Ever heard any animal make a sound that resembles the melody of a human song?
For me, none yet :(
My top contendor would be the Oriental Magpie Robin, a prolific singer. I will constantly be on the lookout for any human rythms (I mean, just imagine a Magpie robin whistling the tune of I’m Blue!)
Is there such a thing as auditory pareidolia?
Yes, it’s a common explanation for hearing voices in EVP
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voice_phenomenon
I ask because this likely is a possible thing to happen, for one to relate an animal call to a melody a human might sing.
We used to have mocking birds around us many years ago. They are known to incorporate human generated sounds into their songs, such as car alarms, etc. Once, one of them picked up the refrain of a popular song, “Chaka Khan Chaka Khan Chaka Khan”. At first it was perplexing to hear just the snippet of song, then when I realized the source, it was pretty amusing.
Yes, I understand. I was just giving example where the term auditory pareidolia is used.
In MDD, Peru I kept hearing a bird that sounded like the first few notes of “Come and Get Your Love” whistled. Never found out what it was
My dad has tried teaching Beethoven’s fifth to our local mockingbirds. Hasn’t caught on yet…
There used to be an American robin around our house who would frequently sing what I thought sounded like part of the theme to “Sanford and Son”
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/102373925
Starlings are also brilliant imitators;
This guy is quite accomplished: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cb3zQbtQSE
Another one issues a decent bugle call at about 39 sec in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lRy3lEh_Yo
My local Carolina chickadees sing a variant song that sounds like the first three notes of Three Blind Mice to me
Pretty convincing, too
On the Big Island of Hawaii, there is a point on the Saddle Road called Kipuka 21. The 'apapane there sang the famous five notes from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Since `apapane have regionally variable songs, none of those I heard anywhere else sang that.
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