Hi everyone.
can anyone please identify the bird that I hear in SE Qld that sounds like it's singing part of the chorus to La Cucaracha? It has been driving me nuts for years. It sings the first 2 lines of the chorus but doesn't finish it which drives me insane.
Wow, is there just the one, or are there more? If there are more than one, they could also go.......cha cha cha
Maybe you should go outside at night and teach it more than the 2 lines? The bird must be bored by now
( seroiusly though , why don't you take a spot light, go outside and find it?)
M-L
Because I'm pretty much housebound by a vestibular disorder M-L. Walking on footpaths is hard enough. Bush walking is a nightmare these days.
And seriously they must be some kind of local bird because I've always heard them. Just never tried hard enough to find out what variety they are.
I listened to the song (the chorus) and the only bird that I can think of that sounds a bit similar is a Gerygone? I wish I could help more, I can imagin that it must be pretty annoying not to know what it is
Elsie
Sorry to hear about your condition
I had my son in law whistle the song to me again and again, although I don't think those birds would sing all night, to me the melody sounds like a Grey Shrike-thrush.?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvM__aZC0rM
M-L
You might also listen to this one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBQxs2TRLo8
M-L
Yes! It very well could be a GTS
I don't know about the singing all night.
Slow down the song and it could be the pied butcherbird, I hear they are common in SE QLD.
It could be Greg. They are pretty good imitators. We gave a mating pair in our leopard tree but we know it's not them making the sound. It cones from the bush around our house.
If you mean they have heard the song and are imitating it, I don't think that is likely. They do sing in a major key with ascending notes, similar to la cucaracha.
La cucaracha is a popular melody for car horns, maybe one of your neighbours is sounding their horn.
Or a phone???
Tell you a funny story. We have fire alarms in the hall, but very high up on the wall. One night one off them went off. My daughter and I couldn't stop it, so we took a long stick to knock it of the wall, because it would stop beeping and drove us nuts. We did knock it of the wall.
But for some reason it didn't stop the beep. We then discovered, it wasn't the smoke alarm, it was my husband's alarm clock
Goes to show, not every sound you hear, is what you think it is
M-L
Whatever bird it is, I'm sure it 'scurries up and scurries down'. Home is probably any part of town! LJ
My first thought was a Pied Butcherbird, as they were the most common bird sound I noticed on moving to Brisbane, and they have very clear and distinct notes.
Cheers
Tim
Brisbane
Inconsiderate bird, not finishing the song
. Hope you find out for sure what it is Katlady. Only two we could come up with here were,
A clever escapee of some sort, like this guy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShHltFKnG8w
Or the even a humble old Blackbird. I haven't listened to this clip all the way through, but at about 1:20 there is a responding call in the distance that sounds a little la Cuca..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3yAR4_xr9g
Good luck, hope it reveals itself soon!
West Coast Tasmania
Whereabouts exactly in SE QLD do you live. If you PM I can get a bird list for you local area to narrow your options down form.
Hi BabyBirdwatcher and help would be gratefully received. I live in the Springfield area. I have listened to lots of the birdsongs on this site and it has the same tonal qualities as the butcherbird. Very loud, piercing but tuneful call. It's definitely a mystery.
It could be a Grey Shrike Thrush
I also suggested that at the start, I still think it could be BabyBirdwatcher.
M-L
Having listened to both the Grey Shrike Thrush and the Butcherbird and am almost positive it is a butcherbird. It is the clarity of the notes it sings. Thanks all for you help.
This has been bugging me for ages!
What bird makes this sound:
Notes -8 6 5/ C A G/ Doh la so - what bird is this?
Thanks!
Helen Reynolds
Oops my mistake
Helen, where are you in this great nation of ours? A location might give a hint as to what species goes doh la so.
Writing a bird sound is not an easy way to go about identifying a bird. However, from what I remember of doh la so from The Sound of Music I wonder if you're hearing a Pied Butcherbird.
Hi there. Did you ever identify the bird singing La Cucaracha? I was googling it as I also have a few singing that in my garden in the Redlands SEQ, and yours was the only other post I found. Love the sound but can't find out what bird it is! Have tried all the suggestions above but nowhere near the sound I am hearing. Only possibility I come up with is a Mockingbird which can sing anything, but doesn't make sense here in Australia.
I'm hunting for it too Pippa, we're just south of Gladstone and I hear it every afternoon and early evening at the moment. It's so disinctively La Cucaracha, that you just can't miss it.
I think the Pied Butcherbird was the eventual conclusion. Try this video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqJptbShrnQ
Cheers
Tim
Brisbane
Thanks Tim. Yes that is the closest sound I've heard. I do have Pied Butcherbirds in my yard so it must be them. A bit convoluted to the La Cucaracha that my bird sings but definitely the same tone and sounds. Thank you so much.