Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Wiktionary
n. 1 Early morning birdsong 2 radio interference sometimes experienced at sunrise
Wikipedia
The dawn chorus occurs when birds sing at the start of a new day. In temperate countries this is most noticeable in spring when the birds are either defending a breeding territory, trying to attract a mate, or calling in the flock. In a given location, it is common for different species to do their dawn singing at different times. In a study of the Ecuadoran forest, it was determined that birds perching higher in the trees and birds with larger eyes tend to pipe up first. These correlations may be caused by the fact that both would also correlate with the amount of light perceived by the bird.
Moller used a play-back technique to investigate the effects of singing by the black wheatear (Oenanthe leucura) on the behaviour of both conspecifics and heterospecifics. It was found that singing increased in both groups in response to the wheateater and Moller suggested the dawn (and dusk) chorus of bird song may be augmented by social facilitation due to the singing of conspecifics as well as heterospecifics.
In some territories where bird life is extensive and birds are vocal, the sound of a dawn chorus can render early morning sleeping difficult.
The electromagnetic dawn chorus is a phenomenon that occurs most often at or shortly after dawn local time. With the proper radio equipment, dawn chorus can be converted to sounds that resemble birds' dawn chorus (by coincidence).
The electromagnetic dawn chorus is believed to be generated by a Doppler-shifted cyclotron interaction between anisotropic distributions of energetic (> 40 keV) electrons and ambient background VLF noise. These energetic electrons are generally injected into the inner magnetosphere at the onset of the substorm expansion phase. Dawn choruses occur more frequently during magnetic storms.
This phenomenon also occurs during aurorae, when it is termed an auroral chorus.
Dawn chorus may refer to:
- Dawn chorus (birds), when songbirds sing at the start of a new day
- Dawn chorus (electromagnetic), an electromagnetic wave phenomenon
- "Dawn Chorus", a song by Boards of Canada from their album, Geogaddi
- "Dawn Chorus", a song by Martin Freeland, from his album, Moment of Truth
- "Dawn Chorus", a song by Modern English from their album After the Snow
- Dawn Chorus (Canon of the Three Stars), 1984 album by Isao Tomita
- Dawn Chorus and the Blue Tits, a band featuring Liz Kershaw and (briefly) Carol Vorderman
Usage examples of "dawn chorus".
Therefore I dressed rapidly and ran away as soon as it was light outside, that mysterious, colourless light of dawn when the hooded crows flap out of the temple groves to perch on the telegraph poles, cawing a baleful dawn chorus to the echoing boulevards empty, now, of all the pleasure-seekers.
As it turned out, the whistler was only the first of a family of sferics whose taxonomy was to include clicks, hooks, risers, nose-whistlers and one like a warbling of birds called the dawn chorus.
Matatu dawn chorus of bird cab tinkled and chirruped through the forest and he could make gut the latticework of thorn branches against the sky.
Even the black granite ravens on the gateposts seemed about to shake their wings and join the growing dawn chorus.
Kuari lofted through the leaves to catch the first brightening in the east, and the first tentative notes of the birds' dawn chorus drifted down to the travelers below.
Kuari lofted through the leaves to catch the first brightening in the east, and the first tentative notes of the birds dawn chorus drifted down to the travelers below.