What Kind of Song Birds Sing at Night?

Northern Mockingbird

• The northern mockingbird imitates the songs of other birds and many other sounds that it hears, such as barking dogs and creaking doors. The male mockingbird sings to attract a mate. It often sings in urban and suburban neighborhoods, perched on TV antennas and chimneys. It is a small bird, about the size of a robin, with a medium gray back, lighter gray breast and dark gray wings. It possesses patches of white on its wings and the edges of its tail that are visible when it is in flight.

Whip-poor-will

• The whip-poor-will is a nocturnal bird. This means it wakes at night and sleeps during the day. It sings loudly at dusk. The whip-poor-will lives in woodland. It is not easy to see because its coloring blends well with its surroundings. It will hover in the air near its nest if an intruder approaches, showing the white tips of its tail feathers. It nests on the ground and feeds on insects.

Hermit Thrush

• Thrushes are famous for their singing ability, but many people who appreciate bird song consider the hermit thrush to have the best song of all birds. It often sings in the late evening or at night. It is a migratory bird that lives in Alaska, Canada, and the western and northeastern United States, and it spends winters in the southern U.S. and further south. Its habitat is woodland. It is small, brown and white with a spotted breast.

Robins

• In cities, birds sometimes sing at night during the breeding season. Researchers found that in the case of the American robin, the cause was connected with urban light pollution. This was possibly because the birds confused the high levels of artificial light with sunrise. Other research in the UK on European robins showed a connection between urban noise pollution and night singing, and concluded that the birds may have been trying to avoid competing with background noise in daytime.