Common Nightingale: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Owls and Night Birds · day 7 of 7

Five facts

1. Its English name joins "night" with galan, an Old English word for "to sing". It is a night singer.
2. A male knows about 190 song types on average, and some exceed 300. It uses about 1,160 different syllables, against 108 for a blackbird.
3. Males without a mate sing through the night, probably to attract one. A night-long session can go on for 7 to 8 hours.
4. In and near towns, nightingales turn up the volume and sing louder to be heard over the noise.
5. For such a loud bird, it is very shy. It hides in thick bushes, and even singing males usually stay out of sight.

The quiz

1. What does the "gale" in nightingale come from?

• A word for "wind"
• A word for "bird"
• A word for "to sing" (correct)
• A word for "brown"

It comes from galan, Old English for "to sing".

2. About how many song types does an average male nightingale know?

• About 190 (correct)
• About 3
• About 12
• About 5,000

On average a male has about 190 song types.

3. Which nightingales sing regularly through the night?

• Females sitting on eggs
• Chicks in the nest
• Males with chicks to feed
• Males without a mate (correct)

Only unpaired males sing regularly at night, probably to attract a mate.

4. What do nightingales do in noisy towns?

• Stop singing
• Sing louder (correct)
• Sing only at noon
• Copy car alarms

They sing more loudly to beat the background noise.

5. Where does a singing male nightingale usually perch?

• On rooftops in plain view
• On the very tip of a treetop
• Hidden out of sight (correct)
• On open ground

Even loud singing males usually stay on hidden perches.

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