# What kind of bird makes this nocturnal racket? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2008, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716 "2008-03-17T22:40:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JimmyFlair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@JimmyFlair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimmyFlair)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/1 "2008-03-17T22:40:14Z")
In the last 2 weeks or so, I’ve been hearing a really loud bird singing - but he (I’ll assume it’s a he) starts his song right around sunset. It’s a fairly complex song, at first I wasn’t sure it was even a bird. I’ve never really noticed birds singing at night, is this some sort of spring time mate finding plan, perhaps? Normally, the singing begins almost exactly as the sun completely disappears on the horizon, but a few times there have been bursts of song at 2 or 3 in the morning. FWIW, I’m in the Bay Area. Perhaps there are some ornithology enthusiasts here that could ID this little musical guy? ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/2 "2008-03-17T22:55:47Z")
Probably a mockingbird. They will sing anytime. ---
**Author:** ![JimmyFlair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@JimmyFlair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimmyFlair)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/3 "2008-03-17T23:08:48Z")
I think that’s it! I found this page with a song sample, and it’s pretty much it: [http://www.learnbirdsongs.com/birdsong.php?id=4](http://www.learnbirdsongs.com/birdsong.php?id=4) As an added bonus, playing the song on that page made my dog go crazy. He was desperately trying to flush out the rascally bird that had clearly hidden in the laptop. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/4 "2008-03-17T23:12:14Z")
They can be annoying, and can keep you up at night. Oh, sometimes you just want to kill a mockingbird! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/5 "2008-03-18T00:12:31Z")
Yes I also hear those guys occasionally in the middle of the night. I wonder who they’re talking to & what they’re saying. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/6 "2008-03-18T00:13:20Z")
If you can catch it, you can make a tasty margarita, otherwise called a “Tequila Mockingbird.” ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/7 "2008-03-18T03:22:11Z")
They crack me up. Like nature’s little car alarms. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/8 "2008-03-18T03:25:18Z")
Tomorrow’s dinner. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/9 "2008-03-18T03:43:58Z")
I played that and now my cat is all freaked out looking for a bird in the sofa cushions next to me. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/10 "2008-03-18T03:54:36Z")
I played it for mine, and she just looked at me like I was fucking nuts. Didn’t even get out of bed. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/11 "2008-03-18T16:21:52Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] I played it for mine, and she just looked at me like I was fucking nuts. Didn’t even get out of bed. [/QUOTE] Aha. A proper cat. ---
**Author:** ![JimmyFlair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@JimmyFlair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimmyFlair)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/12 "2008-03-18T16:40:15Z")
I love this place! The thread started with vague question, received a factual answer right away, degraded into puns, and finally, wrapped up with a comparison of everyone’s cat’s reactions to bird songs. If that’s not the SDMB in a nutshell, I don’t know what is! 😃 Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/13 "2008-03-18T19:16:25Z")
You may have found your bird, but I’ll mention that we have a robin who begins singing at about 4:00 AM, quite loudly and pretty much until the sun is all the way up. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/14 "2008-03-18T20:52:23Z")
[QUOTE=DrFidelius] If you can catch it, you can make a tasty margarita, otherwise called a “Tequila Mockingbird.” [/QUOTE] Nice wordplay. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/15 "2008-03-19T00:13:08Z")
Could also be a whip-poor-will or chuck-will’s-widow, both nocturnal birds. I had a few of the latter sing in the field outside my old house, bugged me the first time, but once I found out what they were they ended up serenading me to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/16 "2008-03-19T11:04:00Z")
[QUOTE=cher3] Probably a mockingbird. [/QUOTE] You mean _mimus pollyglottos_. Give the bird its due. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bird-makes-this-nocturnal-racket/441716/17 "2008-03-19T13:02:02Z")
[QUOTE=guizot] Give the bird its due. [/QUOTE] Don’t forget to “knick-knack” and “paddywhack” before you do that.