Coppersmith Barbets at Dawn: What Lucknow’s Parks Still Sound Like

Long before Lucknow’s traffic and horns take over the day, its coppersmith barbets are already at work. At Janeshwar Mishra Park, the small green-and-red bird’s rhythmic ‘tuk-tuk-tuk’ call rang through the trees at 6 am, layered with whistling Oriental magpie robins, chattering bulbuls, overhead parakeets and a background hum of cicadas and crickets. It was one of five green spaces surveyed across the city ahead of World Listening Day on 18 July, and it set the tone for what turned out to be a surprisingly rich natural soundscape.

Regular visitor Ramesh Srivastava said the birdsong at Janeshwar Mishra Park helps him relax, while yoga practitioner Sunita called the park a peaceful escape from city life. A short distance away at Lohia Park, the morning was gentler — birds calling from the trees, leaves rustling in the breeze, insects humming through the grass. Gatekeeper Manish Tiwari said most visitors come specifically for the fresh air and quiet, and walker Piyush Srivastava said the sounds leave him refreshed.

At the NBRI Botanical Garden, the dawn chorus builds in stages — a koel’s call first, then mynas, parrots, bulbuls, crows and peacocks joining in before the city fully wakes. Student Yashi Singh said the birdsong encourages visitors to set their earphones aside and actually listen to their surroundings.

Kukrail Forest, by contrast, was ruled by crickets, with a peacock calling in the distance, ducks quacking across the water and squirrels rustling through the branches; a mobile sound meter there measured roughly 59 decibels. The quietest reading of all came from the 37-acre CG City wetland behind Ekana Stadium, where levels dropped to between 30 and 40 decibels — just openbill storks calling across the water and reeds swaying in the breeze, with birdwatchers spotting Sarus cranes, Oriental darters and black-winged stilts.

‘Such natural soundscapes are now rare and can almost be counted on one’s fingertips,’ said Prof Venkatesh Dutta, reflecting on how much of the city’s original soundscape has been lost to construction and traffic. Prof Adarsh Tripathi pointed to the science behind why it still matters: ‘Natural soundscapes help the brain slow down, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve attention. Even a few minutes spent listening to birdsong or rustling leaves can have a calming effect and support overall mental well-being.’

Image: Wikimedia Commons/by J.M.Garg (CC BY 3.0) — a coppersmith barbet, one of the birds heard across Lucknow’s parks at dawn.