Excerpts from a selection from the British Library’s extensive collections of unique sound recordings, which come from all over the world and cover the entire range of recorded sound: music, drama and literature, oral history, wildlife and environmental sounds: http://sounds.bl.uk/

British Library sounds sampler

Toads are usually more heavily built than frogs and the common toad has brown warty skin although colour variations do occur with some individuals being terracotta, grey or olive in colour. Females are larger than males and it is the males who call at night to attract a mate, this is often called a ‘release’ call and is a rather high-pitched but quiet ‘qwark-qwark-qwark’ sound. The mating call itself is seldom heard and is similar to the ‘release call’ but with slower and more drawn out notes.

Shelf mark
WS6358 C2

Recording date
1989-03-19

Recording locations
Llandrindod Wells, Radnor, Wales

Recordist
Nobles, Eric & Nobles, May

Species
Common Toad (Bufo bufo)

Image reference https://www.flickr.com/photos/rachel_s/3383030954 (nutmeg66)

Listen To Nature

Common Toad calls, Wales, March 1989

For many of us, one of the most familiar sounds in our gardens and parks is the loud repetitive ‘coo-cooo-coo’ of the collared dove. This bird is common throughout the UK and is easily identified by its buff-pink breast, grey-brown wings and distinctive black neck collar. It is mostly found in urban areas, including farms and gardens where it can be seen perched on roofs and telephone wires. The diet of the collared dove mostly consists of seeds, grain, berries and other vegetation, which it tends to eat on the ground. Often seen in pairs, the males make elaborate display flights to attract a female’s attention, this starts with the bird rising up into the air, clapping its wings and then gliding down with wings and tail outspread. Collared doves usually nest in trees; females will lay two eggs that are incubated by both parents for about a fortnight and the chicks will usually fledge after about three weeks.

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001523 BD20

Subjects
Birds

Recording date
1978/04/29

Recording locations
OS Grid Reference(488500,160500)

Recordist
Williams, Aubrey John

Species
Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto

Image reference https://www.flickr.com/photos/levettday/24107710873 (Alison Day)

British Wildlife Recordings

Collared Dove song, United Kingdom, April 1978

This is a recording of a male goldfinch singing at Cowley in Gloucestershire. It is the striking red, black and white head and gold patches on the wings of this species that makes it instantly recognisable. This is a common breeding bird found throughout Britain but is relatively scarce in the far north of Scotland. Many of these birds will move south during the winter months to countries such as Belgium, France and the western Mediterranean and will return sometime around the end of March. The goldfinch likes a prickly environment and will winter and breed wherever thistles, burdock and teasels grow. They use their long fine beaks to extract seeds from these plants but will also eat insects. These sociable birds often breed in loose colonies and are well known for their light, liquid, twittering song with lots of trilled sections and twittering calls.

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001491 BD15

Subjects
Birds

Recording date
1976/07/25

Recording locations
Cowley, Gloucestershire: OS Grid Reference(396500,214500)

Recordist
Williams, Aubrey John

Species
Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis

Image reference https://pixabay.com/photos/goldfinch-song-bird-bird-1401495/

Goldfinch song, Gloucestershire, England, July 1976

Interviewer Name: Robert Wilkinson
Bio: Donald Hinds, teacher, author and oral historian. Born 1934. Arrived from Jamaica in 1955.
Copyright: British Library
Collection: Oral History of Oral History
Collection Number/Shelfmark: C1149/25
Type of recording: Digital
URL: https://sounds.bl.uk/Oral-history/Oral-historians

Activity 2 Work - Donald Hinds History Teacher

Bio: Sonia McIntosh MBE, Civil Servant – Houses of Parliament. Arrived from Jamaica in 1966.
Copyright: British Library, Caribbean Social Forum and Chocolate Films
Collection: Windrush: Songs in a Strange Land
Collection Number/Shelfmark: N/A
Type of recording: Digital
URL: https://www.bl.uk/windrush/videos/caribbean-social-forum

Activity 2 Work - Sonia McIntosh

Interviewer Name: Paul Merchant
Bio: Mark Richards was born in the UK to Jamaican parents in 1970.
Copyright: British Library
Collection: Oral History of British Science
Collection Number/Shelfmark: C1379/99
Type of recording: Digital
URL: https://sounds.bl.uk/Oral-history/Science

