1 00:00:02,420 --> 00:00:07,500 A bird's life in Wales must seem the most pleasant existence 2 00:00:07,500 --> 00:00:09,659 you could ever wish for. 3 00:00:12,898 --> 00:00:16,138 What could possibly be better than being on a perch, 4 00:00:16,138 --> 00:00:19,458 singing happily all day without a worry in the world? 5 00:00:22,777 --> 00:00:27,577 And, of course, there's that ability to fly. 6 00:00:27,577 --> 00:00:31,816 To go anywhere you feel like, totally free. 7 00:00:34,496 --> 00:00:36,936 A life made in heaven. 8 00:00:44,735 --> 00:00:46,654 Anything but. 9 00:00:48,615 --> 00:00:51,734 Birds have to work from dawn until dusk. 10 00:00:52,814 --> 00:00:56,092 They have to find food and water to live. 11 00:00:56,092 --> 00:00:59,533 If they fail to do so, they die. 12 00:01:01,973 --> 00:01:04,491 They have to battle the elements. 13 00:01:07,131 --> 00:01:12,331 Survival, especially during Winter, is extremely difficult. 14 00:01:16,931 --> 00:01:21,450 During Spring, they're busy raising new families. 15 00:01:21,450 --> 00:01:24,769 Then they not only have to feed themselves, 16 00:01:24,769 --> 00:01:28,089 but also their hungry chicks. 17 00:01:30,289 --> 00:01:34,608 They have to protect the chicks from others who wish to do them harm. 18 00:01:40,248 --> 00:01:43,207 They can be targets themselves. 19 00:01:48,286 --> 00:01:52,286 And, of course, they have to put up with us. 20 00:01:52,286 --> 00:01:56,165 They have to find a way of surviving in our artificial landscape. 21 00:01:57,725 --> 00:02:00,165 In this series, I'm going to be finding out 22 00:02:00,165 --> 00:02:02,885 what a bird's life is really like in Wales. 23 00:02:02,885 --> 00:02:07,604 I'm going to be discovering the vast array of species we have here. 24 00:02:07,604 --> 00:02:10,644 And I'm going to be probing into their secret lives. 25 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:47,759 The uplands of Traeth Mawr in the Brecon Beacons. 26 00:02:47,759 --> 00:02:51,318 Dawn's breaking on a cold April morning. 27 00:02:52,839 --> 00:02:56,278 The Beacons' highest peak, Pen y Fan, is in the distance. 28 00:02:59,678 --> 00:03:03,878 This first hour is alive with sounds. 29 00:03:05,796 --> 00:03:09,277 The day starts early for birds. 30 00:03:16,715 --> 00:03:18,955 As the sun rises and the mist lifts, 31 00:03:18,955 --> 00:03:22,675 the birds are revealed in all their glory. 32 00:03:23,954 --> 00:03:28,473 In this programme, I'm exploring the secret life of bird calls. 33 00:03:29,594 --> 00:03:32,752 There can't be that many places left in Wales now 34 00:03:32,752 --> 00:03:36,113 where you've got a fairly unspoilt area like this 35 00:03:36,113 --> 00:03:39,312 with an incredible variety of habitats in it. 36 00:03:39,312 --> 00:03:42,992 You've got the tall grassland here, you've got the gorse, 37 00:03:42,992 --> 00:03:46,832 you've got the hills behind me, you've got marshland, 38 00:03:46,832 --> 00:03:50,271 you've got bracken-covered hills over there as well. 39 00:03:50,271 --> 00:03:52,310 And you've got so many birds here. 40 00:03:52,310 --> 00:03:55,631 You can identify all of them from their calls and their songs. 41 00:03:58,789 --> 00:04:00,629 This is a dunnock. 42 00:04:06,029 --> 00:04:07,750 A willow warbler. 43 00:04:13,269 --> 00:04:15,108 And a sedge warbler. 44 00:04:19,708 --> 00:04:23,747 These are all male birds and they're singing to mark their territory. 45 00:04:26,066 --> 00:04:28,147 And in their territory, 46 00:04:28,147 --> 00:04:31,585 they've chosen the highest perch on the tallest bush to sing. 47 00:04:33,385 --> 00:04:37,905 There's this scratchy kind of call here amongst the gorse. 