Expert: Roger Lederer - 5/9/2007

Question
Good morning!  We live in a St. Louis MO suburb and are hearing a new, distinctive bird on sunny days, both morning and afternoon that we can not identify.  The main part of the song can best be described as the first four notes of the famous measures of Wagner's Die Walkure: Ride of the Valkyries...you know the song from the movie "Apocalypse Now", when the helicopters are flying in.  There is also a clear, short whistle before these quite distinctive notes (and perhaps one after; not sure).  We have not been able to view the bird, and I have have been unable to identify it against web sound bytes.  We are thoroughly fascinated and I am quite eager to identify this newcomer.  Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi. Well, I don't get stumped very often but I am here. I listened to the Ride of the Valkyries and nothing specific comes to mind. Describing songs is difficult, I know. If you can get a glimpse of the bird and describe it a bit, it would help a great deal. Roger Lederer at Ornithology.com