{"id":23081,"date":"2023-01-26T10:45:01","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T09:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/?p=57379"},"modified":"2023-01-26T12:35:32","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T11:35:32","slug":"britains-best-songbirds-how-to-identify-each-species","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/britains-best-songbirds-how-to-identify-each-species\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain\u2019s best songbirds: how to identify each species"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Carys Matthews\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 26 January 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Birdsong is the most uplifting of natural sounds, raising our spirits from late winter onwards. Some species such as robins tend to sing all year round but for most songbird species, the longer days after Christmas spell the start of the breeding season and more and more of them start to sing. Some, like the great tit, offer little more than uplifting two-note songs while blackbirds and song thrushes have more elaborate melodies.<\/p>\n

By mid February, there will be quite a chorus of birdsong, which is swelled from mid March by the arrival of migrants such as warblers. But by the end of June, when many birds are busy with raising young, the chorus of birdsong dies away, leaving the countryside rather quiet for much of the summer and autumn.<\/p>\n

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Learn how to identify British birds with our essential birdsong guide, including advice on how to improve your identification skills.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Why do birds sing?<\/h3>\n

Almost all birds communicate through calls \u2013 telling each other about danger or perhaps where there is a good roosting spot or food supply. And a great deal of bird call is simply to keep in contact. The more complex bird songs are very different. Performed almost solely by the males, the songs have two purposes. The first is to show how fit and healthy he is to potential mates. Scientists have discovered that females tend to be drawn to a male with a stronger, more varied song. The second reason for a male to sing is to tell rival males \u2013 and potential mates \u2013 that he has secured a nesting territory with plenty of food so \u201ckeep off\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Robins are on of the few species found in the UK where both sexes sing. Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

What time of year is best for birdsong?<\/h3>\n

You can hear birdsong from late December onwards but it becomes much stronger and louder as the days lengthen. Late winter and early spring is when birds are looking for mates and beginning nesting. They time the hatching and fledging of their young to coincide with warmer weather and more food in the form of spring and summer insects. Many resident bird species begin their courtship songs in early February and they are joining from March to May by many tuneful migrant songsters. By July, most birds fall silent.<\/p>\n

What is the best time of day to hear birdsong?<\/h3>\n

While most species will sing throughout the day, the best time to hear birdsong is usually early in the morning, just before dawn. If you visit a woodland at daybreak in April or May, you will hear a marvellous symphony of birds \u2013 where many species sing together. As fewer humans are up and about, making noise, the birdsong is all the more dominant \u2013 birdsong can travel up to 20 times further without the usual background noise.<\/p>\n

Ornithologists also believe that birds sing at dawn because it may be too dark for predators to see them. Plus, as the day warms, insects become more active and the birds will turn their attention to feeding.<\/p>\n

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