Living in bustling cities we often tend to forget about nature, yet it is all around us and in many ways. Some of us might wake up in the morning to the sounds of a couple of birds singing while others hear their tunes through a stroll in the park or while waiting for some sort of public transport to take them along their merry way. \u00a0Though we may sometimes see or hear them, do we know which ones sing what songs? We\u2019ve picked out three bird songs from Europeana Collections most common birds across Europe. These sounds brought to you by the British Library and the Museum f\u00fcr Naturkunde Berlin are guaranteed to make you take a pause (in your busy life) and listen a little longer if you come across the three little birds pitched by your doorstep.<\/p>\n
Robins are quite common and favoured winter garden birds because of how well they have adapted to living alongside people and keeping gardeners company in the winter. The male robin is very territorial and will sing throughout the year. Around Christmas, the male robin will sing more powerfully due to breeding territories becoming established. During breeding season, they will start their morning song an hour before sunrise and end half an hour after sunset. In urban areas that are artificially lit, they may be heard singing as a way to shunt daytime human noise pollution.<\/p>\n
The Eurasian blue tit is found almost everywhere in Europe. It sings mostly in late winter and spring as a means to defend its territory or attract mates. Calls are used to communicate with other Eurasian blue tits. They inform one another on their location in trees by means of contact-calls. They use alarm-calls to warn others (including birds of other species such as the great tit, the European robin or the\u00a0treecreeper<\/a>) about the presence of predators in the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n The striking red, black and white head and gold patches on the wings of this bird makes it instantly recognisable. It is commonly bred in captivity because of its beautiful appearance and song. In the wild, the goldfinch likes impenetrable environments and breeds wherever thistles, burdock and teasels grow. In Britain, during the 19th century, many thousands of goldfinches were trapped yearly and sold as cage-birds. One of the earliest campaigns of the\u00a0Society for the Protection of Birds<\/a>\u00a0was directed against this.<\/p>\n The beauty of these three and other birds songs from the\u00a0British Library<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Natural History Museum in Berlin<\/a>\u00a0collections on Europeana inspired the French multimedia designers L\u00e9na Mazilu and Yoann Gu\u00e9ny to take part in the\u00a0#edTech Challenge 2018<\/a>. They won it with the\u00a0Birdie Memory<\/em><\/a>\u00a0project which invites kids to discover 20 European birds and their sounds by using a mobile app in combination with a visually stimulating and animated poster. Kids and adults alike are encouraged to become more aware of the nature around them, learn about the diversity of wildlife, and improve their visual observations skills and sound memory. The app is available in French, English and Spanish. It can be downloaded for free on the\u00a0AppStore<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Google Play<\/a>\u00a0while the poster can be purchased at a small price on the Birdie Memory\u00a0website<\/a>. Enjoy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"European Goldfinch<\/h4>\n
Birdie Memory<\/h4>\n