A charity is launching an assault on the music charts with a single of pure birdsong.
The two-and-a-half-minute track, called Let Nature Sing, comes courtesy of the Royal Society For The Protection Of Birds (RSPB) and features “some of our best loved and most threatened birds”.
According to the RSPB: “It showcases solo divas, such as the blackbird and robin, but also the rhythm section of the great spotted woodpecker and grasshopper warbler.
“We are blasted by the brass section of duetting cranes, the simple melodies of birds like the great tit, the master-jamming sedge warbler and the incredible booming bass of the bittern.”
Also among the birds featured in the 25-strong avian orchestra are the snipe, the nightingale and tawny owl.
The sounds have been selected by RSPB birdsong expert and put together by folk singer Sam Lee and music director Bill Barclay.
The charity hopes the track will raise awareness of the UK’s diminishing bird population.
Mr Lee said: “Birdsong has been one of the biggest influences of English song, poetry and literature.
“The loss of it should concern us all, because it is a signal that all is not well in the world.”
According to the RSPB, the UK has lost over 40,000,000 birds since 1996.
The turtle dove population is down 98% in the last 50 years, while nightingales are down by 90% and both the swift and curlew are critically endangered.
Mr Thomas said: “The bonus of birdsong is that it comes totally free. Our track, as well as being a wake-up call, is really an invitation to go and experience it for yourselves.
“You only have to step outside your door on a fine spring day and hopefully you will hear some birdsong, but the tragedy is that with each generation we are losing more. We need to cherish it; we need to save it.”
Let Nature Sing is released on April 26 and will be available for pre-order from April 5.