Indicative behaviors of the precalving period were evaluated based on behavioral changes to predict the time of calving in dairy buffaloes to provide timely assistance in the delivery of calves. In the present study, the rumination time (min/6 h), standing time (min/h), lying bout (count/h), lying time (min/h), and tail raise (count/h) in parous advanced pregnant Murrah buffalo (n = 26) were evaluated using a continuous digital video recording system from − 96–24 h of calving. The data were retrieved retrospectively, grouped at 6 h intervals, and analyzed by a linear mixed model. The results revealed that the rumination time followed a similar trend from − 96 to − 12 h precalving; however, it decreased significantly during the last − 6 h precalving with a mean value of 127 ± 2.6 compared to 165 ± 3.1 at − 12 h. The standing time and lying time were comparable at all the precalving time points with respect to the hour of calving (P > 0.05). Lying bouts showed a plateau from − 96 to − 12 h precalving; however, a steep increase in the activity was recorded at − 6 to − 1 h of calving (9.5 ± 0.5). Tail raise activity was absent from − 96 to − 18 h precalving; however, it showed a markedly increased activity of 10.4 ± 0.8, which coincided with the initiation of the calving process. Overall, the present results revealed that the quantitative differences in the rumination time, lying bout and, interestingly, tail raise activity were the prominent calving-associated behaviors that occurred between − 6 to − 1 h of calving, and it is concluded that these behaviors showed the highest potential in predicting the onset of the calving process in Murrah buffaloes.