Close to 18% of the global avifauna require tree cavities for breeding and roosting. Cavities are therefore a critical resource for birds, and an understanding of its dynamics is vital to safeguard populations of cavity-users vis-à-vis forest management practices. Only a small proportion of trees in an ecosystem host this resource, and the likelihood of cavity presence on a tree may depend on how suitable its wood is for cavity formation, particularly through excavation by birds such as woodpeckers. Such understanding of which trees are more likely to host cavities than others is still lacking in the global tropics. To develop a baseline understanding of cavity resource dynamics in the Indian tropics, we estimated cavity abundance in a dry deciduous forest ecosystem in the northernmost Western Ghats, India, and investigated the ecological correlates of cavity occurrence. We recorded cavities only on trees with girth (GBH) greater than 80 cm, and limited our analyses to such trees. We found that 6.4% of 843 trees harboured cavities, and that 48% of all cavities were excavated. The study area contained a mean of 5.4 (95%CI 3.50–7.50) cavity trees, and 10.3 cavities (95%CI 8.60–12.20) per hectare. Species like Indian Rosewood Dalbergia latifolia and Teak Tectona grandis that are moderately hard-wooded were more likely to harbour cavities than the especially hard-wooded Terminalia crenulata, or soft-wooded species. We also found that trees with larger girth hosted cavities more often than smaller trees, with the relationship particularly strong in Teak. Our study suggests that prioritizing the preservation of large trees and cavity-associated tree species can aid in safeguarding cavities as a resource in such landscapes.