three hoots, hard to spot (1 Viewer)

[stonefly4]

I'm in Augusta County VA, on the skirts of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

I'm a trucker but have been home for a couple of months. This morning I heard a bird I don't recognize. I can't find him in the trees. He calls, I walk around and look, he stops. After a while, I hear the call in a different area, I approach, keeping my eyes peeled, then he stops.

I can't get a look at him.

What bird, in the springtime, in this area, calls out "hoo-doo-doot... hoo-doo-doot... hoo-doo-doot... hoo-doo-doot...? He will continue for several minutes. Then he moves.

The sound is very mellow and melodious, not raucuos at all. This bird does not make himself easily visible in the trees.

cuckoo?

 

[Lisa W]

Your bird sounds like a dove to me. I would guess a Mourning or White-winged (not sure if your county is inland or coastal). Both would be everywhere in VA, White-winged more coastal. The Cuckoo seems to have a raspier call.

 

[The Bird Nuts]

I think Eurasian Collared-Dove is more likely in Virginia and your description of the song matches better than Mourning or White-winged.

 

[Microtus]

Eurasian Collared-Dove sounds reasonable. White-winged Dove is casual at best in Virginia, probably not occurring every year.

 

[fugl]

Another for Eurasian Collared Dove. The call is exactly as you describe; I've been hearing it everyday this spring in my leafy Portland suburb. . ..

 

[Lisa W]

Well, almost went there. At least I got the dove part right.

 

[stonefly4]

Thanks for all the replies, but it doesn't sound anything like a dove.

A white-tipped dove is the closest, but not close enough, I do not believe.

A crow is closer. We've all heard the gurgling sounds that can be vocalized by a crow. However, I never heard a crow vocalizing in such a repetitive way.

By the way, sometimes this bird is cranking out hoots in clips of four. I'm listening to him as I write this.

I don't think it's a crow.

The hoots are very short, by the way: three or four hoots in less than a second, then a pause of about 1/2 or 3/4 of a second, and another burst of short hoots. The bird will repeat about anywhere from 30 to 100 of these bursts, then quit for a while.

 

[Seth Miller]

If you have a smartphone you should be able to get a recording fairly easily and post it on here. That would probably make it easier to ID.

 

[The Bird Nuts]

And if you don't have a smartphone you can take a video with a camera and either upload the video somewhere else and post a link here or convert the video to an audio file if you know how.

 

[stonefly4]

I don't have a smartphone or anything to record with. I wish I did.

This critter is very difficult to spot, impossible so far. Also, he is very wary. Even though I can tell that he is in a tree that is at least 50 yards distant, if I leave my trailer and ease out to try and locate his exact position, he shuts up. I see nothing. Then sometimes within the timespan of a few moments, I hear him again, hundreds of yards away in a different direction.

Maybe there is more than one?

Sometimes birds impress us with their appearance or their song. This one is impressing me with a mystery.