# Free forest ambience

> Free forest ambience: birdsong at dawn, wind in trees, insects at night and rainforest soundscapes for music, film, games and relaxation, with licences.

29 samples from 3 sources (Orange Free Sounds 14, Wikimedia Commons 12, OpenGameArt 3), updated 2026-10-23. Picked from a live search and refreshed daily.

- Same search in the browser: https://sound.shep.bot/search?q=forest&category=ambience
- Same search over the API: `curl "https://sound.shep.bot/v1/search?q=forest&category=ambience"`
- Details, files and the credit line: `GET https://sound.shep.bot/v1/samples/{id}` with an id from the table below.
- Licence verdicts: "Commercial use OK" (with or without credit) is cleared for a release; anything else must be checked or is non-commercial. See https://sound.shep.bot/docs/licences.md

## A place in sound

A forest ambience is a recording of a place: birds overhead, leaves in the wind, a distant stream, insects after dark. It turns an ambient track into a landscape, gives a game level its mood, and is one of the most-played kinds of relaxation audio. Recordings differ a lot by region and time of day, so listen to several before you choose.

## What makes a good one

Look for long, continuous takes without voices, planes or traffic, which are surprisingly hard to avoid. Stereo or binaural recordings give a strong sense of space. If a bird call stands out, the ear will notice it repeat, so loop long sections or crossfade several recordings.

Nature recordists publish a lot of forest audio under Creative Commons, and archives such as the BBC Natural History Unit's offer professional recordings with personal-use terms. The verdict on each card separates the two.

## Samples

| Sample | id | What | Source | Licence | Commercial use | Direct download |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Emmelie de Forest ESC2013 presentation](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emmelie_de_Forest_ESC2013_presentation.ogg) | `wikimediacommons:Emmelie_de_Forest_ESC2013_presentation.ogg` | Ambience, 13 s | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Restricted: read the conditions | yes |
| [Ambient Mountain, River, Wind and Forest and Waterfall](https://opengameart.org/content/ambient-mountain-river-wind-and-forest-and-waterfall) | `opengameart:ambient-mountain-river-wind-and-forest-and-waterfall` | Ambience | OpenGameArt | OpenGameArt per-item licence | Unclear: check the terms | yes |
| [Bird Singing And Forest Stream Sound Effect](https://orangefreesounds.com/bird-singing-and-forest-stream-sound-effect/) | `orangefreesounds:57192` | Ambience, 43 s | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |
| [Ninja Gaiden The Forest - Felipe RuizBRX11](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ninja_Gaiden_The_Forest_-_Felipe_RuizBRX11.wav) | `wikimediacommons:Ninja_Gaiden_The_Forest_-_Felipe_RuizBRX11.wav` | Ambience, 2:03 | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Restricted: read the conditions | yes |
| [Forest bird sounds](https://opengameart.org/content/forest-bird-sounds) | `opengameart:forest-bird-sounds` | Ambience | OpenGameArt | OpenGameArt per-item licence | Unclear: check the terms | yes |
| [Zero-project - 02 - First night at the Wood Elf Forest](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zero-project_-_02_-_First_night_at_the_Wood_Elf_Forest.ogg) | `wikimediacommons:Zero-project_-_02_-_First_night_at_the_Wood_Elf_Forest.ogg` | Ambience, 7:02 | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY 3.0 | Commercial use OK with credit | yes |
| [Lively Birds Singing In Peaceful Forest Ambience](https://orangefreesounds.com/lively-birds-singing-in-peaceful-forest-ambience/) | `orangefreesounds:56912` | Ambience, 1:50 | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |
| [Dark Forest Bird](https://opengameart.org/content/dark-forest-bird) | `opengameart:dark-forest-bird` | Ambience | OpenGameArt | OpenGameArt per-item licence | Unclear: check the terms | yes |
| [The Forest and the Trees (Kevin MacLeod) (ISRC USUAN1100766)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Forest_and_the_Trees_(Kevin_MacLeod)_(ISRC_USUAN1100766).oga) | `wikimediacommons:The_Forest_and_the_Trees_(Kevin_MacLeod)_(ISRC_USUAN1100766).oga` | Ambience, 1:34 | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY 3.0 | Commercial use OK with credit | yes |
| [Night Forest Ambience With Chirping Insects And Flowing Stream Sound Effect](https://orangefreesounds.com/night-forest-ambience-with-chirping-insects-and-flowing-stream-sound-effect/) | `orangefreesounds:56604` | Ambience, 1:14 | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |
| [Forest lawn creek](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forest_lawn_creek.ogg) | `wikimediacommons:Forest_lawn_creek.ogg` | Ambience, 7:29 | Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commercial use OK | yes |
| [Birds Singing in Windy Forest Sound Effect](https://orangefreesounds.com/birds-singing-in-windy-forest-sound-effect/) | `orangefreesounds:56763` | Ambience, 2:11 | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |
| [Forest Spring Ambient Sound Effect – Relaxing Nature Sounds](https://orangefreesounds.com/forest-spring-ambient-sound-effect-relaxing-nature-sounds/) | `orangefreesounds:55951` | Ambience, 1:04 | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |
| [Forest track](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forest_track.ogg) | `wikimediacommons:Forest_track.ogg` | Ambience, 22 s | Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commercial use OK | yes |
| [Forest track 3](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forest_track_3.ogg) | `wikimediacommons:Forest_track_3.ogg` | Ambience, 5.7 s | Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commercial use OK | yes |
| [Relaxing Forest Sounds With Birds](https://orangefreesounds.com/relaxing-forest-sounds-with-birds/) | `orangefreesounds:55456` | Ambience, 1:11 | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |
| [Forest track 4](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forest_track_4.ogg) | `wikimediacommons:Forest_track_4.ogg` | Ambience, 11 s | Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commercial use OK | yes |
| [Bird Calls & Forest Stream Sound Effect](https://orangefreesounds.com/bird-calls-forest-stream-sound-effect/) | `orangefreesounds:55328` | Ambience, 39 s | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |
| [Relaxing Summer Forest Ambience](https://orangefreesounds.com/relaxing-summer-forest-ambience/) | `orangefreesounds:55195` | Ambience, 2:08 | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |
| [Wind in Swedish pine forest at 25 mps](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wind_in_Swedish_pine_forest_at_25_mps.ogg) | `wikimediacommons:Wind_in_Swedish_pine_forest_at_25_mps.ogg` | Ambience, 1:00 | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Restricted: read the conditions | yes |
| [Santa Sleigh Over Dark Forest Sound Effect](https://orangefreesounds.com/santa-sleigh-over-dark-forest-sound-effect/) | `orangefreesounds:54697` | Ambience, 9.0 s | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |
| [Forest Raven Call](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forest_Raven_Call.ogg) | `wikimediacommons:Forest_Raven_Call.ogg` | Ambience, 3.7 s | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Restricted: read the conditions | yes |
| [Forest River Flow Sound Effect](https://orangefreesounds.com/forest-river-flow-sound-effect/) | `orangefreesounds:54480` | Ambience, 1:14 | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |
| [Forest track 2](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forest_track_2.ogg) | `wikimediacommons:Forest_track_2.ogg` | Ambience, 29 s | Wikimedia Commons | Public domain | Commercial use OK | yes |
| [Forest Stream Babbling Sound Effect](https://orangefreesounds.com/forest-stream-babbling-sound-effect/) | `orangefreesounds:51982` | Ambience, 1:16 | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |
| [Red capped-forest warbler call (artisornis metopias)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_capped-forest_warbler_call_(artisornis_metopias).wav) | `wikimediacommons:Red_capped-forest_warbler_call_(artisornis_metopias).wav` | Ambience, 22 s | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Restricted: read the conditions | yes |
| [Thunderstorm In The Forest Sound Effect](https://orangefreesounds.com/thunderstorm-in-the-forest-sound-effect/) | `orangefreesounds:50782` | Ambience, 1:44 | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |
| [Wild Bird Songs Of The Spring Forest](https://orangefreesounds.com/wild-bird-songs-of-the-spring-forest/) | `orangefreesounds:50333` | Ambience, 43 s | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |
| [Spring Forest Sounds For Relaxation](https://orangefreesounds.com/spring-forest-sounds-for-relaxation/) | `orangefreesounds:50177` | Ambience, 1:51 | Orange Free Sounds | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Non-commercial only | yes |

