A Nightingale sang in Red Square...

In order to promote interest in birds, the Russian Bird Conservation Union (RBCU) recently organised its third spring count of singing Thrush Nightingales Luscinia luscinia in Moscow, with the help of the general public.

People were invited to phone in or mail their records on May 24, which resulted in 550 reports of at least 921 to 1,177 singing males, a ten percent increase compared to last year. Some nightingales were heard singing under the Kremlin walls, but not, as last year, within the Kremlin itself!

The results are far from complete, since few special surveys have been conducted in large city parks known to harbour many dozens of nightingales. Also, many other places with ideal Thrush Nightingale habitat have not been visited. However, the organising team, led by Vadim Avdanin, estimates the total number of singing Thrush Nightingales in Moscow alone at 3,000-4,000 - enough for the RBCU to declare this city of ten million people the 'Nightingale Capital'.

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