How interesting. Certainly the Pied Currawongs have distinct local dialects.
I was watching a Netflix series filmed in Israel and there was a persistent bird call which, to my ear, was just like the local (Canberra) Blackbirds. The Blackbird currently visiting my home is distinctly silent.
David Rosalky
From: Canberrabirds <>
On Behalf Of Geoffrey Dabb
Sent: Friday, August 4, 2023 10:29 AM
To: Canberrabirds <>
Cc: Tim the Yowie Man <>
Subject: [Canberrabirds] What blackbird was that?
Among the many occasion I have regretted not having a better ear for bird sounds was the one this morning when Paull McCartney’s ‘Blackbird’ was played on Radio National in connection with the forthcoming tour of the performer. There could
be more than one reason why the featured bird did not sound, to my ear, like the blackbirds around here. It seems that particular populations of a species can develop a dialect of their own (third link below), as with transplanted fragments of the human race.
Quite a large subject. Apparently Paul got the blackbird song idea when he heard one in India.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbird_(Beatles_song)
https://www.audubon.org/news/what-beatles-song-blackbird-was-really-about
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643343/full