Activity 2 Work - Mark Richards

Interviewer Name: Sarah O’Rielly
Bio: In 2014, author Andrea Levy (1956–2019) recorded her life story in an interview with Sarah O’Reilly as part
of the National Life Stories’ project, Authors’ Lives. She was born in the UK to Jamaican parents.
Copyright: British Library
Collection: Authors’ Lives
Collection number/Shelfmark: C1276/59
Type of recording: Digital

Activity 1 Childhood - Andrea Levy

Interviewer Name: Paul Merchant
Bio: Mark Richards was born in the UK to Jamaican parents in 1970. He describes his school in
Birmingham in the 1980s
Copyright: British Library
Collection: Oral History of British Science
Collection Number/Shelfmark: C1379/99
Type of recording: Digital
URL: https://sounds.bl.uk/Oral-history/Science

Activity 1 Childhood - Mark Richards

Interviewer Name: Anne Austin
Bio: Desmond Cox was born in the UK to Jamaican parents in 1955. Interviewed 2005.
Copyright: Scope & British Library
Type of recording: Digital
Collection: Speaking for ourselves: an oral history of people with cerebral palsy
Collection Number/ Shelfmark: C1134/12
URL: https://sounds.bl.ukOral-history/Disability-Voices

Activity 1 Childhood - Desmond Cox

Bio: Kyungu Gordon-Walker, Senior Tutor (Student Support). Arrived from Jamaica 16th of September 1965.
Copyright: British Library, Caribbean Social Forum and Chocolate Films
Collection: Windrush Songs in a Strange Land
Collection Number: N/A
Type of recording: Digital
URL: https://www.bl.uk/windrush/videos/caribbean-social-forum

Activity 1 Childhood - Kyungu Gordon Walker

Call and song uttered by a house sparrow recorded at Cowley, Gloucestershire. There are few birds so intricately linked with humans as the house sparrow. They are small but robust and the male's grey crown and black bib easily separates it from the much plainer female and other member of the same family, the tree sparrow. It has learnt to exploit any nook or cranny in buildings or hedges, and being a social species, nests in colonies and spends the winter in single-species flocks. The house sparrow usually feeds on or near the ground where it eats seeds from a variety of plants, and has even adapted to eat from hanging bird feeders. When feeding chicks however, it always transfers to a diet of protein-rich insects and caterpillars. Pairs stay together for life but males will be unfaithful if the opportunity presents itself. Males make their presence felt with a constant and monotonous chirping that historically was an incredibly familiar sound around many homes, but over the last 25 years has become a very uncommon call in Britain's towns and cities. There is still no adequate explanation for the recent calamitous decline of the house sparrow, but its disappearance may well be related to a combination of changes in habitat, loss of food sources, and lack of suitable nesting sites.

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001537 BD13

Subjects
Birds

Recording date
1970s

Recording locations
Cowley, Gloucestershire: OS Grid Reference(396500,214500)

Recordist
Williams, Aubrey John

Species
House Sparrow, Passer domesticus

Image reference https://pixabay.com/photos/sparrow-sperling-bird-close-up-1236489/

House Sparrow song & calls, Gloucestershire, England, 1970s

Sir John Conant recounts the beginning of his farming career in Rutland in 1949, including the importance of his wife Periwinkle. 
 
Interview with John Conant in 2019, An oral history of farming, land management and conservation in post-war Britain 
 
C1828/10, Track 1 [00:28:21-01:10:24] 
 
Copyright: The British Library Board 

https://www.bl.uk/projects/national-life-stories-oral-history-of-farming

Sir John Conant Recounts The Beginning Of His Farming Career In Rutland

Barn-Owl

Description
This is a recording of the song of the male blackbird. The blackbird surely ranks as one of our most familiar birds and also one of our most vocal, with a beautiful song that can be heard throughout most of the year in our woodlands, parks and gardens. In remote areas, where blackbirds rarely encounter humans they can be shy and retiring, but they are often much more bold and confiding in urban areas. Early morning and evening are usually the best times to hear the male blackbirds at their most lyrical, as they proclaim mates and territories from favoured song posts. Each song is often two to three seconds long with a similar interval before the next burst, and is rich and mellow with a languid delivery and fluted quality. Most birds have a wide repertoire of songs and birds can even develop a 'regional accent' as certain characteristic phrases spread through adjacent territories. Most of our breeding blackbirds are resident with around 4.5 million pairs breeding in Britain. Large winter influxes of migratory blackbirds from the continent can swell the population to between fourteen and twenty million birds. There was concern that numbers had been declining since the 1970's but recent surveys suggest the populations may well have stabilised.

