I am minding a female canary for holidaying friends. About a year ago, its late partner was stimulated by Krommer's Clarinet Concerto to sing, but otherwise, they ignored any music they heard. Yesterday, after spending much of the day doing what canaries usually do, she suddenly became very active and chirped right through the last movement of Bartok's first string quartet, then returned to her former indolence during the following Haydn piano sonata. She may have been complaining about the music or suggesting that the Takacs version is better than the Emerson one she was listening to. Food and drink were readily available, so that wasn't the problem. Years ago, I witnessed a sleeping cat galvanised by the opening section of the Liber scriptus from Verdi's Requiem to the extent that it attacked some curtains beyond repair. It again became agitated when it heard the same music several days later. Occasionally, we read of dairy farmers playing classical music to their herds. In the delightful English TV series, Pie in the Sky, the main character, a restaurateur, plays tapes of Elgar to soothe his hens. I raise all this, not for any deep and meaningful discussion, but simply to know if there are any other anecdotes of animals and music. Richard Pennycuick [log in to unmask]