Nightingale

Fun Facts

• Berlin is called the capital of nightingales.

• Urban nightingales sing much louder than those living in forests. With more than 100dB, they can sing louder than the traffic on city roads. They can be heard particularly well around midnight.

• Only the male birds sing. They first have to learn to sing and are therefore difficult to recognise as nightingales in the first year.

• Nightingales can be observed from April to June. In folklore, they are considered harbingers of spring.

• Nightingales are migratory birds and can be observed in Germany from April to August. At the end of August, they fly to Middle Africa, particularly Liberia and Sudan.

• It feeds mainly on berries, insects, worms and spiders.

• Endangerment level Germany: not endangered

• In the past, the nightingale's song was considered to alleviate pain and was supposed to bring a gentle death to the dying and a speedy recovery to the sick.

• The quotation "it was the nightingale and not the lark" comes from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" and refers to the male's nocturnal singing activity between midnight and the early hours of the morning. It is therefore considered a love bird, especially in English poetry.