Mark Cocker

Where did birds first learn to sing?

The latest research points to Australia, judging by the highly complex song of the New Holland honeyeater

The New Holland honeyeater, found throughout southern Australia, has one of the most complex songs in the world. (Alamy)

  • Curious About Nature: A Passion for Fieldwork

    Edited by Tim Burt and Des Thompson

    CUP, pp. 350, £29

  • The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent and Think

    Jennifer Ackerman

    Corsair, pp. 416, £14

  • White Feathers: The Nesting Lives of Tree Swallows

    Bernd Heinrich

    Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, pp. 256, £20

Already a subscriber? Log in

This article is for subscribers only

Get a free bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label when you subscribe to The Spectator for just £12 in our Black Friday sale

  • Free bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky, worth £30
  • Unlimited access to our website and app
  • Enjoy Spectator newsletters and podcasts
  • Explore our online archive, going back to 1828

Read next

Trending

Michael Evans

Here’s what Putin wants from Ukraine

Donald Trump is still two months away from becoming the 47th president of the United States, and yet his return to the Oval Office in January has already provoked a flurry of policy U-turns by the White House and rising expectation, even in Moscow, of a deal to end the war in Ukraine. Elements of a

More on charles darwin

Also by Mark Cocker

Latest

Comments

Black Friday sale: Get 10 weeks for just $1

Unlimited access to the The Spectator, online and via the app

Already a subscriber? Log in