Nightingales in France - sing and sing and sing.....

Writer and broadcaster Dilys Morgan rediscovers the nightingale, now increasingly rare in her native Britain but common in France

Back in the UK on Sunday I learned this amazing statistic on the BBC television programme Country File: nightingales have declined in Britain by 91% since the 1970’s.

I suppose this didn’t really surprise me as I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a nightingale in the UK even though I’ve lived in semi-rural Berkshire for most of that time. My sister hears them in Suffolk, apparently, but she’s well away from any large town.

Photo: RSPB


Here in France, however, where they’re known as ‘rossignol’ it’s another matter. You can hardly escape their song – day or night! They seem to enjoy exercising their vocal chords,particularly when the weather’s good, and often between about 4 and 6 pm when they call constantly from one tree to another. It’s not just one that we hear, but several, especially in the spring, when they’re presumably seeking out mates. After their early evening bout, things usually go quiet until night-time when they start up again during the early hours.

It’s a strange song, and surprising really that it’s attracted so many lyrical connotations: it starts as a strange rattling noise which isn’t pretty at all. As Wikipedia says: an ‘impressive range of whistles, trills and gurgles’. But as it builds to a trill, you can understand why people have written poems and songs - about and to - this very special bird.

When we first came to France, I wasn’t at all sure what the song sounded like and needed to identify it to be sure . So I looked up the RSPB’s wonderful website where you can listen to birdsong, and then played it again and again until I was familiar with it and one-hundred -per -cent sure that this was the same song being played out around the garden. On one occasion, at least, a bird would answer back – so that we had a duet going on from the laptop on the balcony with a bird in a tree. Looking back, that was probably a bit mean to the poor bird who clearly thought he was courting and in with a chance!

Special in appearance it isn’t however, being plain brown with piercing, beady eyes and only one distinction – a reddish tail. But although they’re supposed to be shy and scuttle amongst the hedgerows, around us in France they can be quite brave, appearing often in the daytime to see what we’re up to - much as a robin does.

Whenever I see or hear them I can’t get that song - ‘A Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square’ - out of my head. But it seems that the true song has been out of the Square for nigh on 40 years!

Dilys Morgan