48 00:04:37,905 --> 00:04:40,985 That's a sedge warbler just in from Africa now. 49 00:04:40,985 --> 00:04:44,144 There are skylarks in this grass. There are meadow pipits. 50 00:04:44,144 --> 00:04:46,024 There's a pair of curlew over there. 51 00:04:46,024 --> 00:04:48,264 There's a willow warbler going away now. 52 00:04:48,264 --> 00:04:51,543 There's been a cuckoo calling from that hillside over there. 53 00:04:51,543 --> 00:04:55,944 The best one, I think, of all is in this marshy, wet area here. 54 00:04:55,944 --> 00:04:58,062 It's a bird called a snipe 55 00:04:58,062 --> 00:05:02,862 and it's got a kind of a tick-tock-tick-tock kind of call. 56 00:05:02,862 --> 00:05:07,221 But it also does a display, where it doesn't use its beak, 57 00:05:07,221 --> 00:05:09,182 it actually uses its tail. 58 00:05:09,182 --> 00:05:11,901 It pushes out these two outer tail feathers, 59 00:05:11,901 --> 00:05:16,659 and when it dives down, it does this most incredible noise. 60 00:05:23,979 --> 00:05:26,739 This is the snipe's tick-tack call. 61 00:05:30,178 --> 00:05:33,338 The snipe is calling somewhere on the ground. 62 00:05:35,378 --> 00:05:39,058 It's loud enough to attract a female into its territory. 63 00:05:40,058 --> 00:05:43,056 And then he displays. 64 00:05:47,536 --> 00:05:50,536 The movement of wind through his outer tail feathers 65 00:05:50,536 --> 00:05:52,416 creates a unique noise. 66 00:06:20,453 --> 00:06:23,692 This is Bute Park, Cardiff. 67 00:06:25,171 --> 00:06:28,931 Here too, it's an early start for the birds. 68 00:06:36,170 --> 00:06:39,330 This is a song thrush, one of our finest singers. 69 00:06:42,570 --> 00:06:45,529 It'll always repeat a phrase at least twice. 70 00:06:51,767 --> 00:06:53,648 It's important to sing early 71 00:06:53,648 --> 00:06:57,168 to be the first one to attract the attention of a female. 72 00:06:58,768 --> 00:07:02,007 Also, his sound will travel further in the park 73 00:07:02,007 --> 00:07:04,047 in the relative silence of the dawn 74 00:07:04,047 --> 00:07:06,607 than it will do later on in the day. 75 00:07:09,765 --> 00:07:13,606 A lot of our birds actually start singing in the middle of Winter. 76 00:07:13,606 --> 00:07:17,124 That's a good thing because there are no leaves and you can see them. 77 00:07:17,124 --> 00:07:20,644 One of the earliest and the smallest is the wren. 78 00:07:20,644 --> 00:07:22,884 There's one singing away in here now. 79 00:07:22,884 --> 00:07:27,484 It's one of our smallest birds and yet it has an incredibly loud song. 80 00:07:27,484 --> 00:07:30,924 I think it's all lungs because it doesn't burst into song, 81 00:07:30,924 --> 00:07:33,003 it absolutely explodes. 82 00:07:33,003 --> 00:07:35,961 This one is waggling its wings like this. 83 00:07:35,961 --> 00:07:38,122 He's got a rival somewhere nearby 84 00:07:38,122 --> 00:07:41,563 and he's trying to make himself look just that little bit bigger. 85 00:07:42,561 --> 00:07:44,521 Cracking birds. I like wrens. 86 00:08:15,638 --> 00:08:18,357 Tee-cher-tee-cher-tee-cher. Can you hear that? 87 00:08:18,357 --> 00:08:20,837 That's a great tit. There's one up here, 88 00:08:20,837 --> 00:08:23,957 and there's another one answering from over there. 89 00:08:23,957 --> 00:08:27,196 It's a really common garden and woodland bird 90 00:08:27,196 --> 00:08:30,275 and yet, you look at it close up and it's stunning. 91 00:08:30,275 --> 00:08:33,315 Greens and yellows and blacks and whites. 