There are a few birds and animals in the wild that make vocalizations or calls that sound similar to a crying human baby. This can be surprising and even alarming to hear when out in nature. However, in most cases it is simply the animal’s normal method of communication and not a cause for concern.
Birds That Sound Like Crying Babies
Some of the most well-known birds that resemble the cry of a human infant are:
Ring-Necked Pheasant
The ring-necked pheasant is a large, brightly colored game bird found throughout North America. When calling out, the male pheasant makes a loud, two-syllable crowing sound that is remarkably baby-like. This “kaa-kaa” call is often repeated multiple times in a row.
Mourning Dove
The mourning dove is known for its loud, plaintive cooing. The call starts with a couple of low, moaning coos followed by higher pitched coos that some say resemble the fussy cries of a human baby. Mourning doves make this sound to communicate with each other and establish territories.
Burrowing Owl
This small owl gets its name from the underground burrows that it likes to nest in. Its call consists of a series of repetitive, high-pitched screams. When heard from a distance, these screams can resemble the wails of an upset infant. The burrowing owl uses this easily locatable vocalization to communicate with its mate and offspring.
Mammals That Mimic Baby Cries
Some mammalian species also make infant-like vocalizations for communication purposes:
Red Fox
The red fox is known for using a wide range of barks, yaps, howls and other noises to interact with other foxes. One of these sounds is a distress scream that fox kits (babies) use when they get separated from the rest of their family group. These screams strongly resemble a human baby crying.
Raccoon
Like the fox, raccoons also make various noises for communication. One of these is a shrill, tremulous wail that mothers use to locate their young. The cries of baby raccoons themselves sound similar to human infants when separated from their mother.
White-Tailed Deer
Deer fawns use high-pitched bleating calls that sound like human baby cries to signal to their mothers when they get separated. This helps the doe quickly locate the fawn. The fawn also makes this sound when hungry or in distress.
Why Do Animals Sound Like Crying Babies?
There are a couple reasons why certain bird and mammal species have vocalizations that resemble a human baby crying:
Mimicry
Some species like the burrowing owl may use cries that mimic a human baby as a form of auditory mimicry. This means the animals have evolved the behavior because it provides an adaptive advantage. In this case, sounding like a crying human infant could deter potential predators, as most animals tend to avoid the area of loud, distressed baby sounds.
Shared Acoustics
The other theory is that the frequency (pitch), tempo, tone, and structure of certain animal vocalizations just happen to share acoustic similarities with a human baby’s cry. It’s not necessarily intentional mimicry but simply the species’ natural comunication style that to human ears sounds like an infant.
Other Animals That Can Mimic Human Sounds
While the animals above may coincidentally sound like babies when communicating, there are some birds that are known for intentionally mimicking human speech and other noises:
Lyrebird
This Australian songbird is a master of vocal mimicry. The lyrebird can replicate a vast range of sounds, from other birds to chainsaws to car alarms. Lyrebirds will also copy human speech, cries, and babbling very convincingly.
Hill Myna
Like the lyrebird, the myna is renowned for its ability to mimic all kinds of sounds. In fact, mynas can be taught to talk and some have vocabularies of over 100 words. Their human speech imitation is incredibly realistic.
Australian Magpie
Magpies are intelligent birds that excel at mimicking noises in their environment. This includes other species’ calls along with believable imitations of human speech patterns, coughs, sneezes and expressions of emotion.
Blue Jay
The blue jay often mimics hawk calls to scare smaller birds away from food sources. But they have also been known to copy the sounds of other animals, machinery, bells and human speech. Their ability is not quite as advanced as the lyrebird but is still very impressive.
Why Do Some Birds Mimic Humans?
There are a couple theories as to why certain birds have evolved the ability to mimic human vocalizations:
Communication
Mimicry may help facilitate communication between species. For example, a lyrebird copying human speech seems able to evoke a response from humans. This suggests the bird may understand the meaning of some words.
Finding Mates
Male songbirds often mimic sounds to show off their vocal skills when trying to attract females. The greater their sound repertoire, the more appealing they are to potential mates.
Defense
Some birds may mimic the voices of predatory species, or sounds associated with danger, to scare other animals away and reduce competition over resources.
Conclusion
While it may seem eerie to hear wild animals making such human-like noises, it is simply their natural form of communication. Birds that intentionally mimic human speech and crying do so for important evolutionary purposes like establishing territories, attracting mates, or scaring away threats. Other species have calls that happen to acoustically resemble a wailing infant to human ears. But in most cases, the animals are simply communicating in the only way they know how – not actually copying humans. So next time you are startled by a baby-sounding bird or mammal, take a moment to appreciate the wonder of nature’s diverse vocalizations.
Bird | Description of Sound |
---|---|
Ring-necked Pheasant | Loud two-syllable “kaa-kaa” crowing |
Mourning Dove | Plaintive cooing |
Burrowing Owl | Repetitive, high-pitched screams |
Lyrebird | Mimics human speech and cries |
Hill Myna | Mimics human speech |
Australian Magpie | Mimics human vocalizations |
Blue Jay | Mimics human speech |
Mammal | Description of Sound |
---|---|
Red Fox | Distress scream of fox kits |
Raccoon | Shrill, wailing cries |
White-tailed Deer | Bleating fawn cries |
Some key reasons why animals mimic crying babies or human speech:
- Auditory mimicry for defense
- Shared acoustic properties
- Attracting mates
- Establishing territory
- Interspecies communication
- Scaring away threats
While the sounds may be unsettling to humans, they serve important natural purposes for the birds and mammals. With mimicry, there is often no intent to actually copy a crying infant. Next time you hear a baby-like sound in the woods, take a moment to appreciate the vocal adaptions of our wildlife.