Virtuoso blackbird

Are blackbirds good mimics? I'm asking because this year we have an individual who seems to be incorporating phone ring tones and car alarms into his song. I know starlings can do this, but I wasn't aware that blackbirds could too.

 

Hello ClaraLou. Yes, blackbirds can do it. We used to have a blackie who had me heading for the house to answer the phone DOH..

 

Thank you Woo and Alice. Aren't birds clever? I might have a go at recording my blackbird. You wouldn't think that wild creatures could imitate electronic sounds so accurately, but clearly they can. I remember watching one of David Attenborough's programmes in which a lyre bird was imitating the sound of the chain saws which were chopping down his forest :-( . He could also do the whizzing of cameras to perfection.

 

Amazing. I often hear amazing bird song and wonder which bird is making the tune.

We have one that does a couple of bars of Adele's 'Someone Like You' - never occurred to me it would be a blackbird

 

My feeble attempt at an April fool went unnoticed!

I have heard birds making very clever noises round here, but not one ripping off chart music. :D

 

What do you mean, unnoticed? I thanked you nicely for it. Hope the ambulance story is at least partly true. I quite like the idea of a bird ripping off the emergency services. We did once have a starling who could do the beep-beep-beep of our alarm clock to perfection. It woke us every day at dawn.

 

Fantastic! My blackbird does what I think is the central locking of cars. Might go out with a recorder later, if he's around.

 

That is brilliant! But, annoying as hell all day long I can imagine. Although I'd swap him for my neighbours!

 

Ohh bless that little black bird. We had a bird that used to mimic the sound of one of our car alarms, and the bleep bleep that occurred when we pressed the key fob to unlock the car. I've not heard it for a good while now.