NATIVE HARDBILLS
IN MY article of September 27, I alluded to the cessation of song as the moult commenced here. Thankfully, a couple of months onwards, the sound of song has returned. And it's the 2023-bred birds that are the first to find their voice. Initially it is a mixture of sounds that could hardly be described as birdsong
- it s just screeches and harsh notes. But it's like the initial tuning of a guitar or piano: the sound gradually improves as they tune their beaks, tongues and any other part that is used to utter a note. The siskins are