92 00:08:33,315 --> 00:08:35,035 The song is interesting. 93 00:08:35,035 --> 00:08:40,034 They've found that the males with the longest and most intricate songs 94 00:08:40,034 --> 00:08:43,114 are the most successful at attracting a mate. 95 00:08:43,114 --> 00:08:46,834 So what they do is, they'll steal little bits of other birds' songs 96 00:08:46,834 --> 00:08:48,913 and incorporate it into their own. 97 00:08:48,913 --> 00:08:53,832 But they've always got that tee-cher-tee-cher element in it. 98 00:08:53,832 --> 00:08:55,672 There are lots of them here. 99 00:09:07,751 --> 00:09:10,950 Great spotted woodpeckers too are attracting each other, 100 00:09:10,950 --> 00:09:15,110 but they have a different method. 101 00:09:15,110 --> 00:09:16,750 They drum. 102 00:09:17,710 --> 00:09:22,869 This is a female. Both males and females drum. 103 00:09:22,869 --> 00:09:27,948 The male has a red patch on his neck. 104 00:09:27,948 --> 00:09:31,868 And like all good drummers, they select the best drum. 105 00:09:31,868 --> 00:09:34,388 The one that will make the most noise. 106 00:09:48,746 --> 00:09:52,905 Although birdsongs can be complex and varied within species, 107 00:09:52,905 --> 00:09:56,024 some birds make do with a very simple one. 108 00:09:57,945 --> 00:10:02,384 This little bird is singing above Ceibwr Bay near Cardigan 109 00:10:02,384 --> 00:10:04,424 on the North Pembrokeshire coast. 110 00:10:05,383 --> 00:10:07,224 When we think of birdsong, 111 00:10:07,224 --> 00:10:12,062 we tend to think of really tuneful songs like the melodious songs 112 00:10:12,062 --> 00:10:15,982 of robins and blackbirds or maybe even the skylark. 113 00:10:15,982 --> 00:10:20,141 But not all birds sing like that. This is a whitethroat. 114 00:10:20,141 --> 00:10:23,861 It's a little warbler that's just come all the way back from Africa. 115 00:10:23,861 --> 00:10:26,741 He keeps singing from the song post he's got here. 116 00:10:26,741 --> 00:10:29,300 In this case, it's an old bit of bramble. 117 00:10:29,300 --> 00:10:34,780 His song is what you could call, at best, a scratchy song. 118 00:10:34,780 --> 00:10:36,620 But it obviously works 119 00:10:36,620 --> 00:10:40,338 because he's got a female nesting just over the bank here. 120 00:10:40,338 --> 00:10:43,659 There he goes. He's going off to feed her for a while 121 00:10:43,659 --> 00:10:48,098 before he comes back and sings from exactly the same post. 122 00:10:51,138 --> 00:10:56,418 This lucky whitethroat probably has one of the best patches of territory in Wales. 123 00:10:56,418 --> 00:11:00,377 A Summer residence with outstanding views. 124 00:11:11,216 --> 00:11:15,655 Some birds are not so lucky. Even very special birds. 125 00:11:21,733 --> 00:11:25,894 This is a Dartford warbler. It's one of Wales' rarest birds. 126 00:11:28,534 --> 00:11:31,972 And his residence overlooks Port Talbot. 127 00:11:39,131 --> 00:11:41,771 The Dartford warbler looks quite different 128 00:11:41,771 --> 00:11:44,612 to any other small bird that you'll see in Wales. 129 00:11:49,570 --> 00:11:51,411 The view doesn't matter. 130 00:11:51,411 --> 00:11:56,930 What's more important is that he's found a small patch of perfect habitat, 131 00:11:56,930 --> 00:11:58,969 where he can sing and nest. 132 00:12:02,569 --> 00:12:06,089 But he'll have to sing very loud above the traffic noise 133 00:12:06,089 --> 00:12:09,567 and this is something all urban birds have to get used to. 134 00:12:18,727 --> 00:12:21,166 This is Betws-y-Coed in North Wales. 