Some birds have excellent singing skills. Other birds . . . not so much. Birding blogger Nick Lund, also known as The Birdist, picked out some of the weirdest-sounding birds for NPR. His top five choices include the Atlantic Puffin, Bald Eagle, American Bittern, Northern Barred Owl, and Willow Ptarmigan. Here’s the story behind each one: The Atlantic Puffin is silent when out at sea, but on land it makes a creepy cackling noise to communicate with others in its nesting colony. People liken this sound to a chainsaw snore, Lund says. “For such a famously cute bird, it sure sounds dumb.” The Bald Eagle has a “bark” that’s far less threatening than its bite. Females often make a high-pitched whistling noise when they’re feeling frisky—a sign that they’re ready to get down and dirty with their mates. “It’s jarring because the sounds they make are so at odds with their graceful presence,” says Lund. The sound of a dripping faucet may drive...