Summary
"Winter is finally over and the birds are all singing their hearts out at dawn. What's all the noise about? And why are some songs so elaborate?" asks Tony Fulford from Ely in Cambridgeshire.
We find out how birds produce multiple notes at once, which one has the widest repertoire of songs, and why males like to show off quite so much. Plus, we talk to researcher Lauryn Benedict about the project which aims to solve the mystery of why female birds sing - www.femalebirdsong.org.
Featuring interviews with RSPB President and nature presenter Miranda Krestovnikoff, and world-renowned birdsong expert and sound recordist, Don Kroodsma.
Archive of 'singing like a wren' courtesy of The One Show, BBC TV.
Send your cases for consideration to curiouscases@bbc.co.uk.
Presenters: Adam Rutherford, Hannah Fry Producer: Michelle Martin.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Dr Adam Rutherford and I'm Dr Hannah Fry and you are going to send us your everyday |
| 0:11.4 | mysteries and we are going to investigate them using the power of science, science, I like |
| 0:18.5 | it. |
| 0:19.5 | Last, I didn't wait for the green light. |
| 0:24.6 | Didn't, we've only been doing this for ten series, we get this little green light that |
| 0:28.5 | comes on when we're meant to speak, which is pressed by the studio manager Donald today. |
| 0:32.5 | Do you feel though it's a bit probabilistic, I mean some studio managers are better than |
| 0:36.6 | others. |
| 0:37.6 | I would say there's a 60% chance that you'll get the green light. |
| 0:41.9 | So the green light comes on and we start speaking but what you just witnessed there listeners |
| 0:47.1 | was us not doing that. |
| 0:49.0 | So hello. |
| 0:50.0 | It's actually the last episode in the current series now. |
| 0:52.7 | Yeah, that's so quickly doesn't it? |
| 0:54.8 | So that means we've racked up. |
| 0:56.5 | This must be our 50th episode. |
| 0:58.5 | Oh yeah. |
| 0:59.5 | Is it? |
| 1:00.5 | I just did maths wrong on my head. |
| 1:04.1 | And it's ten times five. |
| 1:05.6 | Ten five. |
| 1:06.6 | So let me just write that out. |
... |
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