Find out more about this recording on the British Library Sounds website: http://sounds.bl.uk/Environment/British-wildlife-recordings/022M-W1CDR0001521-1000V0

Duration
00:00:40

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001521 BD10

Subjects
Birds

Recording date
1970s

Recording locations
OS Grid Reference(484500,140500)

Recordist
Williams, Aubrey John

Species
Blackbird, Turdus merula


Blackbird song, United Kingdom, 1970s

Description
The song of the chaffinch recorded on Old Dean Common, Surrey. The chaffinch is one of the most widespread and abundant birds in Britain choosing to breed wherever trees and bushes are present. The males are very dapper in their breeding plumage, with a slate-blue crown and neck, chestnut back, and pinkish underparts. The handsome males pair up with the much plainer females in late winter and one of the first signs of early spring, before the leaves are even on the trees, is the song of the male chaffinch. Their song is a short and dry descending trill that ends with a flourish. Once learnt, the 'pink' call of the chaffinch is very distinctive and betrays how ubiquitous this species really is. Even though continental chaffinches are highly migratory, British birds rarely move more than 5 km from their place of hatching. They have a very varied diet, eating seeds from a number of plants, such as goosefoot, chickweed, and a variety of grasses in the winter, converting to a high protein diet of caterpillars and other insects to feed their ever hungry chicks in the summer. Chaffinches can be single- or double-brooded depending on the weather and location and there are 5.4 million territories in Britain, with numbers slowly increasing.

Find out more about this recording on the British Library Sounds website: http://sounds.bl.uk/Environment/British-wildlife-recordings/022M-W1CDR0001463-1800V0

Duration
00:01:47

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001463 BD18

Subjects
Birds

Recording date
1976/05/23

Recording locations
Old Dean Common, Camberley, Surrey: OS Grid Reference(488500,160500)

Recordist
Williams, Aubrey John

Species
Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs

Chaffinch song, Surrey, May 1976

Typical song of a Screaming Piha (Lipaugus vociferans; family Cotingidae), the bird perched about 20m in tree sub-canopy in prime Amazon rainforest. I was standing beneath the bird: at that distance, its song was painfully loud.
Recorded 1985 by Richard Ranft in the Tambopata Reserve, Madre de Dios, Peru.

Full-length recording from BL Sounds: http://sounds.bl.uk/Environment/Listen-to-Nature/022M-LISTNAT00288-0001V0

Screaming Piha (Lipaugus vociferans)

John Rankin interviewed by Paul Merchant, An Oral History of Farming, Land Management and Conservation in Post-War Britain, British Library, catalogue reference C1828/39/11. © British Library Board.

This clip was played at the National Life Stories symposium 30 June and 1 July 2023 and features in Oral History vol. 52 number 3, 2024 - online special issue.

Transcript:

Given this new current situation we’re in about climate change, we are looking at different grasses and not just rye grasses. [...] there are a lot of things that we can learn from how our fathers and grandfathers farmed and I think if we can harness that, I’m a great optimist when it comes to human race.

John Rankin on learning from past farming practice

Poul Christensen interviewed by Paul Merchant, An Oral History of Farming, Land Management and Conservation in Post-War Britain, British Library, catalogue reference C1828/08/01. © British Library Board.

This clip was played at the National Life Stories symposium 30 June and 1 July 2023 and features in Oral History vol. 52 number 3, 2024 - online special issue.

Transcript:

It was an exciting time. I mean a lot of things were going on, new developments, particularly with machinery, combine harvesters were coming in. [...] All the things that we just take for granted now were just really taking-off and becoming part of the landscape. [...] The farm abutted Ashdown Forest [...] and we had some fields that might as well have been forests still. You know, they were fields, but they were covered in scrub and so on. And I can remember myself going out there and pulling the scrub out.  Explosives were two a penny, so [...] we used to blow all the tree stumps out, which as a kid was just amazing, fantastic. Big bang and all the roots would go into the air. [...] So, massive change from forest, scrub to farmland.

Poul Christensen on changes from forest to scrub to farmland

Poul Christensen interviewed by Paul Merchant, An Oral History of Farming, Land Management and Conservation in Post-War Britain, British Library, catalogue reference C1828/08/01. © British Library Board.

This clip was played at the National Life Stories symposium 30 June and 1 July 2023 and features in Oral History vol. 52 number 3, 2024 - online special issue.

