Another possibility is the American Tree Sparrow which looks a lot like the Chipping Sparrow but has a breast spot. Where are you located? From the All About Birds site: "The easiest species to confuse with American Tree Sparrow is Chipping Sparrow, but their ranges don't overlap much in winter (the only time most people are likely to see American Tree Sparrows). If you are north of roughly Kansas in the winter, American Tree Sparrows are much more likely than Chipping Sparrows; south of this line Chipping Sparrows are more common. In winter, Chipping Sparrows have a less rufous (reddish-brown) cap than American Tree Sparrows. Look for a black line through the eyes of Chipping Sparrows; in American Tree Sparrows that line is rufous, the same color as its crown. Look for American Tree SparrowâÂÂs distinctly bicolored bill - dark on top, yellowish below. Chipping Sparrow's bill is often dark or pinkish. Song Sparrows are heavily streaked on the breast, whereas American Tree Sparrow has a plain breast, sometimes with a single dark spot. Field Sparrows have a pink bill and a white ring around the eye. Lark Sparrows have a much more complex head pattern including rufous on the cheeks." The tree sparrow is a winter bird in many regions where the chipping sparrow doesn't winter over. Here in southeastern MA I see tree sparrows all winter long but no chipping sparrows. This one was seen in January a few years ago in Plymouth, MA: Claire This post was edited by claire on Mon, May 6, 13 at 10:23

Where are you located? Can you describe the sound it makes? When you say "night"......is it completely dark out? What time of night? To start with, check out the sounds that a mockingbird makes. sometimes they sing at night.

I don't live in cardinal country, but it appears to be a juvenile bird that has a fairly dark bill while transitioning plumage. I think this is common, especially during the earlier period of the transition.

The second photo I saw of this bird looked really familiar. I think it is a cardinal bird. Some times I saw this bird, my friends told me it was a cardinal. This picture looks pretty good. Where did you take it? Local or a place of interest? By the way, if I want a bird like this, can you show me how to get it?