http://www.analogartsensemble.net/2007/06/mechanical-music-automatic-birds.html

Literal:
“Royalty had artificial birds in the 18th Century. They were really the first “robots” built and were the predecessor to the cuckoo clock. Here is an example of a modern mechanical bird that is built much the same way it has been for hundreds of years. There is a clip of the birds moving and singing, and then the works inside.”