This Is Why You Might Hear Birds Chirping Way Past Bedtime

Night owl, early bird — humans have associated different types of birds with different times of day since the dawn of time. And while some birds are more known for getting up with the sun, there are others that are better known for being active overnight.

But, when people start hearing those birds that are typically active most during the day chirping and singing once the sun goes down, they begin to wonder what's going on.

There's a lot of reasons why birds start chirping during the night. And while some of those reasons may spell big trouble for the birds, others are completely innocent.

Keep reading to learn more.

You may not expect to hear the birds you woke up with still going at it as you're trying to go to sleep, but according to the A-Z Animals blog, that's exactly what happens sometimes. That's because birds chirp to communicate, and just like humans, they don't stop having something to say just because it's bedtime.

For example, in the spring when birds are at the height of their mating season, you may hear more late-night chirping than usual.

This is because they are trying to attract a mate, and they may be using the otherwise quite hours of the evening to make their voices heard. Another reason you may hear more chirping in the spring has to do with new hatchlings. Hungry baby birds can make quite a ruckus while they're waiting for their parents to return with dinner.

Other times of the year, you can hear an increase in nighttime chatter when a potential threat is lurking nearby.

Between predators, thieves trying to steal food or eggs, or other birds encroaching on someone else's territory, there are plenty of reasons why some angry birds might start yelling in the middle of the night.

Finally, sometimes birds chirp during the evening hours because they don't know they are supposed to be sleeping. That's because light pollution can confuse the birds and make them think that it's still daylight, and therefore a perfectly reasonable time to be awake and making noise.

Now that we've covered why some birds chirp at night, you may be interested to know that there are several species of birds that are supposed to be singing during the wee hours.

According to the ABC Birds blog, birds like the Northern mockingbird, the Eastern whip-poor-will, the common loon, and the barred owl are all the most active during the evening hours.

That means that these birds will sing a little tune after hours, no matter whether a threat is present or not. Which is good news to birdwatchers who may automatically associate an evening call with a crisis.

Of course, that's not to say that these birds may not be trying to alert one another to trouble with their songs. Instead, it means that you shouldn't automatically think something is wrong when you hear birds singing at night.