## Questions

**How do I use a forest ambience in a track?**

Keep it low, as a bed under the music, or feature it in the intro and breakdown. A high-pass removes wind rumble, and a slow fade-in makes it feel like the listener is walking in.

**Why are BBC forest recordings marked non-commercial?**

The BBC Sound Effects archive is licensed under its RemArc terms for personal, educational and research use. A commercial release needs a separate licence, so Sound Server marks those recordings as not cleared.

## Related collections

- [Free rain ambience sounds](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-rain-ambience.md): Free rain ambience and storm recordings: light rain, downpours, rain on windows and thunder, as long field recordings with a preview and licence verdict.
- [Free water sound effects](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-water-sound-effects.md): Free water sounds: drips, splashes, pouring, bubbles, streams and waves for foley, ambient music and games, as one-shots and loops with licences.
- [Free city ambience](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-city-ambience.md): Free city ambience: street traffic, crowds, cafés, train stations, sirens and night-time cityscapes for film, games, podcasts and music, with licences.
- [Free room tone recordings](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-room-tone.md): Free room tone and quiet interior ambience: empty rooms, offices, halls and hums to fill silence in film, podcasts and music, with a licence verdict.
- [Free door sound effects](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-door-sound-effects.md): Free door sounds: creaks, slams, knocks, locks, handles and sliding doors, wooden and metal, for film, games and podcasts, with a licence verdict.
- [Free footstep sound effects](https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-footstep-sounds.md): Free footstep sounds on wood, gravel, snow, concrete and grass, walking and running, for film, games and textured beats, each with a commercial-use verdict.

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Source: https://sound.shep.bot/samples/free-forest-ambience