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Name That Tweet: What Is This Bird, Anyway?

I didn’t see it at first. 

I was just getting into my car in the WLRN parking lot when I heard the warbling.  It seemed the bird song was carried along on the air in surround sound, with a resonance that my colleagues inside the building would envy.

I kept scanning the electrical poles and wires above the parking lot to see if I could spot it.  It had to be there, because he was a born performer, this bird.  What a ham!  Despite the ruckus I was making settling into my driver seat, he just kept singing away.

“Good,” I thought.  “Keep singing.  I’ll follow your voice.”

Turns out, I didn’t have to go far.  He was half hidden by a bit of greenery almost directly in front of me.  I swung open the car door, grabbed my iPhone and started filming.  All this activity still didn’t faze him.

It was such a thrill to see that tiny breast swell up with his ancient song, to hear that plaintive, solitary voice demand attention from the cars whizzing onto I-95 from downtown.

Before I saw him, I was a little downcast, as I usually am when the holiday season winds down.  My whole attitude changed the second I heard the warbling.  For while my bird is obviously not the storied partridge in a pear tree, his visitation still seems like, well ... a gift.

I confess there are times that I rail against this digital age we live in, but now I’m thankful for it.  For now I can reach out to South Florida’s nature lovers for help in ID-ing my bird.

If you can recognize his song from the video below, can you tell us all about him?

Happy New Year! 

Christine DiMattei is WLRN's Morning Edition anchor and also reports on Arts & Culture.
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