135 00:12:21,166 --> 00:12:25,246 It's early morning and the A5 is very busy. 136 00:12:25,246 --> 00:12:29,166 In the park, birds are also getting on with their busy lives. 137 00:12:38,045 --> 00:12:40,404 A song thrush singing away up there. 138 00:12:40,404 --> 00:12:43,444 Singing its little heart out from the top of that tree. 139 00:12:43,444 --> 00:12:47,282 It'll do that all through the Spring and into the Summer. 140 00:12:47,282 --> 00:12:50,003 The problem is, it's decided to nest in a town, 141 00:12:50,003 --> 00:12:54,563 so it's got to compete every morning with the traffic. 142 00:12:57,722 --> 00:13:01,761 Research has shown that urban birds may make their songs louder 143 00:13:01,761 --> 00:13:03,921 to compensate for this noise. 144 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,320 The songs can also be very different to the songs 145 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:14,319 of the same species living in the countryside. 146 00:13:21,918 --> 00:13:24,238 Not all birds sing from a perch. 147 00:13:29,317 --> 00:13:31,557 Some Welsh birds live in habitats 148 00:13:31,557 --> 00:13:34,757 where there are no trees or suitable perches to sing from. 149 00:13:40,515 --> 00:13:44,356 These are the Gronant sand dunes near Prestatyn in North Wales. 150 00:13:48,915 --> 00:13:51,955 Here, skylarks breed during the Spring and Summer. 151 00:13:59,074 --> 00:14:03,834 I don't think many songs can compete with the skylark song. 152 00:14:03,994 --> 00:14:06,593 It's a busy time for them. 153 00:14:07,033 --> 00:14:09,873 It's Spring and the males are setting up territories. 154 00:14:09,873 --> 00:14:12,153 They are chasing each other around. 155 00:14:12,153 --> 00:14:17,791 They'll sing and climb and climb and climb and sing and sing. 156 00:14:17,791 --> 00:14:22,111 It's like a competition to see which one can do 157 00:14:22,351 --> 00:14:26,631 the most complicated song and climb the highest. 158 00:14:26,631 --> 00:14:30,910 It's important they do that because the territory that they establish 159 00:14:30,910 --> 00:14:35,510 has got to sustain, not just them, but a mate and a family as well. 160 00:14:35,510 --> 00:14:40,428 That's why you'll get lots of them. There are dozens of them. 161 00:14:40,428 --> 00:14:44,229 They're singing all the way through Spring into Summer 162 00:14:44,229 --> 00:14:48,268 and into the Autumn as well. It's a lovely sound. 163 00:14:54,707 --> 00:15:00,266 Skylarks have incorporated their song into an aerial display. 164 00:15:00,266 --> 00:15:05,386 The males attract the females by literally falling from the sky. 165 00:15:05,386 --> 00:15:08,106 They will do it over and over 166 00:15:08,106 --> 00:15:13,944 even when a female has been found, to keep her, and the territory. 167 00:15:16,464 --> 00:15:19,504 MUSIC 168 00:15:47,981 --> 00:15:52,419 Since I was a lad, I've been fascinated by birds nests. 169 00:15:52,419 --> 00:15:57,539 A wall like this is ideal for a robin or a wren. 170 00:15:57,539 --> 00:16:03,578 Because they tuck the nests away, one of the best ways to find them 171 00:16:03,578 --> 00:16:06,258 is to listen for an alarm call. 172 00:16:06,258 --> 00:16:10,978 An alarm call is different for every bird but they are similar. 173 00:16:10,978 --> 00:16:14,777 They are loud, very harsh and often staccato 174 00:16:14,777 --> 00:16:16,696 bit like a machine gun. 175 00:16:16,696 --> 00:16:20,256 When you hear that, you know the nest isn't far. 176 00:16:20,256 --> 00:16:22,537 The alarm call serves several purposes. 