To Love a Mockingbird

Photo by Judy Gallagher on Wikimedia

​Mimus polyglottos
 
Mock (yeah)
Ing (yeah)
Bird (yeah)
Yeah (yeah)
Mockin'bird, now
 
There’s a reason there are so many songs about Mockingbirds – they sing A LOT. I remember my first real encounter with a Mockingbird was a nest outside my window when I lived in Davis, California. It was constant. If it wasn’t the parents, it was the baby. They also do an excellent impression of a car alarm, because those aren’t annoying enough on their own. I was starting to understand why someone would want to shoot one.

Thankfully, that is not the end of my story. We rehabilitated lots of them at California Wildlife Center, and I learned they are hilarious birds with quite the personality. They had these funny stretches and mannerisms, and I swear they had facial expressions. They are clever and can be sneaky.

Cornell’s All About Birds has the best description of Northern Mockingbirds; “These slender-bodied gray birds apparently pour all their color into their personalities.”  They do have striking white patches on their wings that they will display in alternating wing flashes.

They are brilliant mimics, which I initially thought was one of their most irritating qualities, but now I marvel at. Both their common name and scientific names reference this talent. Their scientific name, Mimus polyglottus, means many-tongued mime. I was visiting a friend who lived next to a high school football field, and the Mockingbirds in her neighborhood could do a spot-on impression of the coach’s whistle.

Northern Mockingbirds are found from the Southern United States through Mexico, and they eat fruit and insects. Even though they are a very common species, their numbers are still in decline. Habitat loss, insecticide use, feral cats, and window strikes are all taking their toll.
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Next time you see a Mockingbird, stop and listen. And if it is in the middle of the night, maybe just close your window.

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