Il y a des oiseaux dans la fenetre. Faites attention!

[pseydtonne]

A couple months ago I had heard a piece on "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" about birds using the sound of car alarms for mating calls. They've been hearing car alarms so much that they can mimic them. I laughed about it and got back to chillin'.

A few days ago I heard one of the birds out my bedroom window doing this. At first I didn't realize what it was about the chirps that sounded so familiar until I realized that this was the infamous cycle of annoyance we have all come to know. I figured I was reading too much into what I heard.

This morning I was eating my breakfast and reading. I heard the bird again. In fact, I was so into the book and cereal that my mind said "I wonder which street that car is on." Then I stopped cold.

The bird's mimic of a car alarm was good enough to trigger the mental impression that this was really a car alarm. Closer attention quickly alerted me that there was no car, just a bird that must be from Lynn or Medford.

The birds want to mate with us. They know our calls.

By the way, I should record the bird next time it happens. It's amusing.

-happy Northern Aggression Remembrance Day, Dante

Comments

[graciana.livejournal.com]

I just got your AIM. You call and we'll talk. OK?

[starphire.livejournal.com]

Hee! I first encountered this phenomenon about 8 years ago while spending a weekend at a friend's apt. in Manhattan. Apparently, New Yorkers were already blase' about it - it had been noted in The New Yorker, after all.
I haven't heard it from birds in Boston, despite always living within earshot of the REAL damn car alarms. I'd wondered once or twice if the local birds were just more individualistic, or simply slower to change. Thanks for the update!

[(Anonymous)]

You listen to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me? What are you, some kind of masochist? That's some lousy radio. And trust me, the Reaper knows all about lousy radio.