WHY BIRDS SING
Wednesday 20 June 2007 9pm-10.20pm; rpt 12.20am-1.40am; rpt 2.40am-3.40am; rpt Thursday 21 June 2007 11.20pm-12.40am; rpt Tuesday 3 July 7.40pm-9pm; rpt 12.05am-1.25am
Why are we so attracted to the music of nature? In this documentary, David Rothenberg interviews leading birdsong scientists and musicians, including Jarvis Cocker and Beth Orton, to support his controversial idea that birds might actually be singing for the sheer joy of it.
The film features a unique musical composition combining human music with birdsong, with contributions from Peter Gabriel, the Guillemots - and even an eider duck and a woodpecker:
"IT'S LIKE HE WAS JAMMING ALONG WITH ME" David tells the story of a musical duet he shared - with a white-crested laughing thrush. Watch clip from Why Birds Sing
