Sparrow playing cricket...

[Danllan]

Several times this year I have been in the yard and heard a cricket chirruping on sunny days. Thinking that unlikely so early in the year, I have investigated and found the sound to be a cock house sparrow, in fact I think there are two or three doing it. Other sparrows here sound normal, but these are making a noise indistinguishable from a cricket.

I haven't come across this before, here or elsewhere, although I am aware that birds do adapt their calls and have regional 'accents'*. I know it is not my imagination because Mrs Danllan has heard them too, and she is normal.

However, they're evasive - if I take my 'phone out to record them the little s*ds fly off or shut up. Anyone else come across such a change in calls?

*When I mentioned this to a neighbour the other day, he said that he used to have a blackbird around his house that finished its songs with the opening bar of Beethoven's 5th; thinking he was taking the p*ss I asked his keeper, she confirmed it.

 

[colhonk]

We had a Blackbird that finnished its singing with a truely remarkable few bars of something Beethoveny,was lovely to hear.

 

[Exfarmer]

Starlings are the big mimics of the bird world and loved to copy the phones we had after the old ringing ones went out of fashion.
Some of the older members here may know what I am talking about.

 

[Sid]

When i first worked away from home my first job was on a local dairy farm.

Old Bill was the main worker and he was out repairing the block wall by the weeping wall. Cutting blocks, laying them pointing them. Couple of days work. I was tasked with helping at various time mixing mortar and lifting blocks as well as sorting out stuff in the calves house.

I would listen out for Bill to be working out there and pop out when i heard him to help.
Heard him out there one day near the end chipping away at a block so went out to help, but no one there, strange cause I heard him for sure. So back to the calf shed, again chip chip chip so back out again and no one to be seen apart from the starling sat on the opposite wall. Chip chip chip he called. Cheeky fecker had been listening to the sound of the blocks being cut and got the sound off to a T!

Bill had gone off on another task but hadn't said. Starling must have been smiling to himself!

 

[Danllan]

I've known starlings make some odd sounds, notably the old 'tring' 'phone sound as mentioned above. But I'd no idea that the likes of sparrows could or would alter their calls.

 

[Bald Rick]

I asked his keeper, she confirmed it.

Is he a gorilla?

(PS it is well known sparrows (esp urban ones or where their is a lot of noise) will adapt their "accents" to their habitat https://www.citylab.com/life/2012/04/sparrows-actually-change-their-song-sing-over-noise-city/1667/)

 

[Cab-over Pete]

I was down the sheep this morning and the birdsong was incredible. A veritable cocophony (sp?!) of sound.

I thought “there you go Monbiot you pain in the arse, the countryside firing on all cylinders.”

 

[bobk]

Moved back to the farm 18 months since and all we could hear was crows ....... a significant amount of lead and the songbirds are back

 

[Danllan]

Is he a gorilla?

(PS it is well known sparrows (esp urban ones or where their is a lot of noise) will adapt their "accents" to their habitat https://www.citylab.com/life/2012/04/sparrows-actually-change-their-song-sing-over-noise-city/1667/)

Opinion is divided on the matter...

I didn't know sparrows changed their accent to suit conditions; I wonder if, in part, that is how human accents evolved...

(The fact that the game Subbuteo is named from the scientific game for the Hobby - Falco subbuteo - is well know to those who know it )

 

[Greenbeast]

(The fact that the game Subbuteo is named from the scientific game for the Hobby - Falco subbuteo - is well know to those who know it )

Was lucky enough to see my first one of those the week before christmas, the bird, not the board game.

As an aside, my raven mimics about half a dozen of my own phrases, the latest one is 'that's enough!', even better is that he's doing it contextually: when i come out the back door with noisy dogs.