Bird imitating car alarm

bibio

I have been a keen amateur naturalist for many many years, and I have
often heard starlings imitating other birds, and sometimes man made sounds

However this year a cock blackbird has a territory in my garden and perfectly imitates a car alarm, constantly. He has been at it now for about six weeks, and almost never sings a normal cock blackbird song, it is always the car alarm, and he has it down to perfection.
Has anyone come across a blackbird initiating man made sounds before ? As I said it is not a bird species I associate with this behaviour.
Starlings all right but never a blackbird.
Thanks
Bibio

truedoom

never heard of that before.

only bird I've ever heard to mimic those kinds of sounds is a Lyrebird. Could you get a video or recording? Would be great to see/hear

Bonedigger

Starlings and Blackbirds imitating such sounds as alarms and sirens is a pretty well known phenomenon.I'm sure they imitate other bird sounds too;I was pottering about in the garden the other day and heard what I thought was a Buzzard overhead,but as it turned out it was a Blackbird in a nearby elder(although it's possible this particular sound was already part of a Blackbird's repertoire and not an actual imitation of a Buzzard,but I've never heard it before now).

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I have heard of it but never actually heard it. A fascinating sound/spectacle I'd imagine.

Lennonist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Ah now! A lyre bird is a completely different scenario to a blackbird imitating sounds.

Lennonist

When I was a kid there was a wood pigeon that used to sit on top of a telephone poll near the house in the summer. When we imitated it's call it would answer us.