the sound of birds before dawn

I was searching to find a word/phrase for the sound of birds before the dawn. I found "the dawn chorus". The dictionary says it's British English.

How common is it? What is the American version?

Is this correct and natural?

The dawn chorus roused him from a nightmare he was seeing in his sleep.

It only takes one rooster to rouse one from slumber.

I don't know of an American version. (Maybe there is one.)

Perhaps:

The dawn chorus interrupted a nightmare he had been having.

How about: The chorus of dawn awakened him from his nightmare?

I think it's the dawn chorus.

Let's see what Charlie thinks about it.

Yes, dawn chorus works.

I stayed overnight at a farm a long time ago. They had a rooster that was an early riser. Its cockadoodledoo woke me from my slumber. Dawn? It wasn't nearly dawn. I promptly got out of bed, dressed, went out to the chicken coop and strangled that rooster.*

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*All of that is true except for the last part. ;-)

It's always called the "dawn chorus". Using "chorus of dawn" doesn't work at all.

emsr2d2 said:

It's always called the "dawn chorus". Using "chorus of dawn" doesn't work at all.

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Is this good?

The dawn chorus roused him from a nightmare he was seeing in his sleep.

No. We don't see nightmares. We have them. Everything after "nightmare" is redundant.

emsr2d2 said:

No. We don't see nightmares. We have them. Everything after "nightmare" is redundant.

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Is this good?

The dawn chorus roused him from a vivid nightmare. He would never think one day he would be thankful for the mad songs of birds waking him up.

"He would never think one day ..." doesn't work, and nor does "the mad songs of birds".

He could never have imagined that, one day, he would be grateful for the cacophony of birdsong waking him up.

emsr2d2 said:

"He would never think one day ..." doesn't work, and nor does "the mad songs of birds".

He could never have imagined that, one day, he would be grateful for the cacophony of birdsong waking him up.

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You are great.:up:

alpacinoutd said:

I was searching to find a word/phrase for the sound of birds before the dawn. I found "the dawn chorus". The dictionary says it's British English.

How common is it? What is the American version?

Is this correct and natural?

The dawn chorus roused him from a nightmare [STRIKE]he was having in his sleep[/STRIKE].

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All the other suggestions are good, too.

I wouldn't have known that the chorus you were talking about was birds.

Charlie Bernstein said:

All the other suggestions are good, too.

I wouldn't have known that the chorus you were talking about was birds.

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Doesn't "the dawn chorus" mean the sound of birds?

The dictionary says it's British English.

alpacinoutd said:

Doesn't "the dawn chorus" mean the sound of birds?

The dictionary says it's British English.

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This is the first time this American has heard it. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't use it.

alpacinoutd said:

Doesn't "the dawn chorus" mean the sound of birds?

The dictionary says it's British English.

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In BrE, that is exactly what the dawn chorus is, specifically around sunrise.

"The first singers in the dawn chorus will usually start singing about an hour before sunrise, with the chorus itself the loudest around 30 minutes on either side of rising of the sun."

Source: The Scotsman

emsr2d2 said:

In BrE, that is exactly what the dawn chorus is, specifically around sunrise.

"The first singers in the dawn chorus will usually start singing about an hour before sunrise, with the chorus itself the loudest around 30 minutes on either side of rising of the sun."

Source: The Scotsman

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We like it!

What's it called in the States?

Morning.

Charlie Bernstein said:

Morning.

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Your term for the birds singing at dawn is "morning"? Really? ;-)

Charlie Bernstein said:

Morning.

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The poetry of that. ;-)