A middle school boy chirped his way into people’s hearts, becoming a viral sensation for his special talent.
Samuel Henderson stunned his schoolmates as he took to the stage and made insanely accurate impressions of various birds.
“Some people say that I swallowed birds,” he once said about his talents.
A middle school boy chirped his way into people’s hearts, becoming a viral sensation for his special talent
Highlights
- Samuel Henderson has once again gone viral for his uncanny bird impressions.
- “Some people say that I swallowed birds,” he once said about his talents.
- The middle-schooler first went viral for his performance at a 2024 school talent show.
- His mother said her “heart just exploded” from seeing the kids “roaring” at her son’s performance
Image credits: diabetic4one
Samuel of Choctaw, Oklahoma, has become an online sensation for being a master entertainer.
His talent? Imitating dozens of birds with spot-on impressions.
After first going viral a couple of years ago, Samuel’s mother uploaded a video this month of his most recent jaw-dropping performance.
Image credits: diabetic4one
“Two years after his first-ever Talent Show, Samuel came back to where it all started. Some new birds and some of the familiar bird calls this time,” read the caption of the recent TikTok video.
The clip racked up 21.6 million views on TikTok alone.
The boy, who has autism and Tourette syndrome, first went viral for his performance at the annual 2024 Nicoma Park Intermediate School talent show.
The boy with autism and Tourette syndrome first went viral for his performance at the annual 2024 Nicoma Park Intermediate School talent show
Although the boy really wished to compete, his mother was hesitant because no student in special education had ever participated.
Moreover, the talent show mainly saw children singing, dancing, or playing musical instruments onstage.
“Some kids can be mean,” his mother Lori told CBS News last year. “…It would just break my heart if that were to have happened.”
Image credits: diabetic4one
Nevertheless, the lineup finally included Samuel’s performance. And on the big day, the boy confidently went up onstage and stunned the crowd with his uncanny bird calls.
“It really sounded like there was a bird in the building,” a mind-blown student said about his performance.
Another student said, “He's brave, he's really brave. It takes a lot of courage to get yourself up there.”
His mother said her “heart just exploded” from seeing the kids “roaring” with excitement over her son’s performance
Lori recalled how her “heart just exploded” from seeing the kids “roaring” with excitement over her son’s performance.
“I was so happy to see him living his dreams,” she added.
Following his very first talent show performance, Samuel said he wasn’t nervous at all and was actually imagining himself performing for a larger audience in his mind.
Image credits: CBS Evening news
“I’ve always wanted to share my bird calls with the world,” he told Audubon Magazine in 2024. “I pretended it was the whole world watching.”
Since Samuel began his unique hobby, he learned more than 50 bird calls over the first six years and consistently learns new ones.
His learning process includes birdwatching and listening to audio clips online.
To create the sounds, Samuel contorts his stomach and throat in various ways to produce near-perfect squawks, chirps, quacks, and whistles.
“Early on, before he could speak, he would mimic the world and sounds around him, especially birds,” Lori said. “As long as we can remember, his love for birds has been present.”
Image credits: Jennifer Hudson Show
Since he first went viral, Samuel has been busy learning new sounds and teaching his schoolmates to do their own impressions.
He told the outlet in 2024 about his dreams for the future, saying, “I want to be an ornithologist when I grow up. I want to study birds!”
Samuel's recent performance went viral online, racking up 21.6 million views online
Lori said they have been “beyond overwhelmed by the response” their son received online from both “birders and non-birders alike.”
“He has been recognized around our town from TikTok when out and about, and has had multiple voice actors and other celebrities comment on his talent,” she added.
Samuel has even appeared on the Jennifer Hudson Show, where he called his bird calls a “super power.”
Image credits: diabetic4one
Samuel’s latest video, uploaded last week, also sparked a flurry of praise online.
Another wrote, “This kid is great, he can probably start his own Bird Sound's Recording Company !”
Samuel has even appeared on the Jennifer Hudson Show, where he called his bird calls a “super power”
“This kid flocks,” one said, while another wrote, “I hope he can monetize this and not have to do anything but make bird noises for the rest of his life.”
“I love how each time he does a sound the crowd goes even wilder!” wrote another commenter.
“Work in a common narrative and a few jokes the kid could do a solid 10 minutes on any talk show,” one commented online
