Going mad, help needed - Blackbirds sing Addams Family theme tune

Hi all

I'm finding one of the upsides to lockdown is being able to focus on the important things in life, like trying to solve the mystery of whether the blackbirds in our garden really do sing the Addams Family theme tune (seven main notes of) or have I finally gone mad. This has bothered me for years and I now think I have the answer.
It started at least 25 years ago when our son had a phase of singing it (with rude lyrics) and I couldn't stop whistling it in the garden. I noticed at the time that the blackbirds started whistling it too, but I can't remember whether I thought they were copying me or if it was their normal song and I was just copying them.  
Blackbirds are renowned mimics and the web is full of them imitating ambulances and ringing phones but the Addams Family song seemed a bit of a stretch (though no problem for parrots and the like). However, I've just found a Youtube clip of one doing just that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o7LlSjgqgU   
My theory is that a blackbird did copy me all those years ago and the call has been passed down the (maybe 6 - 10) generations. If so, that's pretty amazing. 
Anyone have any knowledge in this area?
Thanks,  Andy
  • Hi Andy,

    I can see why you think its the first few notes to the Addam's Family theme, but that seems to me to be normal blackbird song and nothing to worry about.

  • Hi Mike, thanks for your response. Is that a normal blackbird song? I thought it was initially but none of my friends who I've mentioned it to seem to have heard this particular sequence of notes, so have assumed it's a very local dialect/accent. I live in Reading and the friends in other parts of Reading don't recall ever hearing it.
  • While there is a "normal" Blackbird song they each seem to have a slight personal twist to their song. We have 5 singing males in the ground and with careful .listening we think we can identify the separate songs. Somrthing on this line wasdiscussed on the Chris Packham broadcast the other morning
  • Andy Lewis said:
    Hi Mike, thanks for your response. Is that a normal blackbird song? I thought it was initially but none of my friends who I've mentioned it to seem to have heard this particular sequence of notes, so have assumed it's a very local dialect/accent. I live in Reading and the friends in other parts of Reading don't recall ever hearing it.

    You're welcome.

    Pete (aka Seaman) makes a very interesting point, something that has been discussed for a very long time, there may be regional accents among not just blackbirds, but other species as well.

    Sadly, I'm a bit tone deaf, so I probably wouldn't notice it.