R.E.M. – Disturbance at the heron house

Photo of heron mural on the side of a row of shops in Hanbury Street, London E1 by awildslimalien.

Mimicking Birds – For the birds

Photo of kestrels in Helsingborg by Guillaume Baviere via Flickr.

Rachel Unthank & The Winterset – Blackbird

(Written by Belinda O’Hooley, then of the Winterset: ‘There was a blackbird living in my garden who would sing the same little tune all day, and I wondered what he was saying.  This inspired me to look at why we sing – and the emotions we communicate in song.  I wrote ‘Blackbird’ with Becky [Unthank] in mind as I think the song suits her voice.’)

More Unthanks over at A jumped-up pantry boy.

Photo of male blackbird by Malene Thyssen via Wikipedia.

M Ward – I’ll be yr bird

Illustration of crossbill by Peter Shepheard from Woodland birds by Phyllis Barclay-Smith, Penguin, 1955.

Low – Nightingale

Illustration by Peter Shepheard from Woodland birds by Phyllis Barclay-Smith, Penguin, 1955.

Frida Hyvönen – Birds

Longing by Julia McKenzie via St. Jude’s Prints.

Bert Jansch – The black swan

Illustration by John Gould from The birds of Australia, London, 1840-1869 via the University of Glasgow’s Special Collections Department.  (If you’ve ever wanted to see a picture of a Sordid halcyon – or simply know that a bird with such a name exists, click on this link.  It and the other illustrations are beautiful.  Bert would have thought so too, I’m sure.)

Jonathan Wilson – Desert raven

Photo of brown-necked raven, also known as the desert raven, by iayawisim via Flickr.

The Cake Sale – Black winged bird (featuring Nina Persson)

Words by Emm Gryner.  About The Cake Sale.

Photo of black-winged stilt from Residents Against the Windfarm.

The Clientele – I had to say this

‘Nightingales all summer long beside me in my mind’

Photo of nightingale by J. Dietrich from Wikimedia Commons.

Nina Nastasia – Bird of Cuzco

Photo of Black metaltail (Metallura phoebe) – a bird of Cuzco – by Tor Egil Høgsås via Birding Peru.

Everything But The Girl – Pigeons in the attic room

Photo of the Three Pigeons, Guildford by awildslimalien.

Bill Callahan – The wind and the dove

Photo of common ground dove by Behind the bins.

Madness – Wings of a dove (a celebratory song)

Photo of white doves by NJ Bird Photos: Birds of New Jersey.

The Be Good Tanyas – The littlest birds

Plate sourced from an unknown French work, reputedly 18th century.

1. Great tit
2. Blue tit
3. Wren
4. Goldcrest
5. Penduline tit
6. Bearded tit

Wild Beasts – Albatross

Woodcut from the journal O Panorama, 1837.  From the collection of Dr Nuno Carvalho de Sousa, Lisbon, via Wikipedia.

Billy Bragg & Wilco – Birds and ships (featuring Natalie Merchant)

Words by Woody Guthrie.

Photo of cormorants in Royston, British Columbia, Canada by Royston House BB.

 

Bill Callahan – Too many birds (from Sometimes I wish we were an eagle)

Photo of blackbirds by Kevin Fleming from Wild Delaware.

Joanna Newsom – Kingfisher

Painting of kingfisher by Basil Ede from Birds of town and village, 1965, with text by W.D. Campbell.

 

Bert Jansch – Kingfisher

Photo of kingfisher by Lukasz Lukasik via Wikimedia Commons.