Perching Birds
Northern Mockingbird
Mimus polyglottos
Description
9-11" (23-28 cm). Robin-sized. A
slender, long-tailed gray bird with white patches on wings and
tail.
Habitat
Residential areas, city parks, farmlands,
open country with thickets, and desert brush.
Nesting
3-5 blue-green eggs, spotted with brown,
in a bulky cup of sticks and weed stems in a bush or low
tree.
Range
Breeds from northern California, eastern
Nebraska, southern Ontario, and Maritime Canada southward. Winters
in southern part of range.
Voice
A long series of musical and grating
phrases, each repeated 3 or more times; often imitates other birds
and regularly sings at night. Call a harsh chack.
Discussion
This bird's beautiful song is richest
on warm, moonlit nights in spring, when the bird may spend hours
giving amazing imitations of other species. The songs of 36 other
species were recognized from the recording of one mockingbird in
Massachusetts. Birds in the western part of the species' range have
less musical songs and are less imitative. Mockingbirds are strongly
territorial and, like a number of other birds, will attack their
reflection in a window, hubcap, or mirror, at times with such vigor
that they injure or kill themselves. At mating time, the male
Northern Mockingbird becomes increasingly exuberant, flashing his
wings as he flies up in an aerial display, or singing while flying
from one song post to another. After breeding, each parent
establishes and vigorously defends its own winter territory.
Mockingbirds require open grassy areas for their feeding; thick,
thorny, or coniferous shrubs for hiding the nest; and high perches
where the male can sing and defend his territory.
Perching Birds