But I also vividly remember the eclipse of 1999. I did not get to hear the birds stop singing, since I observed the eclipse from the crossroad down my office, about a quarter-mile away from the Eiffel Tower in downtown Paris, so not so many birds around (except pigeons, but they don't sing that much). But I noticed all of my colleagues (and myself) stopped working for about 90 minutes, if I remember the timing right. ;-)