Blackbird that can mimic the sound of ambulance's siren makes family's life hell

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Blackbird that can mimic the sound of ambulance's siren makes family's life hell


By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:32 PM on 10th July 2008

This noisy blackbird can mimic an ambulance and repeats the sound all day long

For most people, listening to birds singing in the morning is the sound of Mother Nature at her best.

But for one poor family a blackbird that mimics the sound of an ambulance outside their window at 5am every morning is making their life hell.

Decorator Nathan Talbot, 39, and his wife Alison, 37, have their peace shattered at the crack of dawn by the sound of a loud emergency siren.

They live near a hospital and the baby blackbird has learned to perfectly mimic the noise of passing ambulances – and keeps the noise up until 8pm every single day.

The bird has also learned to imitate a car alarm, Nathan's mobile phone ring tone, and can even wolf-whistle at passers-by.

Experts believe the creature is trying to attract a female mate and say it is extremely unusual because blackbirds rarely mimic background sounds.

Mrs Talbot said the family are at their wits' end after being woken up at dawn for the last three months.

She said: ‘It is so realistic, the first time I heard it, I thought it was a real ambulance.

‘It's only a tiny bird but the sound is so incredibly loud, there is no drowning it out.

‘We're not too far from the local hospital and get quite a few ambulances coming past, so it must have mimicked the sound.

‘It's obviously very good. My husband tried wolf-whistling at the bird the other day, and it wolf-whistled right back at him."

Since the bird arrived in the Talbots' garden in April, the couple, who have two children Joshua, 11 and Sophie, 10, have barely been able to sleep.

It sits in the same tree in the back garden or on the roof of their three-bed semi every morning, and often returns throughout the day.

Nathan Talbot is woken every morning at 5am by the bird

Mr Talbot said he is searching for a way to get rid of the bird, but it refuses to leave the family alone.

The Talbots live just a quarter of a mile from Weston General Hospital and believe the bird must be mimicking the many ambulances which pass by every day.

The blackbird could exactly replicate the sound of a passing ambulance's siren

But the clever bird can confuse Mr Talbot by imitating his mobile phone ring tone.

He said: ‘When I first heard the sound, it was funny but now it's just annoying. It keeps us and all our neighbours awake.

‘I’ve been out in the garden throwing little stones at it hoping it'll fly away, but it never does.’

Ornithology expert Steven Dudley said he was 'very surprised' to see the video footage because blackbirds - unlike other birds - hardly ever learn to mimic.

Mr Dudley, of the British Ornithologist's Union, said: 'In 20 years, I've only ever seen one other blackbird which could do this, so it is very unusual.

‘Starlings are well-known mimics and you can hear them imitating car alarms and other mechanical sounds all the time. Song thrushes also do it quite often.

‘Blackbirds have the ability to mimic but they rarely use it. This one is almost certainly using it to attract a female mate, and using an unusual sound to put off other males.

‘These birds each have their own unique song, which they sing in the mornings. They have a high breeding rate, and singing is how they show their strength.

‘A blackbird's repertoire of songs expands as they get older, so this could be a young bird if it is making the ambulance sound all the time.’



Blackbird that can mimic the sound of ambulance's siren makes family's life hell | Mail Online