The song of the yellowhammer

The yellowhammer is a small yellow and brown bunting found in the countryside of Scotland

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Yellowhammer
• bird
• song

[josepharimathea]

Beautiful. This bird's wonderful song is supposed to have given Beethoven the idea for the famous beginning of his 5th Symphony: according to Beethoven's pupil Karl Czerny "the little pattern of notes had come to [Beethoven] from a yellow-hammer's song, heard as he walked in the Prater-park in Vienna."

[Shandchem]

Many thanks for this information about Beethoven and his pupil Karl Czerny. I heard about this link to Beethoven's 5th synphony, many years ago, but now the story is more complete! I very much appreciate you taking the time to write this and it is a lovely story to go with my video. David Shand, Scotland.

[robbo2k10]

heard this yesterday near mine. never had them here before so was pretty exiting. thanks for sharing this :)

[simbirdcom]

Excellent singing of the Yellowhammer ~ thanks for sharing :-)

[chainsawbeks]

I have now managed to get a short film of a close up Yellowhammer singing its song!! but it wasnt easy!!

[Pitcairn2]

Loads where I am too (Perthshire) and very difficult to get close to as you say.

[Pitcairn2]

'a little bit of bread and no cheese' is how the song was described to us in school.

[yonzabam]

Nothing evokes memories of the long, hot summers of my boyhood in the countryside near Strathaven, Lanarkshire, better than the song of the yellowhammer. The warmer the day, the more laid back the sound became. Carries a fair distance for such a small bird.

[StewartBloor]

Nice video.

[chainsawbeks]

We have a lot of Yellowhammers where we live and so far have proved very hard to get a close up of!!