Hollis Taylor calls the pied butcherbird “perhaps the most sophisticated feathered chorister that we have on our planet”. Their song is, in general, lower and slower than most small songbirds, and has a “pure, crystal-clear” tone, she explains to Limelight. It’s more straightforward, pitch-wise, than that of their closest relative, the Australian Magpie. Spring’s a special time – almost all of their solo songs take place at night then.

Jon Rose & Hollis Taylor. Photo supplied

“They sing during the day in the shade of a tree at a low level, almost like they’re practising, but the principal formal solo song takes place nocturnally. They also sing in duets, but that’s not nocturnal,” says Taylor.

“What would make a bird sing for seven hours? That’s the longest one I’ve recorded. I think it’s mind-boggling. Of course, it’s functional, but it’s much more than that. You don’t need to sing for seven hours to maintain a territory or get a mate. It really exceeds that; there’s an aesthetic quality.”

One of Australia’s most prominent zoomusicologists, Hollis Taylor is a composer and violinist who works extensively with...