This morning, in the twilight hours before sunrise, I heard this bizarre, unfamiliar sound. My first thought, having been woken up out of a dead sleep by this, was "OH !@#$%^&*! THERE'S SOME KIND OF WEIRD MUSICAL DEMON OUTSIDE MY DOOR!" Despite not believing in the supernatural, I am phasmophobic so I lay there frozen, just listening to this strange sound for a time, trying to decide whether my magical anti-monster blankets would protect me or whether I should act like a grown-ass adult and go see what the noise is. It took a few minutes for my rationality to wake up. At that point, I supposed it sounded like a bird. Maybe.

The sound was a gentle percussive knocking but it had a vaguely musical quality to it, quiet and hollow, almost like some kind of wood instrument. I couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from which was part of what freaked me out. One moment, it sounded like it was drifting lazily up and down the hallway outside my bedroom and the next moment, it was across the back yard. Sound travels strangely sometimes out here so it's entirely possible that what sounded like "right outside my door" was actually right outside my window or over the roof.

The sound was different from the racket a woodpecker makes when going at a tree- much slower and lower pitch. There were maybe three to five knocks per call. Moreover, the sound was traveling. When woodpeckers make their characteristic gatling gun noise, they are anchored to trees (or my friggin gutters.... little bastardshits >8{ ) and this sound was moving about freely.

I can't think of any other way to describe it. It was just bizarre. Or maybe it wasn't. Maybe it's something entirely mundane I've just never heard before because I'm not usually up at that hour. I live in the Hudson Valley of New York. My sister claims she heard it too when she got up sometime around 6am. I tried to record the sound on my phone but of course, as soon as I hit the button, the sound stopped and all the other birds started up. It was like someone hit a switch. Just my luck.

I've looked up bird calls successfully before by googling the characteristics of the sound. That was how I discovered the little bastardshit who likes to go REHHHHHHHH REHHHHH REHHHHHHH for hours on end from the bushes out front is an unexpectedly cute gray catbird. No luck this time though. It definitely was not a sound made with wings or by knocking on something. This sound would almost assuredly have been made with its beak or in its throat.... assuming it's not a demon who likes to play wood instruments outside people's doors at 6 in the morning.

Thoughts?

Edit: Mystery possibly solved? Might have been a raven. It sounded kinda like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_vjGNUwuyM