What a show-off! It’s dark and there is a little competition down the hedgeline. This Nightingale is competing to attract the attention of a female flying-over. This male sustains part of the song impressively. You expect a gasp at the end.

Research has shown that female Nightingales are impressed by males that sing longer, have a wide repertoire, but also have longer and deeper trills. This one seems to have nailed it.

Recorded in the heart of the Knepp Wilding scrubland on 16 April 2022 at 4.44am, an hour and twenty mins before sunrise. Despite the early house, you can still hear the A24 road in the background.

The Nightingale shows-off - Knepp Nightingales #10

Hazel Reeves