07:03-e-Catalog - Flipbook - Page 56
The term The Dawn Chorus was coined
as recently as the 1920’s to define the
tapestry of sound created by birds mostly
in the springtime. Over the last two years
lockdown, our lack of travel by plane and
by car has given over the airwaves to the
birds, and has allowed us to become more
aware of this beautiful phenomenon.
Much has been written in prose and verse
about the dawn chorus, but there remains
a degree of mystery behind the event
other than declarations about territory
and sexual partnership. It requires a huge
amount of energy for a Song Thrush, as
an example, to sing for three hours. The
expenditure of energy in terms of the
weight of a song can be established by
weighing the bird before and after his
performance. There is a theory that this
may be part of a symbiotic relationship
between birds and plant life.
Experiments in radical crop research
in America have established that the
productivity of orange groves is increased
by as much as 18% if classical music
is played in early stages of growth. It
is believed that the energy embedded in
musical harmony stimulates the cellular
structure of plants as well as opening the
stomata of leaves to ingest nutrients in a
controlled mist spray.
The dawn chorus
The vines of some vineyards in Napa
Valley are grown with music playing as
the grapes produce noticeably better wine.
In Japan one can buy expensive melons
which have been grown to a background
of music.
These paintings promote one theory
behind purpose of the dawn chorus: that
the music of birdsong may promote
plant growth producing blossom, berries
and bugs and reinforcing a symbiotic
relationship.
