All over Europe there are strange survivals of old customs and cults - and one of the strangest takes place each summer in the Harz Mountains on the border between West and East Germany. It's known as ' The Finch Manoeuvres'. In simplest terms it's a contest of songbirds. But over many generations, and indeed centuries, an elaborate ceremonial has developed around what initially was simply a popular pastime among the miners and foresters of one of the most beautiful but isolated regions of Germany.
Erik de Mauny has been talking to some of the last remaining backwoodsmen of Europe in an attempt to penetrate the mysteries of this jealously guarded ritual, and to discover why it still forms a central part of their lives.
Producer HARRY SCHNEIDER