The Age of Empires Loon That Ruins Your Dark Souls Experience

The same bird cry that haunts Age of Empires is haunting your Spotify playlist and Marvel movies. The common loon’s warble from the 1997 RTS classic appears in 190+ tracks, from Anaconda to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and in films like Platoon and Avengers.

Simon Switch MacLean, who sourced the samples for Age of Empires, said:

"They actually are from a CD that I got in Japan with a lot of computer game sounds. It fitted in with the whole concept of the album where it’s kind of fun and cartoony."

The sound effects originated from Audiosparx/Sound Ideas CDs and E-mu Emulator II presets. The call later permeated Counter-Strike, Majora’s Mask, Banjo-Kazooie, and Lego games.

Its absurdity deepens when considering the common loon—a Canadian bird requiring a quarter-mile runway to fly—is now synonymous with jungle warfare and spooky cinematic moments.