Transcript:

So, massive change from forest, scrub to farmland. And this didn’t happen over the whole farm because a lot of it was fields anyway, but it did happen in some parts of it. And there were two very big fields that I can still remember that were reclaimed. And he received a lot of accolades for doing that, which wouldn’t be the case today. [...] At that time [...] there was no question that that was the right thing to be doing. Not quite then, just a bit later, there was some question marks started to be raised.

Poul Christensen on common practices to ‘improve’ the land

Pippa Woods, interviewed by Paul Merchant, An Oral History of Farming, Land Management and Conservation in Post-War Britain, British Library, catalogue reference C1828/17/12. © British Library Board.

This clip was played at the National Life Stories symposium 30 June and 1 July 2023 and features in Oral History vol. 52 number 3, 2024 - online special issue.

Transcript:

The [...] Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food [...] wanted England properly farmed [...] They were all for getting organised and getting productive so that we wouldn’t have to [...] depend on imported food [...] There was a general sense that we must all get our farmland much more productive. [...] If it was grassland it should produce proper grass, sort of thing. And if it was cultivated land, it should be done properly. I think that was sort of a general feeling. I don’t know that it was ever stated like that.

Pippa Woods on the drive for productive farmland

John Conant interviewed by Paul Merchant, An Oral History of Farming, Land Management and Conservation in Post-War Britain, British Library, catalogue reference C1828/10/01. © British Library Board.

This clip was played at the National Life Stories symposium 30 June and 1 July 2023 and features in Oral History vol. 52 number 3, 2024 - online special issue.

Transcript:

Old Hall Farm at the time [was] in a valley and it’s now of course underwater. [...] You see after twenty years, all that work I’d done, it was flooded, taken away from me. [...] And I have a grievance.  [...] I did forty [drainage] schemes before I was finally dispossessed. And presumably there are fish swimming up the pipes. [...] There was a drainage officer [...] and he would draw up a drainage scheme for me, or with me, and then we would get the work done. Such a waste when the reservoir came.

John Conant on the sale of his land for the establishment of a reservoir

John Conant interviewed by Paul Merchant, An Oral History of Farming, Land Management and Conservation in Post-War Britain, British Library, catalogue reference C1828/10/01. © British Library Board.

This clip was played at the National Life Stories symposium 30 June and 1 July 2023 and features in Oral History vol. 52 number 3, 2024 - online special issue.

Transcript:

I was rather anxious to make money because because I was faced with the prospect of children to feed and educate. [...] I was an avid searcher after advice, probably too – I don’t know – perhaps too much. But I was very keen.  I came from Cambridge for my farm and I was a very keen farmer, yes. Keen to, keen to make some money. My father didn’t give me any money; what I had was what I earned.

John Conant on the need for his farm to make money

David Houston interviewed by Paul Merchant, An Oral History of Farming, Land Management and Conservation in Post-War Britain, British Library, catalogue reference C1828/33/13. © British Library Board.

This clip was played at the National Life Stories symposium 30 June and 1 July 2023 and features in Oral History vol. 52 number 3, 2024 - online special issue.

Transcript:

So, I think up until sort of, when I came home [in 1973] my father had [...] farmed in a fairly traditional way. And I suppose, you would now regard it as low intensity, although, perhaps, people are now moving back to lesser intensity. [...] In fact you would probably now say that my father farmed in an environmentally friendly way. [...] mainly his nitrogen was from clover.

David Houston reflects on his father’s farming methods

Christine Hill interviewed by Paul Merchant, An Oral History of Farming, Land Management and Conservation in Post-War Britain, British Library, catalogue reference C1828/16/03. © British Library Board.

This clip was played at the National Life Stories symposium 30 June and 1 July 2023 and features in Oral History vol. 52 number 3, 2024 - online special issue.

Transcript:

I can remember, and I was eleven, so it must have been [after] the time when my father had died that summer, I was actually carting corn [...] And I can even picture where I was on the farm, it was a lovely sunny day and I thought to myself, well crumbs, who’s going to run this farm, who’s going to be able to keep it all together for the family. And I can remember making a conscious decision, thinking, well, I’m going to farm. And I never wavered from it.  I’m going to help keep the family together. That was it.

Christine Hill on her decision to be a farmer

Jim Orson, interviewed by Paul Merchant, An Oral History of Farming, Land Management and Conservation in Post-War Britain, British Library, catalogue reference C1828/07/02. © British Library Board. 

