Nightingales are best known for their beautiful vocal abilities. Male birds, especially, sing for hours on end each night during the breeding season. The females select mates based on the quality of this musical performance. Older males have improved mating success due to their larger song repertoire, which can consist of an astonishing 260 variations. Nightingales have declined in Britain in recent years, since grazing roe and muntjac deer have reduced the density of shrubs inhabited by nightingales.

Did you know?
Male nightingales lose weight each night they sing.


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