177 00:16:22,537 --> 00:16:25,615 It warns me to stay back. 178 00:16:25,615 --> 00:16:30,616 Also, it's to warn other birds that there is danger in the area. 179 00:16:30,616 --> 00:16:35,334 It's to warn the mate, who will be incubating eggs or young, 180 00:16:35,334 --> 00:16:40,294 to stay quiet, still and not to give away the nest's location. 181 00:16:40,294 --> 00:16:45,333 We've all heard this one, an unhappy blackbird. 182 00:16:49,453 --> 00:16:54,412 It's usually a cat or a person walking under his tree. 183 00:16:58,371 --> 00:17:01,771 It's illegal to go anywhere near a peregrine's nest 184 00:17:01,771 --> 00:17:03,690 as it's a protected species. 185 00:17:03,690 --> 00:17:09,730 But the peregrine would soon let you know if you were too near. 186 00:17:15,609 --> 00:17:19,648 This is an interesting situation in a woodland near Harlech. 187 00:17:19,648 --> 00:17:25,127 A nuthatch pair has taken up residence in an old woodpecker hole. 188 00:17:25,127 --> 00:17:30,927 The nuthatch at the nest is alerted by an alarm call from his mate. 189 00:17:30,927 --> 00:17:36,886 A woodpecker is now an unwelcome guest when he ventures too close. 190 00:17:43,205 --> 00:17:48,245 The nuthatch pair do their very best to scare him off. 191 00:17:52,884 --> 00:17:56,724 Eventually, the woodpecker gets the message. 192 00:18:01,843 --> 00:18:05,242 This chaffinch has a nest nearby. 193 00:18:05,242 --> 00:18:08,842 It's making a high-pitched alarm call. 194 00:18:08,842 --> 00:18:13,682 It's very high frequency and very difficult for us to make out. 195 00:18:16,162 --> 00:18:19,681 But it's meant for its chicks. 196 00:18:19,681 --> 00:18:25,120 A sign to be quiet and not to give away the nest's location. 197 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:32,720 All of these calls are an early warning system 198 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,718 and are essential in helping birds escape danger. 199 00:18:48,517 --> 00:18:51,557 Some birds have calls that are so complicated 200 00:18:51,557 --> 00:18:56,317 it's as if they have their own language. 201 00:18:57,836 --> 00:19:01,995 This is Newborough Forest on the west coast of Anglesey. 202 00:19:01,995 --> 00:19:06,195 It's one of the largest conifer plantations in Wales. 203 00:19:08,555 --> 00:19:12,914 During Winter, around 800 ravens roost every night in the forest. 204 00:19:12,914 --> 00:19:17,794 It's one of the biggest assemblages of ravens in Britain. 205 00:19:19,313 --> 00:19:24,194 Ravens have the widest range of calls of any bird. 206 00:19:26,793 --> 00:19:31,712 During the day, they scavenge the land for food, 207 00:19:31,712 --> 00:19:37,231 and return here at dusk to the security and warmth of the forest. 208 00:19:37,231 --> 00:19:41,871 As they arrive and occupy roosting positions in the trees, 209 00:19:41,871 --> 00:19:46,590 the calls they make to each other are fascinating. 210 00:19:59,109 --> 00:20:04,388 I've sneaked in below the trees, right at the edge of the roost now. 211 00:20:04,388 --> 00:20:10,947 The main roost is to my left but there are vocal birds to my right. 212 00:20:10,947 --> 00:20:13,026 Listen to these noises. 213 00:20:15,666 --> 00:20:20,226 They say that ravens have more than 30 different calls 214 00:20:20,226 --> 00:20:23,066 and I can well believe it. 215 00:20:23,066 --> 00:20:25,345 It's a kind of language really. 216 00:20:25,345 --> 00:20:29,625 A language we don't understand, but a language none the less. 217 00:20:29,625 --> 00:20:33,144 Constantly communicating with each other. 218 00:20:33,144 --> 00:20:37,502 Some of these noises are so weird. 