This clip was played at the National Life Stories symposium 30 June and 1 July 2023 and features in Oral History vol. 52 number 3, 2024 - online special issue.

Transcript:

And that all came together – the availability of pesticides, better varieties, crop varieties, and better nutrition – in the seventies and eighties. And it wasn’t – it just, developed, evolved, more than a deliberate thing saying, if we did all these things together, it would double yields or whatever. It, it just happened in a sort of a, organic way.

Jim Orson on the incremental nature of changes in farming practice

David Houston interviewed by Paul Merchant, An Oral History of Farming, Land Management and Conservation in Post-War Britain, British Library, catalogue reference C1828/33/13. © British Library Board. 

This clip was played at the National Life Stories symposium 30 June and 1 July 2023 and features in Oral History vol. 52 number 3, 2024 - online special issue.

Transcript:

I remember my father – we had a group of farmers came round to our farm – and he felt ashamed about all the wild flowers in his permanent pasture, particularly buttercups. And, now of course, you know, people value those wildflowers tremendously [...] but in those days it was very much production-orientated agriculture, nobody thought of the value of plants for biodiversity or anything, not at all.   

How did you know that your Dad was ashamed on that occasion? 

He told me. Yes. [laughs] In fact, it was, his comments were in the local paper, the Melton Times. Yes. But – because, this group of people – and my dad said there was far too many – I think he used the word ashamed, that they saw the farm when there were a lot of what were then classified as weeds in the grassland.

This is a recording of the call of the nuthatch. This small but beautiful tree-climbing bird is never seen far from the large, mature trees that provide it with food and accommodation throughout the year. It is easily identified by its blue-grey upperparts as it clambers up and down branches and tree-trunks, particularly as it is the only British species that descends a tree-trunk headfirst. This technique enables the nuthatch to glean insects, larvae, and spiders during the summer months. During the winter however, beech-mast, acorns and hazelnuts are often wedged into a crevice and smashed open with its chisel-like bill. Breeding starts early, with the male singing from December, but nuthatches are not just heard during the breeding season and they tend to be very vocal most of the year. The loud 'tuit-tuit-tuit' call of this anti-social and territorial bird is a very distinctive component of any woodland or mature garden. The nuthatch nests in natural holes in trees but will also utilise nest-boxes. Once a suitable nest site is located, the female will often prevent larger birds from entering by reducing the size of the entrance hole with mud. The nuthatch has a widespread distribution in England and Wales and is just starting to spread into southern Scotland and at present there are 130,000 pairs breeding in Britain.

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001376 BD14

Subjects
Birds

Recording date
1960s

Recording locations
OS Grid Reference(303500,565500)

Recordist
Shove, Lawrence

Species
Nuthatch, Sitta europaea

Image reference https://pixabay.com/photos/nuthatch-bird-nature-blue-feathers-5079485/

Nuthatch calls (example 1), United Kingdom, 1960s

This is a recording of the soft cooing song of the wood pigeon. Despite popular opinion, the wood pigeon is the most common pigeon found in the British Isles. A large plump bird, easily distinguishable from its feral cousins due to its cleaner appearance, wood pigeons are almost completely grey with a white neck patch topped with metallic green and violet tones to the breast and pink legs. Both rural and urban, this bird is happy inhabiting farmland and woodland areas deep in the countryside or parks and gardens in our cities and towns. The most common call associated with the wood pigeon is the repetitive ‘coo coooo coo cu cu’ which can vary in strength and duration.

Duration
00:00:09

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001376 BD6

Subjects
Birds

Recording date
1960s

Recording locations
OS Grid Reference(303500,565500)

Recordist
Shove, Lawrence

Species
Woodpigeon, Columba palumbus

https://pixabay.com/photos/woodpigeon-pigeon-side-forward-view-278260/

Woodpigeon song, United Kingdom, 1960s

The call of the pine marten, recorded at Kinlochewe, Scotland. The pine marten is a rather sleek and beautiful animal, similar in appearance to a lean cat. The coat is a rich, chocolate brown with a cream-coloured throat patch and underside, large ears, and a long bushy tail. It can be distinguished from species such as mink by its characteristic loping gait. The pine marten is rarely seen due to its generally nocturnal habits, but its presence can be detected by the characteristic 'scats', which are twisted and lack a musky smell unlike fox or mink faeces. Generally silent, it will make a shrill 'yowl' call during the mating season. The pine marten is usually found in habitats of mature coniferous forest where it constructs a series of dens in hollow trees or old owl nests. It is highly curious, very agile, and able to move with speed through treetops. Mainly carnivorous, it feeds on small mammals, birds, and insects, although berries are also important in late summer and autumn. Until the 19th century, the pine martens was widespread throughout Britain but large-scale deforestation and intense persecution by gamekeepers greatly reduced both its number and range. Nowadays, it is mainly restricted to Scotland with a few populations in Wales, the Lake District, and Yorkshire. 

