10 September β 31 March
the coastal calendar, unshifted
Dense scrub beside water, and thickets no one has cleared; almost never in the open.
Night song is unpaired males only. It stops abruptly once a female settles, so the famous singing lasts about three weeks per bird and the end of it is a success, not a departure.
photos, sightings and recordings, off this site
where this species is on the list
| Phase | When | Length | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| away for the winter | 10 September β 31 March | 203 days | Not here at all. The birds are on the wintering grounds, thousands of kilometres south. |
| arriving | 1 April β 14 April | 14 days | Returning from the wintering grounds; the first birds are ahead of the peak. |
| courting | 15 April β 4 May | 20 days | Song, display, fighting, scent-marking β pairs forming or reaffirming. |
| on eggs | 5 May β 19 May | 15 days | Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun. |
| raising young | 20 May β 9 June | 21 days | Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed. |
| young have left | 10 June β 14 August | 66 days | Young out of the nest or den, but still fed and followed by the adults. |
| leaving | 15 August β 9 September | 26 days | Leaving for the wintering grounds; stragglers run weeks behind. |