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Mimicking the deep, soft, eerie hoots of the Great Horned Owl, with its stuttering rhythm, is no problem. Same goes for the hoarse, screeching call of the Red-tailed Hawk. These are the stars of a repertoire that also takes in the Cardinal, Wild Turkey, Sandhill Crane, Bluebird, and Blue Jay. Once he masters them, these sounds are a breeze for a wildly talented 10-year-old Oklahoma City schoolboy, Samuel Henderson, who shares with NPR that he’s proud to have perfected scores of birdcalls to a tee.
This extraordinary fourth-grader recently went viral on TikTok for his school talent show rendition of several birdcalls. One TikTok video she posted, his mother, Lori Henderson, tells local station, KFOR News, has notched up over three million views!
Samuel’s uncanny talent has even fooled birdcall apps, guilty of mistaking Samual’s bird sounds for those of actual birds, WFMZ News reports.
An exceptional 10-year-old in tune with nature
Asked by NPR about the origins of his fascination with birds, Samuel shares that his interest began when he was six, when he tried imitating the sound of a Great-tailed Grackle, a shiny black bird with a long tail and yellow eyes. Samuel tells KFOR News that this happened during a trip to the zoo, when after being followed by the bird, and interacting with it, he told his parents that he could talk to birds. Four years on, this is still his favorite birdcall.
Samuel explains to NPR that it is the sound that birds make that kickstarted his passion: “Well, some reason all of a sudden, I just got into birds. And one of my most favorite features is that they have very unique calls.”
When he decides to learn a new birdcall, Samuel goes outside and listens carefully, before memorizing the call, and practicing incessantly. He also enjoys using the Merlin Bird app. This is a free, resource-rich app created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It acts as a birding coach for bird watchers at all levels, helping them identify which birds they see in the wild.
This eager bird fan has since been invited to visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Global Positive News details, and also keeps himself busy passing on some of his birdcalling skills to his classmates.
The powers of autism; the take from mom…
Samuel’s mom, Lori Henderson, explains her decision to add the autism hashtag to her original Instagram post about her son’s amazing school performance to NPR. This is because she is convinced of the pressing need to publicize the unique talents of people with autism spectrum disorders.
“It is important to get that out there, the uniqueness that these kids and individuals have. He looks at the world in a whole different view. He's made us, you know, look at the world in a different view and see the wonderful things that he can do. Birds are his thing - and nurturing that aspect of somebody and not holding them back of what they love,” is something the family prioritizes.
It turns out that Samuel practices most of the time, 24/7 Lori tells KFOR News. She points out that he doesn’t whistle; all sounds come from his voice and diaphragm.
Significantly, her son isn’t shy about demonstrating his uncanny ability, or discussing the fame it has brought him. After wowing his school talent show audience with his rich birdcall set, he enjoyed a rapturous reception. “It took us over 30 minutes to exit the gym due to the high fives and peers trying to get to him and compliment him on his performance,” Lori shares.
Samuel remains happy to share his bird sounds with the world. Unsurprisingly, this talented schoolboy wants to become an ornithologist and study birds one day.
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