Listen to this recording on the British Library Sounds website:
http://sounds.bl.uk/Environment/British-wildlife-recordings/022M-W1CDR0001397-0600V0

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001397 BD6

Subjects
Mammals

Recording date
1969/07

Recording locations
Kinlochewe, Scottish Highlands: OS Grid Reference(202500,861500)

Recordist
Shove, Lawrence

Species
Pine Marten, Martes martes

Image reference https://www.flickr.com/photos/128941223@N02/48173751702 (Caroline Legg)

Pine Marten calls (example 2), Kinlochewe, Scotland, July 1969

The song of a male wren recorded in woodland. The diminutive wren has a remarkably loud voice considering its size; its vocalizations consist of a loud rattling call and warbling song. This bird is brown and rather rounded in appearance with a short narrow tail which is often held in a cocked position. This species is relatively common in Britain and seen in a variety of habitats including woodland, farmland, moorland, gardens and parks. 

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001401 BD3

Subjects
Birds

Recording date
1960s

Recording locations
OS Grid Reference(73500,868500)

Recordist
Shove, Lawrence

Species
Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes

Image reference www.flickr.com/photos/postmanpetecoluk/50766335221 (Pete Beard)

Wren song (example 2), United Kingdom, 1960s

This is a recording of the song of the male willow warbler. The willow warbler is one of Britain's most numerous summer visitors. The distinct song, often heard in the warbler's usual habitat of open woodland and scrub, is a graceful cascade of soft, liquid, warbling notes. Both sexes are similar in appearance, exhibiting olive-green upperparts and pale yellow underparts. Young birds differ in possessing stronger yellow plumage. This warbler performs long migrations. In early autumn it begins its annual journey from Britain to central and southern Africa, travelling up to 2,500 miles. The diet consists of insects, spiders and the occasional small worm. Despite its name this small bird does not have a preference to feed and nest in willow trees. Indeed the dome-shaped nest is more likely to be found hidden in undergrowth on the ground. The hen is responsible for the incubation of six white, brown-speckled eggs. Both parents feed the young. The breeding population currently stands at approximately 2.3 million pairs and numbers are gradually declining. This species can be found throughout the whole of the British Isles from April to September.

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001411 BD8

Subjects
Birds

Recording date
1960s

Recording locations
OS Grid Reference(173500,205500)

Recordist
Shove, Lawrence

Species
Willow Warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus

Image reference https://www.flickr.com/photos/68942208@N02/26124771464/ (Tom Lee)

Willow Warbler song (example 2), United Kingdom, 1960s

A recording of calls made by several Common Frogs and Common Toads in a pond. There are six species of amphibian found in Britain today, with the common toad being one of the most familiar as they are often seen during migration to their breeding ponds. Toads are usually more heavily built than frogs and the common toad has brown warty skin although colour variations do occur with some individuals being terracotta, grey or olive in colour. Females are larger than males and it is the males who call at night to attract a mate, this is often called a ‘release’ call and is a rather high-pitched but quiet ‘qwark-qwark-qwark’ sound. The mating call itself is seldom heard and is similar to the ‘release call’ but with slower and more drawn out notes. The common frog is the amphibian that we are most likely to find in our gardens and contrary to popular belief they actually spend very little time in the water except during the breeding season. This species is mainly brown or olive-green in colouration with a mixed pattern of darker markings on top and a light-coloured stripe down each side of the body. Males typically call with their head out of the water but the main part of their body submerged. Their throats are extended and the vibrating resonance is transmitted to listening females through both the air and water.

