 This work has become a staple of the French flute and piano repertoire.The composition originated in a commission for a test piece for flute for the Paris Conservatoire, at which Messiaen was a professor.The winners of the premier prix in the Concours de flûte that year were Daniel Morlier, Jean Pierre Eustache, Jean Ornetti, Régis Calle and the British flute player Alexander Murray.Messiaen had a consuming, lifelong interest in ornithology and particularly bird songs.