Oswaldo Cortes | Colombia | Humedal Jaboque, ciudad de Bogota | 4.707500 | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 44100 | 43 | 2011-10-28 08:00:00 | |||||
| 12 | 89318 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Oswaldo Cortes | Colombia | Humedal Jaboque, ciudad de Bogota | 4.707500 | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 44100 | 43 | 2011-10-28 08:00:00 | |||||
| 13 | 89317 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Oswaldo Cortes | Colombia | Humedal Jaboque, ciudad de Bogota | 4.707500 | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 44100 | 43 | 2011-10-28 08:00:00 | |||||
| 14 | 89316 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Oswaldo Cortes | Colombia | Humedal Jaboque, ciudad de Bogota | 4.707500 | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 44100 | 43 | 2011-10-28 08:00:00 | |||||
| 15 | 14675 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Oswaldo Cortes | Colombia | Humedal Jaboque, ciudad de Bogota | 4.707636 | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 44100 | 30 | 2007-07-28 08:12:00 | |||||
| 16 | 457600 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Andrés Camilo Pérez Rodríguez -Corporación Uni... | Colombia | Bogotá, Bogotá | 4.699100 | ... | yes | no | no | 44100 | 33 | 2018-08-18 06:00:00 | |||||
| 17 | 418630 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Jorge Eduardo Santos Moreno | Colombia | Villa Inés, Bogotá | 4.606100 | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 44100 | 16 | 2011-04-21 12:30:00 | |||||
| 18 | 381280 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Andres Angulo | Colombia | Humedal de Cordoba, sector II, Bogotá | 4.702600 | ... | yes | no | no | 48000 | 29 | 2017-07-19 08:00:00 | |||||
| 19 | 37055 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Oswaldo Cortes | Colombia | Jardin Botanico de Bogota | NaN | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 44100 | 29 | 2009-07-19 07:00:00 | |||||
| 20 | 38021 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Oswaldo Cortes | Colombia | Humdela de Santa maria el Lago (Bogota) | NaN | ... | unknown | unknown | no | 44100 | 35 | 2009-08-25 07:00:00 |
21 rows × 40 columns
⬇️ Download Audios#
Define the download directory (rootdir) for the audio files selected in the query using the dataset parameters. If no dataset name is specified, the default name will be the scientific name, with spaces replaced by underscores (_).
# Download the first 5 files
no_files = 5
df_query_short = df_query.iloc[:no_files]
df_audios = download_audios(
df_query_short,
rootdir = "./assets/audio",
dataset_name = '',
overwrite = True,
save_csv = True,
verbose = True
)
The directory ../../assets/audio already exists and will be overwritten
A total of 5 files will be downloaded
Creating subdirectory ../../assets/audio/Zonotrichia capensis_Rufous-collared Sparrow for downloaded files...
Saving file 1 / 5 : https://xeno-canto.org/542500/download
Saving file 2 / 5 : https://xeno-canto.org/380282/download
Saving file 3 / 5 : https://xeno-canto.org/11293/download
Saving file 4 / 5 : https://xeno-canto.org/842155/download
Saving file 5 / 5 : https://xeno-canto.org/553918/download
Audio saved at ../../assets/audio/zonotrichia_capensis/XC553918.mp3.
Audio saved at ../../assets/audio/zonotrichia_capensis/XC11293.mp3.
Audio saved at ../../assets/audio/zonotrichia_capensis/XC542500.mp3.
Audio saved at ../../assets/audio/zonotrichia_capensis/XC842155.mp3.
Audio saved at ../../assets/audio/zonotrichia_capensis/XC380282.mp3.
Audio saved at ../../assets/audio/zonotrichia_capensis/metadata.csv.
df_audios
| gen | sp | ssp | group | en | rec | cnt | loc | lat | lng | ... | playback-used | temp | regnr | auto | dvc | mic | smp | week | datetime | fullfilename | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| id | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 542500 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Mauricio Cuellar Ramirez (@Birding.travel) | Colombia | Cerro de la Conejera (Bogota) | 4.7709 | -74.0695 | ... | no | no | 48000 | 52 | 2019-12-28 11:00:00 | assets/audios/Zonotrichia capensis_Rufous-coll... | |||||
| 380282 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Andres Angulo | Colombia | Bogotá, Bogotá | 4.7056 | -74.0596 | ... | no | no | 48000 | 29 | 2017-07-17 06:00:00 | assets/audios/Zonotrichia capensis_Rufous-coll... | |||||
| 11293 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Doug Knapp | Colombia | Bogota, Quebrada la Vieja | 4.6231 | -74.0562 | ... | unknown | no | 44100 | 50 | 2002-12-12 07:00:00 | assets/audios/Zonotrichia capensis_Rufous-coll... | |||||
| 842155 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Urias Edgardo Gonzalez Carreño | Colombia | Bosque de Hayuelos Park (near Bogotá), Bogotá | 4.6625 | -74.1347 | ... | no | no | Grabadora Sony | 44100 | 46 | 2023-11-13 14:02:00 | assets/audios/Zonotrichia capensis_Rufous-coll... | ||||
| 553918 | Zonotrichia | capensis | birds | Rufous-collared Sparrow | Marcela Morales sánchez | Colombia | Bogotá, Barrio La Macarena | 4.6150 | -74.0639 | ... | unknown | no | 16000 | 17 | 2020-04-20 11:42:00 | assets/audios/Zonotrichia capensis_Rufous-coll... |
5 rows × 40 columns
🎤 Own Records#
Field recordings are highly valuable samples. However, we encourage you to record your own samples using your smartphone. You can use any recording app available in the app store. The recommended sample rate is 44.100 Hz for optimal audio quality.