219 00:20:40,464 --> 00:20:45,502 There must be a reason why ravens are calling like this. 220 00:20:45,502 --> 00:20:49,342 They are not simply calling for fun. 221 00:20:49,342 --> 00:20:54,301 For the time being, it's a mystery. We don't understand their language. 222 00:20:54,301 --> 00:20:57,381 There's good evidence they maybe sharing information 223 00:20:57,381 --> 00:20:59,462 about food sources. 224 00:21:02,580 --> 00:21:06,220 A raven cannot defend a carcass on its own. 225 00:21:06,220 --> 00:21:10,219 But it can if it's part of a group. 226 00:21:14,699 --> 00:21:18,179 It's thought the volume and nature of a call 227 00:21:18,179 --> 00:21:20,858 maybe giving information about the location, distance 228 00:21:20,858 --> 00:21:23,538 and size of a find. 229 00:21:23,538 --> 00:21:29,057 By sharing this information, they can go back together the next day 230 00:21:29,057 --> 00:21:31,656 to benefit from the food. 231 00:21:41,136 --> 00:21:44,935 All over Wales, fabulous views of flying flocks are common, 232 00:21:44,935 --> 00:21:47,655 especially along the coast. 233 00:21:50,974 --> 00:21:56,454 And in these flocks, birds often call to each other. 234 00:22:00,253 --> 00:22:03,612 These waders are near the Menai Strait. 235 00:22:03,612 --> 00:22:08,052 It's a place where you'll hear a fabulous range of calls. 236 00:22:15,532 --> 00:22:20,330 These Canada Geese are taking off from the Nevern Estuary. 237 00:22:26,490 --> 00:22:29,329 Jackdaws are particular noisy. 238 00:22:31,250 --> 00:22:34,329 These are returning to roost near Llanelli. 239 00:22:37,849 --> 00:22:41,849 But the most impressive communication show in Wales, 240 00:22:41,849 --> 00:22:47,766 both in terms of sound and vision, is that performed by starlings. 241 00:22:50,087 --> 00:22:55,006 These have arrived at Aberystwyth to spend the night on the pier. 242 00:23:00,005 --> 00:23:03,925 Oh! The sky here is just full of starlings. 243 00:23:03,925 --> 00:23:09,484 Back and forth. Watching them coming into roost is really hypnotic. 244 00:23:09,484 --> 00:23:14,604 This huge shape that is constantly changing all the time. 245 00:23:14,604 --> 00:23:18,363 The advantage with Aberystwyth Pier is that it's so short. 246 00:23:18,363 --> 00:23:22,562 That means that the display comes right over your head. 247 00:23:22,562 --> 00:23:24,842 And also, you can hear them. 248 00:23:24,842 --> 00:23:29,202 If you listen carefully, all these wings beating at once. 249 00:23:29,202 --> 00:23:31,562 They call to each other constantly. 250 00:23:31,562 --> 00:23:35,361 Because you are so close to the whole spectacle here, 251 00:23:35,361 --> 00:23:37,401 you feel part of it. 252 00:23:37,401 --> 00:23:42,600 Here they go again, look at that! A wave of starlings coming over. 253 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,800 Oh, wow! 254 00:23:48,319 --> 00:23:53,599 By dusk, thousands arrive. Maybe 20,000 or more. 255 00:23:56,278 --> 00:23:59,478 No-one knows for sure why starlings do this, 256 00:23:59,478 --> 00:24:04,397 but they are certainly communicating with each other for some reason. 257 00:24:04,397 --> 00:24:06,877 They are constantly calling. 258 00:24:09,676 --> 00:24:13,636 The flying display itself may serve a social need. 259 00:24:13,636 --> 00:24:18,755 They might be organising themselves into the strongest and fittest 260 00:24:18,755 --> 00:24:21,795 to eventually get the best roosting position. 261 00:24:21,795 --> 00:24:24,835 They might be moving around to protect themselves 262 00:24:24,835 --> 00:24:26,115 from predatory birds. 