View source for Dawn chorus (birds)

{{Short description|Singing of birds at the start of a day}}
{{Redirect|International Dawn Chorus Day|the short film|International Dawn Chorus Day (film)}}
[[File:Robin singing at dawn.jpg|thumb|A [[European robin]] singing at dawn]]
The '''dawn chorus''' is the outbreak of [[birdsong]] at the start of a new day. In temperate countries this is most noticeable in spring when the birds are either defending a [[Territory (animal)|breeding territory]], trying to attract a mate or calling in the flock. In a given location it is common for different species to do their dawn singing at different times.

In some territories where bird life is extensive and birds are vocal, the sound of a dawn chorus may make it difficult for humans to sleep in the early morning.<ref>Carson, Rachel and Freeman, Dorothy (1995) ''Always, Rachel: the letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman, 1952-1964'' Beacon Press, Boston, Massachusetts, page 462, {{ISBN|0-8070-7010-6}}</ref><ref>	
Gregg, Emma and Trillo, Richard (2003) ''Rough guide to the Gambia'' Rough Guides, New York, page 220, {{ISBN|1-84353-083-X}}</ref><ref>Lowman, Margaret; Burgess, Edward and Burgess, James (2006) ''It's a jungle up there: more tales from the treetops'' Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, page 168, {{ISBN|0-300-10863-X}}</ref>

==Timing==
In a 2007 study of the Ecuadorian forest, it was determined that birds perching higher in the trees and birds with larger eyes tend to sing first.<ref name="Jamieson">Jamieson, Barrie Gillean Molyneux (editor) (2007) ''Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Birds: Sexual selection, behavior, conservation, embryology, genetics'' (Part B of ''Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Birds'') Science Publishers, Enfield, New Hampshire, page 183, {{ISBN|978-1-57808-386-2}}</ref> This may be due to differences in the amount of [[light]] perceived by the birds.<ref name="Jamieson"/>

Moller used a play-back technique to investigate the effects of singing by the [[black wheatear]] (''Oenanthe leucura'') on the behaviour of both [[Biological_specificity#Subtopics|conspecifics and heterospecifics]].  It was found that singing increased in both groups in response to the wheatear. Moller suggested the dawn (and dusk) chorus of bird song may be augmented by [[Social facilitation in animals|social facilitation]] due to the singing of conspecifics as well as heterospecifics.<ref>Moller, A.P., (1992). Interspecific response to playback of bird song.  Ethology, 90: 315-320. DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.1992.tb00842.x</ref>

==International Dawn Chorus Day ==
An annual International Dawn Chorus Day is held on the first Sunday in May<ref>[http://www.idcd.info/ IDCD.info]</ref> when the public are encouraged to rise early to listen to bird song at organised events. The first ever was held at [[Moseley Bog]] in [[Birmingham]], England, in 1987, organized by the [[Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country|Urban Wildlife Trust]] (now The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country).

==New Zealand==
Early explorers and European settlers noted that the [[New Zealand]] forest had a loud dawn chorus. The dawn chorus is no longer as loud as it once was, owing to extensive loss of forests, the introduction of bird predators and competing species such as wasps.{{cn|date=May 2022}} The [[New Zealand bellbird|bellbird]] and the [[tūī]] are two of the birds that would have formed part of the dawn chorus since they have a vocal and melodious call.

==United Kingdom==
{{Listen
|title=UK dawn chorus 1:
|filename=Dawnchorus-uk.ogg
|description=A recording of a dawn chorus in the UK
|title2=UK dawn chorus 2:
|filename2=0426AM Dawn Chorus 07-May-2023 (edit).ogg
|description2=Field recording on the International Dawn Chorus Day 2023, at 4:26AM
|format=[[Ogg]]}}

In the [[UK]] the dawn chorus may begin as early as 3 a.m. in early summer.

==United States==
The dawn chorus may also be heard in the [[United States]].
{{Listen
|filename=2020-04-28 deciduous forest.wav
|title=Dawn chorus of eastern US deciduous forest
|description=A recording of a spring dawn chorus in Virginia, USA}}

==See also==
*[[Birdsong|Bird song]]
*[[Dawn chorus (electromagnetic)]]
*[[Natural sounds]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}<!--added above External links/Sources by script-assisted edit-->

==External links==
{{Commons category|Dawn chorus}}
{{Wiktionary|dawn chorus}}

*[http://www.idcd.info International Dawn Chorus Day]
*[http://www.bl.uk/listentonature/specialinterestlang/langofbirds3.html The language of birds: The dawn chorus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409004018/http://www.bl.uk/listentonature/specialinterestlang/langofbirds3.html |date=2017-04-09 }}

[[Category:Bird sounds]]
[[Category:Ethology]]