Die Nachtigall

The nightingale is actually an inconspicuous little brown bird. In terms of appearance, weight, and behavior, it is absolutely average. However, when the males begin to sing on warm spring nights, the hearts of lovers and ornithologists alike beat faster. The song of the nightingale is anything but average, and its complexity, featuring an astonishing two hundred different types of stanzas, completely overshadows that of other songbirds. But what does the nightingale actually sing, and why? What have generations of poets and composers seen in its song? Biologist Silke Kipper has been studying the nightingale for more than twenty years; she has spent countless spring nights listening in Berlin parks and explores the nightingale's song and our fascination with it in her book.

This is a knowledgeable yet lighthearted portrait of perhaps the most beloved songbird, its song, and at the same time, a well-founded insight into nightingale research and reception.