Help me identify this strange bird call

3 posts / 0 new
Last post
Brenna91
Brenna91's picture
Help me identify this strange bird call

Hi all,

I hope you can identify a strange bird call I’ve been hearing. It’s woken me up for the last few nights around 4am and I’ve never heard anything like it before. After A LOT of googling, I’ve found it to be identical to the black capped chickadee’s “fee-bee” call. However, I live on Sydney’s lower north shore and everything online about the chickadee seems to indicate they only live in North America? Is there a bird in Australia that has a call that sounds exactly like this? I’m even wondering if someone could have had it as a pet and it escaped? 

Thanks in advance! 

Brenna 

AJ Anderson
AJ Anderson's picture

Not familiar with chickadee's, but I'll suggest a nocturnal bird: Australian Boobook .

Australian Boobook call

Steven.McBride
Steven.McBride's picture

The Black-capped Chickadee's fee-bee call is remarkably similar to a Russet-tailed Thrush call, but Russet-tailed is not normally found south of Newcastle.  Perhaps your bird is a Bassian Thrush, there is some similarity in the call tone.  Both of the Thrush's do often call very early, before sunrise.

 and   @birdsinbackyards
                 Subscribe to me on YouTube