A number of our readers have written to us to let us know that they have been woken up during the night by bird song.

Again, she is saying that she feels so good when she is near him. Everything is "alright" when she is by his side. Brian from Aylesbury, U.k.It’s the song that reduced the tough guys in the road crew to tears every night. Same here when I hear it. Glossy midnight blue with orange chests and dangling white tail feathers up to a foot long, the shamas perch in their ornate wooden cages beside hand-painted ceramic food dishes. A few timid first chirps rise up in the air and are answered. Soon, warbles and chirrups spring up from all around. Paul from Dublin, IrelandHayley Westenra has just released a beautiful version of this song on her album River of Dreams. Lee is optimistic that by working with songbird hobbyists, more inroads can be made to protect vulnerable species. “Singaporeans are very educated nowadays about conservation. They know how to value nature,” she says. “Songbird keepers can positively affect demand and supply by purchasing their birds from sustainable sources and promoting species of canaries, finches, or doves that are already well established in captivity.” Zebra doves and their owners await the start of competition at Singapore’s Kebun Baru Birdsinging Club in 2019. Edgar Su/ReutersMike from Washington, DcThe timbre of Christine's voice gives it layer of melancholy-informed-by-experience that I find very intimate and touching. But there is no denying that Eva does a sterling version with an incredible talent that aims higher than mere mimicry-- and succeeds in its own fashion. Both are jewels. https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/wp-content/uploads/Eastern-Towhee-1-MD-Song.mp3 Eastern Towhee photo by Isabel Cutler, song recording Wil Hershberger/Macaulay Library ML#85179 Nowadays, it’s very difficult, almost impossible, for new bird shops to get a licence. Government is very strict,” Jerry laments. “Unless you take over someone else’s bird shop. But those shops still need an AVA permit to import songbirds.”

After a glance at the scoreboard, some birdmen, appearing slightly dispirited, proceed to unhook their caged pets from the sheltered area before covering them with a bird cage cover. With the caged pets at their side, these songbird owners begin searching for a nearby spot to watch the rest of the competition. But when held to our modern conception of what’s fair and healthy, can this practice pass muster in its current iteration? It appears to be unlikely, with the problem of the songbirds’ welfare still unsolved. Clive from Oxford, United KingdomI realise I will probably get insulted by people who cannot spell or write English BUT I am afraid that I much prefer the version of Songbird sung by Eva Cassidy. That is not too for a moment deny the beauty of the original writing for which Miss McVie deserves all the credit in the world, its just that Eva Cassidy sings it with a passion that is beautiful to listen too. Take it from Keshore, who followed his father into bird-singing. “Someone’s son, the next generation, will take over. There will definitely be people who keep this hobby going.” A songbird breeder, who prefers not to be named, shared that many Singaporeans bought their first songbird during the Circuit Breaker period in an effort to pass the time at home.It’s a quiet Sunday morning, and an unassuming corner of Ang Mo Kio Blk 159 slowly comes to life. The carpark near Kebun Baru Bird Singing Club starts to fill up with cars of all shapes, colours, models, and make, carrying precious melodious cargo—songbirds. They perch in cages, some more ornate than others, fleeting this way and that, as if warming up for an overture in three movements. Their love was written in the stars. It was meant to happen. The songbirds are singing about it! Her love for this man just keeps growing. She loves him "like never before". She has never loved someone (other than a child) this much. These birds need to have their dedicated bathing time, adequate sunshine, and food. Different birds eat different types of food, and each bird has their own character,” Keshore explains. “Easily, they will take up two to three hours of your time every day.” A caged songbird darting around in its cage, at the Kebun Baru Birdsinging Club. Bruce from Melbourne, AustraliaI agree with Clive. Good as Christine's version is, Eva's is decidedly better. However, why the comment about spelling and writing? And having done so, why spell to as too, and why split infinitives? People in glass houses shouldn't through stones. In these newer estates like Punggol, Sengkang, and Hougang, you cannot keep birds because a lot of younger residents will complain. But most of the residents in the older HDB estates, like Woodlands, Choa Chu Kang, Ang Mo Kio, are from the older generation, so they understand the significance of this hobby,” he said. A caged songbird near a kopitiam in the Kebun Baru estate.