Toronto, Ontario, Canada: bird with really, really high pitched screech? (1 Viewer)

[DSPS]

Hi all, I live in a suburb of Toronto, Canada and just this summer I started hearing some kind of bird (if it's a bird) with a REALLY high-pitched screech. Usually starts in the evening and lasts all night! And it drives me nuts! :-@

Because it's so dark I could never really see what it looks like. It sounds like a kettle whistle, with a sharp, sustained call with no pitch variation that lasts about 10 - 15 seconds, ending with a single chirp that sounds like a sparrow. But I know for a fact that nobody's in my backyard boiling water all night. Does anybody have any idea what this might be?

 

[danehower]

based on the sound of the voice can you approximate the size of the bird ?

 

[DSPS]

based on the sound of the voice can you approximate the size of the bird ?

I don't know how accurate I can be but probably the size of a finch?

Actually kettle whistle is not the best description. It sounded like it's just a bit lower than a dog whistle. From this ref I estimate it's about 10 000Hz:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFmiLHaKXhI

And it's loud! Part of the reason why I'm still awake at 4AM...

 

[Jim M.]

My guess would be a mammal of some sort. A Broad-winged Hawk has a fairly piercing, high-pitched, whistled call, but they're more likely in forested areas. Not aware that they call at night either.

Best,
Jim

 

[Peter C.]

Can be pretty sure it's not a bird - my suspicion is that it's an insect of some kind, like a cicada.

Peter C.