Spotting the undercover songster

I’VE LISTENED to dawn choruses in various parts of the world.

You would expect those of the tropics to be more exciting than the ones we have at home but it’s not the case. The bird songs and calls of Africa and the Amazon jungle are exotic but, for sheer volume and energy, you can’t beat an Irish dawn chorus on a cool spring morning.

Close to the equator, there is little seasonal change and the tropics have scarcely any seasons at all. The sun always climbs high, plants blossom in every month of the year and birds are not confined to a short nesting period. At our latitudes, with only a few months in which to nest, there’s a mad scramble for territories and mates; the birds must get their message out. We have fewer species here than they have in sunnier climes, but all of our birds sing during the breeding bottle-neck and the performances can be spectacular.