Rob: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English with me, Rob, and a very beautiful sound…

　　Jen: Ahhh, the sound of birdsong. Hello, I’m Jennifer and that’s what we’re talking about today - birdsong.

　　Rob: In Britain, this is the sound of summer - lots of different species - or types - of birds tweeting.

　　Jen: Tweeting? You mean they are using Twitter - the social media site?!

　　Rob: Of course not! Tweeting is a way of describing the sounds birds make. We sometimes say they chirp or trill too - making short, high-pitched sounds.

　　Jen: Yes, I knew that really. But a BBC radio station in the UK is playing a different birdsong every day. They're calling it ’Tweet of the Day’ - which is a clever title.

　　Rob: It is and we’ll talk more about that soon. But first I need to see if you are a twitcher - another name for a person who watches birds for a hobby. Do you know how many species of birds there are on Britain's official bird list?

　　a) 396

　　b) 496

　　c) 596

　　Jen: Wow, there are lots but I have no idea so I will guess a) 396.

　　Rob: That is quite a lot, isn't it? We’ll find out if you are right at the end of the programme. So, let’s talk more about tweeting - of the bird kind. Where I live, there are many fields and trees and there is nothing more beautiful - and noisy- than the sound of the dawn chorus.

　　Jen: That’s when all the birds start singing at sunrise - so first thing in the morning. It’s not so beautiful if you are trying to sleep! But I know what you mean about birdsong - it makes you think about different places. Listen to this birdsong, for example…

　　SEAGULL SOUND FX

　　Rob: Yes, the seagull - a scavenger which eats food scraps or other dead animals.

　　Jen: Yes, it reminds me of the seaside, although I wouldn’t describe that as a beautiful sound - more of a screech. Let’s hear another sound from one of our feathered friends - or in other words, birds…

　　BLACKBIRD SOUND FX

　　Rob: That’s the call of a blackbird - something I hear in my back garden. It’s a very distinctive song - easy to recognise and something you hear a lot of in the British summer.

　　Jen: And how about this bird - what does it make you think of?

　　CUCKOO SOUND FX

　　Rob: That has to be a cuckoo - its call sounds like its name - ‘cuckoo’. It reminds me of springtime because that’s when you first hear them. It’s incredible that there are so many different birdsongs.

　　Jen: Well, that’s why BBC Radio 4’s Tweet of the Day features 265 different birdsongs. Sound engineers have been outside and captured - or recorded - the sounds of birds with strange names like the wood warbler, nightjar, lesser whitethroat and yellowhammer.

　　Rob: Great names. But listening to these strange-named birds may be enjoyable but their tweeting could also be useful.

　　Jen: That’s right. Sound experts say some birdsongs can help you concentrate when you're studying.

　　Rob: Yes, a writer called Julian Treasure says birdsong can relax the body and make your mind more alert. He thinks the dawn chorus is like nature’s alarm clock - ‘it stimulates us cognitively’ - so gets our brains working and thinking.

　　Jen: Another study found the natural sounds of birdsong might stop you getting tired and sleepy after eating a meal. An experiment found playing birdsong to school children after lunch made them more alert. We should try it here Rob.

　　Rob: We should. There’s even a smartphone app that plays birdsong and claims to help you work better. But there’s no need for an app, all I need to do is open the window and listen to the birds outside…

　　BIRDS SINGING

　　Rob: …but are they all of the bird species I asked you about earlier? My question was how many species of birds are there on Britain's official bird list?

　　a) 396

　　b) 496

　　c) 596

　　Jen: I said a) 396.

　　Rob: Sorry Jen, you're wrong. Incredibly there are 596 types of species in Britain. 286 of them are rare - so not many of them left. OK Jen, there’s just time to remind us of some of the vocabulary that we heard today:

　　Jen: We heard…

　　species

　　tweeting

　　chirp

　　twitcher

　　dawn chorus

　　scavenger

　　screech

　　feathered friends

　　captured

　　nature’s alarm clock

　　rare

　　Rob: Thanks. Time, now, for some more tweeting. Join us again soon for 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

　　Both: Bye.