Birdsong has inspired a huge project involving some of the biggest names in music, and all the proceeds are going to conservation.

Volume 1 of For the Birds: The Birdsong Project has been unveiled by Grammy Award-winning music product Randall Poster. The entire compilation will span five volumes and some 242 tracks by more than 220 artists, actors and writers.

The first volume features household names such as Nick Cave, Mark Ronson, Jarvis Cocker and Damon Albarn, of Blur and Gorillaz fame. Actors Tilda Swinton and Sean Penn add poetic recitations for the first release.

Elvis Costello is set to appear on the compilation, and said: “This should be so very obvious; without birds we would be knee-deep in worms, swarmed by bugs, the trees bereft of song. The least we can do is raise our voices in praise or lament.”

Elvis Costello says it is clear that we should act to preserve bird populations (Paul VanDerWerf via Flickr)

Florence Welch, lead singer of Florence and the Machine, will provide spoken-word material in the bid to highlight the threads to bird populations, as will actors Jeff Goldblum and Robert Pattinson. A new volume will be released each month until the fifth and final instalment comes out in September. A limited edition 20-LP box set, including a 60-page book of writing and artwork, will also be released.

The project organisers said: “The Birdsong Project is a community dedicated to the protection of bird life, and to the celebration of the joy and mysteries of birdsong.

“We believe that birds – no matter feather or flock – are precious and inspiring and fundamental to our world. That a world without birds would be a world without freedom and flight and song. We believe birds matter. Are endangered. And need our help.”

Elizabeth Gray, CEO of Audobon, said: ” We must act decisively to protect our air, water, climate and natural spaces to ensure birds have the places they need – that we all need – to survive and thrive in the future.

“Everyone has a part to play in making a better world, and we are so thankful for the extraordinary and generous outpouring of creativity to bring The Birdsong Project to life.“

Organisations involved in the project include Birdlife International, who will host a Birdsong Project concert at its centennial event in London this autumn, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which is hosting an exhibition series over the summer and autumn.

Find out more at www.audubon.org/birdsong-project.