263 00:24:27,435 --> 00:24:32,994 It could simply be checking out the roost before they land. 264 00:24:32,994 --> 00:24:37,753 Whatever the reason, it's an impressive sight. 265 00:24:37,753 --> 00:24:43,113 They continue to call and chatter after landing. 266 00:24:44,632 --> 00:24:48,032 By the time every bird has found a perch, 267 00:24:48,032 --> 00:24:50,512 there's hardly a single position free. 268 00:24:51,832 --> 00:24:54,991 Huddled together, they keep warm. 269 00:24:54,991 --> 00:24:59,910 The birds at the centre of the roost will not only be warmer, 270 00:24:59,910 --> 00:25:01,071 but safer too. 271 00:25:01,071 --> 00:25:05,030 No fox, cat or peregrine can get at them here. 272 00:25:14,628 --> 00:25:17,948 It's first light on Ruabon Mountain near Llangollen 273 00:25:17,948 --> 00:25:20,108 in North East Wales. 274 00:25:24,587 --> 00:25:27,827 Dawn, literally, is stirring. 275 00:25:32,346 --> 00:25:37,506 Strange noises can be heard for miles across the barren moore. 276 00:25:40,345 --> 00:25:43,745 The sounds are made by male black grouse. 277 00:25:46,266 --> 00:25:49,384 They are displaying. 278 00:25:49,384 --> 00:25:51,303 A contest is taking place. 279 00:25:51,303 --> 00:25:55,704 The winner will be the top bird of this patch. 280 00:25:57,982 --> 00:26:01,182 He will be the best and fittest grouse. 281 00:26:04,422 --> 00:26:08,541 The one that will have the pick of the females. 282 00:26:10,862 --> 00:26:15,581 To win the contest, making a big noise will not be enough. 283 00:26:16,180 --> 00:26:20,020 The best grouse will also have to look good. 284 00:26:23,299 --> 00:26:26,340 These birds have made themselves big and colourful. 285 00:26:29,580 --> 00:26:32,979 Their body feathers have a beautiful sheen. 286 00:26:33,898 --> 00:26:38,699 The tail has transformed to a bright white fan. 287 00:26:41,337 --> 00:26:46,617 The red head pats or wattles are normally a quarter of this size. 288 00:26:46,617 --> 00:26:51,176 They have been engorged by blood to make them more visible. 289 00:26:55,737 --> 00:27:01,495 And all this massive visual and vocal effort is for one thing only, 290 00:27:01,495 --> 00:27:05,814 to earn the right to mate with a female. 291 00:27:07,694 --> 00:27:10,734 BIRDS WARBLING 292 00:27:14,293 --> 00:27:19,252 And for this male, all the effort has paid off. 293 00:27:23,412 --> 00:27:26,452 MUSIC 294 00:27:27,931 --> 00:27:30,612 The need for males to attract females 295 00:27:30,612 --> 00:27:35,811 has led to the huge variety of beautiful birds we have in Wales. 296 00:27:35,811 --> 00:27:38,290 Lapwings with headdresses, 297 00:27:39,931 --> 00:27:42,649 goldfinches with multi-coloured jackets, 298 00:27:45,490 --> 00:27:48,290 wagtails with bright coloured waistcoats 299 00:27:51,488 --> 00:27:54,609 and colourfully adorned pheasants. 300 00:27:56,728 --> 00:28:01,527 Male birds often change their colour from Winter to Spring. 301 00:28:01,527 --> 00:28:06,527 This is the Winter version of a black headed gull. 302 00:28:06,967 --> 00:28:10,487 This is the Summer version. 303 00:28:11,405 --> 00:28:16,086 Starlings change their beak colour and develop a very glossy coat. 304 00:28:20,965 --> 00:28:25,444 Little grebes also grow colourful feathers for the Spring. 305 00:28:29,044 --> 00:28:32,604 The all do this to court females. 306 00:28:32,604 --> 00:28:37,683 That will be my next Secret Life of Birds. 307 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:01,560 Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd