# Bird ID help in PNW please. Song link enclosed. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2019, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bird-id-help-in-pnw-please-song-link-enclosed/830973 "2019-03-11T22:42:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bird-id-help-in-pnw-please-song-link-enclosed/830973/1 "2019-03-11T22:42:04Z")
I feed the birds, and I ID some of them, but I have a new roommate from another state, and he is bugging me about a bird. I am not sure which bird he is looking to ID but I don’t have time at the moment to search. If someone happens to know this bird by its call I would be appreciative of the assistance. The bird is about the size of a robin, black (dark) with a light bill and legs, which sounds like a starling to me, but he insists that it isn’t. The link to the [Annoying Beeping Bird](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiondqhJFW8&feature=share) call may be found here. Roommate is becoming an accidental ornithologist! :p:D ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bird-id-help-in-pnw-please-song-link-enclosed/830973/2 "2019-03-11T23:42:50Z")
I assume by the dark video it’s noisy at night? Try [saw-whet owl](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_saw-whet_owl). ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bird-id-help-in-pnw-please-song-link-enclosed/830973/3 "2019-03-12T00:59:41Z")
[Here](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl/sounds) are sounds of the saw-whet owl. It could be the mating call. Males and females have different pitches. ETA: physical description doesn’t match… ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bird-id-help-in-pnw-please-song-link-enclosed/830973/4 "2019-03-12T02:03:39Z")
The recording is definitely a Northern Saw-whet Owl. As for the description, I have to assume that your roommate is just confused about which bird was making the call. The description doesn’t bring to mind any bird offhand except a starling, so if he wants it ID’d he’ll either need a photo or a much more detailed description. [How a non-birder describes a bird they saw in their yard and want you to ID it, vs what they actually saw.](https://i.redd.it/le4kse1g54j21.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bird-id-help-in-pnw-please-song-link-enclosed/830973/5 "2019-03-14T20:15:37Z")
Thank you, I thought I had replied to this, but apparently, I closed the browser before posting. I concur that it is the call of the Saw-Whet Owl, and **Colibri** that illustration of what a non-birder “sees” is terrifically spot on! 😃 The sad thing is that this guy is Alaska born and raised, but he is an Anchorage boy, a city boy, who knows very little of nature. Thank you again, bird people!