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001408 BD11

Subjects
Birds

Recording date
1960s

Recording locations
OS Grid Reference(277500,78500)

Recordist
Shove, Lawrence

Species
Common Frog, Rana temporaria

Image reference https://www.flickr.com/photos/plumberjohn/5520940748 (Kentish Plumber)

Common Frog calls, United Kingdom, 1960s

The random arrangements of high-pitched “chiff” and lower “chaff” notes constitute the distinctive song of this small and graceful warbler. Both male and female birds have grey-green upperparts and pale-yellow underparts. Young birds are yellower and can often be confused with the similar willow warbler. When feeding, the Chiffchaff flies restlessly in tree canopies. Sometimes it can be seen to dart out into the air from a branch in order to catch its usual insect quarry. During courtship the male hovers in the air, performing a slow “descent” to its mate. The nest often forms a dome-shape and has been locally known as an “oven”, “jug” or “bottle”. It is usually placed in dense vegetation, such as brambles and other low bushes. Six or seven white eggs, speckled purple-brown, are incubated for two weeks by the female. Both parents can raise up to two broods each year. Chiffchaffs are often heard high in the trees of their woodland haunts. They are one of Britain’s earliest summer visitors and their calls are characteristic of early spring. In winter months most birds reside in Africa although there are a small number that remain in southwestern England.

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001497 BD9

Subjects
Birds

Recording date
1977/04/10

Recording locations
Frensham Great Pond, Surrey: OS Grid Reference(484500,140500)

Recordist
Williams, Aubrey John

Species
Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita

Image reference www.flickr.com/photos/naturalengland/36310016021 (Natural England / Allan Drewitt)

Chiffchaff song, Surrey, England, April 1977

A badger calling, recorded at Chobham Place, Surrey. With its distinctive black and white markings, the badger is probably one of the most recognisable mammals in Britain and easily one of the most loved. Being nocturnal, they are rarely seen during the day, only emerging from their underground burrows (setts) after dusk to feed. It seems very few creatures are safe from a badger’s predatory eye, with frogs, rodents, birds, eggs, lizards, worms, insects, bulbs and berries all forming part of this mammal’s diet. Despite its shy reclusive reputation, the badger is actually a highly social animal, living in family groups of up to 12 individuals. They usually inhabit forest or sheltered grassland areas and are most common in the south of England, Wales and small areas in the northeast of the country. Grunting, squealing, squeaking, snuffling and ‘chortling’ are all examples of badger communication, even though this species is not generally known for possessing a highly distinctive vocabulary. Although not considered endangered, the species has certainly suffered population declines in recent years. At present, UK law states that it is illegal to disturb, capture or kill a badger or interfere with the sett in any way.

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001490 BD4

Subjects
Mammals

Recording date
1975/02/24

Recording locations
Chobham Place, Surrey: OS Grid Reference(496500,163500)

Recordist
Williams, Aubrey John

Species
Badger, Meles meles

Image reference https://pixabay.com/photos/badger-wildlife-english-nature-2030975/

Badger calls and movement, Surrey, England, February 1975

Song of the male blackcap recorded in woodland at Windlesham, Surrey. Always considered a summer visitor, the blackcap is becoming known as a resident bird, spending winter months mainly in England and Ireland. As the name suggests, this warbler possesses a blackcap (with females the cap is chestnut in colour) which accompanies a mainly grey-brown plumage. Generally found in woodland with plenty of tall trees and bushy shrubs, blackcaps will readily visit gardens during the winter months. They have a relatively plain diet consisting of insects and berries. This species has earned the nickname of ‘northern nightingale’ due to its beautiful warbling song. In contrast, the call consists of harsh ‘tacc tacc’ sounds, completely different from the flute-like melodies that form the song.

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001468 BD8

Subjects
Birds

Recording date
1976/06/07

Recording locations
Rye Grove, Windelsham, Surrey: OS Grid Reference(493500,163500)

Recordist
Williams, Aubrey John

Species
Blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla

Image reference pixabay.com/photos/blackcap-eur…n-blackcap-4573826/

Blackcap song, Surrey, England, June 1976

This is a recording of a male fallow deer or ‘Buck’ bellowing in Haldon Forest, Devon. These animals are usually sighted in broadleaf and open coniferous woodland and are found in most counties throughout the UK. They tend to be gregarious with group size and degree of sexual segregation being largely dependant on population density and habitat. Adult males and females tend to live apart for most of the year until they come together to mate. 

