British wildlife recordings

Luscinia megarhynchos : Nightingale - Turdidae

  • Add a note
    Log in to add a note at the bottom of this page.
  • All notes
  • My notes
  • Hide notes
Please click to leave a note

The British Library Board acknowledges the intellectual property rights of those named as contributors to this recording and the rights of those not identified.
Legal and ethical usage »

Tags (top 25):
(No tags found for this item)

What is this? Log in to add a term that describes this item and help make it easier to find.

  • Type

    sound

  • Duration

    00:02:26

  • Shelf mark

    W1CDR0001378 BD8

  • Subjects

    Birds

  • Recording date

    1964/05

  • Recording locations

    OS Grid Reference(402500,88500)

  • Recordist

    Shove, Lawrence

  • Species

    Nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos

  • Description

    This is a recording of the song of the nightingale. Despite its nondescript appearance, the nightingale is one of Britain's most celebrated birds and its sublime voice has been immortalised in music and literature. It is also a bird that is much easier to hear than to see, and is famous for it's skulking habitat, often choosing the middle of impenetrable scrub from which to deliver its powerful and beautiful song. When seen, it is slightly larger than a robin with a brown coloration and a distinctive rusty-coloured rump and cocked tail. The nightingale's song is only heard for a brief period between April and early June, and consists of a virtuoso performance of liquid trills and repeated phrases, ending in a crescendo. When it first arrives from its central African wintering quarters, it is commonly heard well after dark when other species have ceased singing, but it does also sing during the day. Nightingales can breed in a variety of habitats with large areas of thick scrub that are often situated close to water, but are rarely found north of a line between the Humber and the Severn estuary. Their range has contracted during the 20th century, and recent surveys put the number of singing males at no more than 5,000 to 6,000.

  • Metadata record:

    View full metadata for this item