Generally, the songs of the birds are associated with the daytime but sometimes we can hear the songs at night time as well. Few bird species can sing during the night.
Apart from owls, bird species like nightjars, nightingales, corncrakes, reed warbles and sedge warblers sing extensively during the nighttime. It varies as per the location and habitat.
For instance, in the UK, bird species like corncrakes, dunnocks, owls, robins, nightjars, nightingales, reed warbles, song thrushes, and sedge warblers are common birds that sing during the night time.
And In this article, I’ve explained all the facts related to the birds singing at night time.
What Birds Sing At Night That Is Common To North America?
In North America, many other birds can be heard singing during the nighttime. Here is the list of these birds:
Eastern Whip-Poor-Will
The Eastern Whip-poor-will is not a songbird but their call can be heard. The breeding male birds repeat their songs during the spring and early summer nights.
These birds are often heard and seen. But in recent years, it becomes more difficult. The population of these birds has declined by 75 percent over the last 50 years.
Yellow-breasted Chat
The songs of the Yellow-breasted Chat have a weird and wonderful mix of hoots, clucks, whistles, and cackles. These birds do sing at the night and especially during the breeding season.
Sometimes the birders compare the vocalizations of concealed chats to mocking laughter. The population of these birds has declined by 37 percent.
Due to this, these bird species are listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern in several states.
Barred Owl
In the United States, the Barres Owl’s inimitable call is the best-known nighttime bird sound.
The Barred Owls can make different other sounds that usually happen during the mating season including duets with a combination of caws, hoots, cackles, and gurgles.
Common Loon
Common Loons can be frequently heard producing wolf-like wails and cackling tremolos during the nighttime.
The population of these birds has declined drastically because of the pollution from coal-burning power plants.
Eastern Screech Owl
The Eastern Screen Owl has an impressive array of nighttime sounds and the male birds defend their territory by producing a whinnying call to warn off potential intruders.
These birds produce a cooing tremolo call to communicate with their pair or family. They repeat their same sounds and can hoot bark, or screech.
These birds are considered a common species but their number is declining in some areas.
Upland Sandpiper
Like other birds, during the breeding season, these birds produce their ecstatic song.
The melody of these male birds is combined with an ethereal whistle that can be heard vocalized well into the night. These birds are not nocturnal and can be spotted during the daytime.
Why Do Birds Sing At Night?
All species of birds are governed by the daily rhythm of light and dark. In some birds, the first light triggers their song but for some birds, it gets triggered with low light as well.
This means that the birds start singing when the light was low and they can easily continue singing even if it is completely dark.
This happens with the birds like dunnocks, song thrushes, and some other birds. Robins is the best daytime singer but they also stand at the top for nighttime singing.
These birds can easily forage in dim lightning and any artificial light during the nighttime. These birds can be easily triggered into a full song anytime.
Some of these birds maintain their territories year-round but it can often happen throughout the year.
Conclusion
There are hundreds of bird species in the world that are different from each other on various grounds.
Be its habitat, diet, native place, calls, or songs, every bird species have uniqueness. One of that uniqueness is singing during the nighttime.
Few bird species can easily sing during the nighttime. Even some non-nocturnal birds can sing well during the nighttime.
At last, I hope this article may have helped you in some ways. Thank You For Reading!
Related Articles You May Like