What have you heard a starling mimic?

[Amoeba]

I just thought this could be a fun thread. What have you heard a starling mimic? You could also mention other birds that mimic, like song thrushes.

Round here I've been fooled into thinking I could hear oystercatchers, curlews, black-headed gulls, robins and buzzards when it was in fact just a starling. Those seem to be the favourites of the starlings round here.

I've also heard a blackbird sing like a police siren all summer.

[Wild-Woman]

Curlews and redshanks. I was really fooled!

[Dogghound]

A curlew and a telephone .

[Farplace]

Curlew, oystercatcher, telephone and police siren..... They are good!

[Amoeba]

Hm... everyone's said curlew so far. I think starlings must like the sound curlews make? Or maybe there's a practical reason?

[~T~]

I once heard what sounded like the laughing type call of large gulls (herring, black backed etc) outside my bedroom window as I was reading but it sounded slightly muffled/far off. I looked out and there sitting on the top of a lamp post was a starling making the sound. It went from the normal mixed starling sound to the gull sound and back to the starling sound again quite quick.

[darrenm]

A Cockeral, car alarms and goods vieichle reversing signals were the most enjoyable

[rossy]

swallows, rossy.

[solus]

One summer years ago when they were popular, Trimphone (from the top of a tree!) - I was so glad our phone didn't have that ring as otherwise I'd have probably kept going indoors to answer it...

Also the "nee-naw" sort of police vehicle siren, more recently a car alarm and from the Isles of Scilly years back a Common Sandpiper!

Sadly hardly any Starlings here now so my summer days in the garden are spoiled by the real sounds of sirens and car alarms rather than the tree-top/roof-top ones!

[aeshna5]

Common Gulls are common winter visitors to London, especially on playing fields + the like + I've heard Starlings accurately imitating their calls.