Cheep And Nasty

‘HARK! Can you hear that? Unless we are very mistaken that’s a breeding pair of Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus). And…yes, it is a lesser spotted woodpecker calling out in a clear summer voice.

‘And I can whistle The Great Escape’

Great to hear these bird in full throat. Slightly, odd, though, that they should be aboard the 7:15 to Waterloo and talking to ‘Clive’ in accounts about ‘stage three’ and the new girl in sales.

But we can expect to hear yet rarer sounds, as the Times reports that the British Library is releasing its collection of recordings of creature noises to the kind of people who usually equip their mobile phones with passages of Mission Impossible and the Great Escape theme music.

Those two ‘songs’ are the most favourite ringtones on today’s mobiles phones, a fact delivered by the Telegraph.

Others among the top ten ways to drive your neighbour to murder are The Rainbow theme, Tubular Bells and the themes from the Muppets, Only Fools And Horses and the A-Team.

Soon, however, these irritants will be usurped by the sounds of gorillas thumping their chests, the roars of lions, the hiss of a cobra and the shrill sound of someone screaming: ‘If you don’t turn that ringer off I’m going to shove it right up your…’

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Posted: 7th, July 2003 | In: Broadsheets Comment | TrackBack | Permalink