With a song in their heart, male haddock look for love

Published on 27/01/2007 00:38

IT MAY not quite be Barry White but the mating call of a frisky male haddock - recorded by Scottish marine scientists - is one of the standout tracks on a new CD compilation of "love songs" from the deep.

The humming courtship call of the spawning male haddock has been released publicly for the first time.

The recording was made by scientists at the Government's Fisheries Research Services laboratory in Aberdeen who first stumbled across the noisy romantic life of the humble haddock six years ago.

They discovered that the courtship ritual of the haddock was extremely elaborate and intense and, above all, a raucous affair.

At the height of the courtship ritual, the male haddock makes a noise that sounds like a motorbike engine revving up.

It has now been released by the British Library on a wildlife CD called Sounds of the Deep.

The album also features the "haunting song" of the humpback whale, the drumming calls of a walrus diving for food and the warbling of a leopard seal.