Who’s That Spooky Bird?

Do you like to guess the bird calls before we identify them? Then here’s a short quiz of spooky, scary, and creepy bird sounds! This Halloween edition features three common species in North America and a rare bird from New Zealand.

BirdNote^®
Who’s That Spooky Bird?
Written by Ariana Remmel

This is BirdNote.

Do you like to guess the bird calls before we identify them? Then here’s a short quiz of spooky, scary, and creepy bird sounds!

Let’s start with some North American species. Bird #1 is a nocturnal hunter:

[American Barn Owl]

That is an American Barn Owl!

Bird #2 breeds along lakeshores from the northern U.S. to Canada:

[Common Loon]

No, that’s not some kind of wolf. It’s the haunting song of a Common Loon!

Bird #3 is a common terror of city parks and golf courses:

[Canada Goose hissing]

You got it, a hissing Canada Goose!

Now for a challenge round. Can you guess this oddball from New Zealand?

[Okarito Brown Kiwi]

That unsettling sound is the call of the Okarito Brown Kiwi.

Here they are again. The American Barn Owl… Common Loon… Canada Goose… and Okarito Brown Kiwi.

[American Barn Owl]
[Common Loon]
[Canada Goose]
[Okarito Brown Kiwi]

How did you do? Let us know on Facebook and Instagram @BirdNoteRadio. I’m Mark Bramhill.

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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Producer: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. American Barn Owl ML159533481 recorded by Brian Sullivan. Canada Goose ML502088901 recorded by Nathan Pieplow. Common Loon ML107964 recorded by Steven R. Pantle. Okarito Brown Kiwi ML141400 recorded by John Haselmayer.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2026 BirdNote October 2026
Narrator: Mark Bramhill

ID# quiz-03-2026-10-30 quiz-03