[BobK]

Also, some people might disagree about the definition of 'morning'. At one minute past midnight it is unarguably ante meridiem, but if I say 'I'll see you in the morning' I mean some time a good deal later than 00.01 - a few hours after dawn, probably. And if I say 'I'll do it first thing in the morning' I mean 'at the beginning of my working day'.

When you want 'morning' to refer to a time of darkness, you need to qualify it in some way - 'the early hours of the morning' (or just 'the wee small hours').

b