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001444 BD17

Subjects
Mammals

Recording date
1964/10

Recording locations
Haldon Forest, Devon: OS Grid Reference(289500,83500)

Recordist
Shove, Lawrence

Species
Fallow Deer, Dama dama

Image reference https://pixabay.com/photos/antler-antler-carrier-fallow-deer-899123/

Fallow Deer calls, Devon, England, October 1964

The call of the green woodpecker, recorded near Culver, Devon. This vibrant yellow-green bird is Britain's largest woodpecker. It is more often heard than seen, betraying its presence with an unmistakeable and fast repeating 'kew-kew-kew-kew-kew' sound. Male birds possess a distinctive red crown with black eye-patch and red 'moustache'. Females are similar although their moustache is black. The bright yellow rump is revealed during flight, which is characteristically undulating. As with all woodpeckers this bird supports itself on trees with a tail comprised of stiff feathers. Unlike the other species, however, it is seen mostly on the ground, stabbing with its dagger-like beak for the favoured quarry of ants and their grubs. The diet of this handsome bird also consists of moths, wood-boring insect larvae, bees, beetles, seeds and fruit. During courtship male birds display against one another with swaying head movements, which are accompanied with outstretched wings and erect crest feathers. Both sexes bore the nesting chamber, which is located fairly high in trees. It is here that five to seven white eggs are laid. The male and female take part in incubating the eggs and in rearing their single brood.

Shelf mark
W1CDR0001429 BD17

Subjects
Birds

Recording date
1963/04

Recording locations
Culver, Devon: OS Grid Reference(284500,90500)

Recordist
Shove, Lawrence

Species
Green Woodpecker, Picus viridis

Image reference https://pixabay.com/photos/bird-woodpecker-plumage-colors-5002772/

Green Woodpecker yaffle call, Devon, England, April 1963

Screams from adult Barn Owl perched on tree branch near nest cavity. Recorded in Cardiganshire, Wales on 2nd August 1988 by Victor C. Lewis.

British Library Reference: W TYTO ALBA R1 C16

Image Reference: https://pixabay.com/en/barn-owl-owl-bird-animal-wildlife-275942/ 

Barn Owl Screams, Wales, 1988

The Copeland-Long restoration of the earliest known recording of computer music, recorded at Alan Turing's Computing Machine Laboratory in Manchester in 1951. Read Copeland and Long's fascinating blog account of the all-night programming session which led to its creation, and Turing's reaction on hearing it the following morning:  http://blogs.bl.uk/sound-and-vision/2016/09/restoring-the-first-recording-of-computer-music.html

First known recording of computer music, 1951

This tuning fork was a present from Ludwig Van Beethoven to George Polgreen Bridgetower. See http://www.bl.uk/black-europeans/articles/george-polgreen-bridgetower for more information.

Beethoven's tuning fork

An extract from Yannick Dauby’s ‘Arches’ – an atmospheric sound piece built around his winter 2010 recording of the wolves of Lozère, France. Full-length recording from the Touch Radio collection on BL sounds: http://sounds.bl.uk/Arts-literature-and-performance/Touch-Radio/028M-C1428X0064XX-0100V0

Touch Radio -Yannick Dauby

This recording featuring filmmaker Derek Jarman was made in February 1984 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, in the Mall, London. 

To mark the publication of his book of memoirs 'Dancing Ledge', Jarman joined theatre legend Ken Campbell for a lively on-stage conversation. In this excerpt, Campbell reads a passage from the book and Jarman shares some family reminiscences.  
The full-length recording from The ICA talks collection on British Library sounds: 

http://sounds.bl.uk/Arts-literature-and-performance/ICA-talks/024M-C0095X0085XX-0100V0#_

Derek Jarman and Ken Campbell in conversation

Recorded by ethnomusicologist Rolf Killius in 2001 in a Sora house, Tame Gorjang village, Orissa. 

The musical structure of the performance is interesting: the lead singer begins the song with the second singer following just seconds behind. This results in an 'echo' effect that seems unique to the Sora, though a similar style is used in forms of both North and South Indian classical music where the accompanist (sarangi or violin for example) follows the singer.

The full-length recording from the World and Traditional Music collection is on British Library sounds: 
http://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Music-from-India/025M-RKDATX0008XX-0100V0

Music from India: Sora ancestor song

This is one of the earliest recordings of chamber music, recorded over 100 years ago, in 1905.  

In this performance of the Minuet and Trio from Beethoven’s Piano Trio in C minor Op. 1 No. 3, both the violinist and cellist were born in the mid 1850s.  In fact, the violinist was born only thirty years after the death of Beethoven.  The sound is remarkable clear for its age.

The full-length recording from the Chamber music collection on British Library sounds: 
http://sounds.bl.uk/Classical-music/Chamber-music/026M-9CS0011622XX-0100V0

Piano trio in C minor op.1 no.3 / Beethoven (1905)

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