One night around midnight I heard a bird chirping in the backyard. Given the time of night, I found this kind of strange, so I ran a Google search for “Why do birds sing at night?” I came across this Reddit thread in which the original poster (OP) asks, “Why are so many birds chirping at night?” The OP goes on to explain that it sounds like there have been at least three birds chirping loudly outside all night long.
The top comment suggested it probably wasn’t multiple birds, but just one in particular — a mockingbird looking for a mate. Apparently mockingbirds are known for singing late at night. The OP eventually responded to confirm that they did indeed have a mockingbird singing outside, and they provided a link to a YouTube video to demonstrate what it sounded like.
As soon as I played the video, I recognized the birdsong right away. It sounded exactly like the bird in my backyard, so I was pretty sure I was also dealing with a mockingbird.
I started reading through the YouTube comments, and I got a good chuckle out of this one.
It’s almost 2a.m., and there’s a mockingbird in my backyard, just singing away. I pulled up this video and am playing it with the volume all the way up and now this one is REALLY going nuts – trying to one-up the YouTube video, i suppose.
I found that comment kind of funny, and it made me curious to try the same thing. I considered it briefly, but it felt kind of like a dick move, so I just went to bed. I woke up around 6:00 the next morning to fit in a workout, and that silly bird was still singing away outside. So I opened my window, turned up the volume on my phone, and I played the mockingbird video just to see what would happen. The bird outside definitely heard it, and he started to chirp more loudly, and with a renewed sense of urgency. I felt a little guilty at first. By broadcasting that recorded birdsong, I had become one of those destructive, boorish human beings who carelessly interferes with nature just to suit his own selfish impulses.
But here’s the thing. I exercised for about an hour, and when I started to wrap things up and cool down, I realized the mockingbird had stopped singing outside. Now it’s possible that the mockingbird simply gave up and moved on, but the optimist in me is convinced that I played a hand in getting my bird bro laid. All he needed was wingman in disguise who could motivate him to sing louder and more earnestly. I don’t mean to brag, but I’m pretty sure I’m the best damned wingman a male mockingbird could ever ask for.