Unidentified bird call just outside Winchester, England (1 Viewer)

[GreyNomad500]

I normally pride myself on being able to identify most birds in SE England by their calls alone. But I was walking along a dense tree and hedge-lined footpath that ran between two farmers' fields and I heard a call that's defeated me. And I couldn't see the bird either even though it was obviously nearby. My immediate thought was that it was likely to be a warbler. But I've played all the warbler recordings I have and it's none of those.
I got a half-decent recording on my iPhone which seems to be in a .m4a format but I'm not able to attach this format to a post so that others can listen and maybe identify it.
Any suggestions? I'd be happy to email it to someone.
Many thanks for any help that anyone can give.
Cheers
Frustrated Birder!
PS My wife's sure it's a Whitethroat and I'm absolutely sure it's not!

 

[Derbyfella]

Yep I converted the ones that are on my iPhone to mp4

have you got VLC media player?

 

[GreyNomad500]

Thanks Derbyfella. In fact I found an online converter and converted the file to .mp3. I've now attached it.
Are you able to hear it (it's not as good as the original recording but there's sufficient info for ID)?
any thoughts what this southern England bird might be?
Thanks
G.

 

[Derbyfella]

Yep can hear it....
leaving it here for the experts!

 

[mummymonkey]

Sounds more thrush than warbler but not sure tbh.

cf. this baby "song thrush". (Looks like a blackbird)

 

[GreyNomad500]

Thanks mummymonkey. That's a very interesting suggestion and certainly a candidate, especially as I made the recording on 9th June. I hear plenty of song and mistle thrushes in this area which also make your suggestion feasible. However I think there's a difference in the timbres that makes me think the bird I heard could be something else. Let's see if anyone else has any ideas. Thanks again.

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

I agree with mummymonkey,
both the bird here and the video he linked are Blackbirds.

 

[CARERY]

Might be a begging thrush but somehow I don't get a thrush-feeling here. To me it does sound like a plastic song rather than a call. But certainly not a 'typical' song of any of the usual species in the UK... My first thought was a strange much reduced Cetti's Warbler. Than, as a completely far-fetched and most unlikely option of course, Gray's Grasshoppers came to mind 🥳. Anyway, don't know if that's IDable for certain...

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

Thanks mummymonkey. That's a very interesting suggestion and certainly a candidate, especially as I made the recording on 9th June. I hear plenty of song and mistle thrushes in this area which also make your suggestion feasible. However I think there's a difference in the timbres that makes me think the bird I heard could be something else. Let's see if anyone else has any ideas. Thanks again.

I listened to it last night and it didn't sound like a thrush or a blackbird to me. 'Tone just not right.

It's not a sound I've heard, although I've been surprised a few times when I thought I had a new bird but when it came into sight it was a bird I've seen regular.

The habitat you mention should give an indication, and the closest sounding bird for that location I can think of is a blackcap: albeit it would have to be a muted blackcap just getting warmed up.

 

[jogresh]

Yes as previously suggested, it's the begging/contact call of a recently fledged Blackbird.

 

[GreyNomad500]

Thanks to Carery for your suggestion. There are quite a few Cetti's Warblers in this part of Hampshire and this species did make my long-list of candidates. Thanks also to PaulCountyDurham for the blackcap suggestion. That's an extremely common species around here but it didn't make my list because the timbre didn't feel right: blackcaps have a more bell-like purity whereas this is a bit what I call "squeezed" which is how I would describe a characteristic of a whitethroat's song. Maybe my wife's assertion that it was a whitethroat is right but I'm still doubtful. She's claimed that she caught a glimpse of the bird which she says was the size and shape of a whitethroat and, even that she thought she saw the white bib. Hmmmmmmm!! Perhaps I could call it the GreyNomad Warbler!!

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

Thanks to Carery for your suggestion. There are quite a few Cetti's Warblers in this part of Hampshire and this species did make my long-list of candidates. Thanks also to PaulCountyDurham for the blackcap suggestion. That's an extremely common species around here but it didn't make my list because the timbre didn't feel right: blackcaps have a more bell-like purity whereas this is a bit what I call "squeezed" which is how I would describe a characteristic of a whitethroat's song. Maybe my wife's assertion that it was a whitethroat is right but I'm still doubtful. She's claimed that she caught a glimpse of the bird which she says was the size and shape of a whitethroat and, even that she thought she saw the white bib. Hmmmmmmm!! Perhaps I could call it the GreyNomad Warbler!!

No problem, mate, and like you I'm doubtful that's a whitethroat to the point of being extremely doubtful.

'Seems there are a few strong suggestions for young blackbird, and I've found this YT clip of a young blackbird calling for his Mother. 'Seems very, very similar to your clip to the point of surely being the answer.

P.S. Thanks for posting this thread, 'helps me learn something!

 

[GreyNomad500]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and contributions. I think we've converged on an identification! A young fledgling is now a very likely answer and I'm now convinced by PaulCountyDurham's recording of a young blackbird. As far as I'm concerned that's what it was but alas can't claim to have discovered a completely new, unknown species!!