I have heard that the mockingbird can mimic the songs of more than 30 bird species, and some with such incredible accuracy that even the individual species can’t tell the difference.  They are so proficient at this that they have even been known to mimic the sound of a squeaky gate, a piano, sirens, and a barking dog!  It goes without saying that this is precisely how the mockingbird got its name.

The males are especially vocal during mating season.  They can be heard happily singing tunes in the middle of the night, much to the dismay of light sleepers!

Most birds are born with the innate ability to sing the song of its species. That is, their song is encoded in their genes, so that's the song they will sing, no matter what. However, recent studies have shown that this is not the case with songbirds, humminbirds, and parrots.  These birds learn their songs much the same way that human babies learn to talk…by listening, by mimicking, and by trial and error. Thus is the case with the mockingbird. What is even more interesting about the mockingbird and a few other songbirds is that when most songbirds reach maturity, the song-learning stops.  The mockingbird, however, continues to learn new songs throughout its life.  Some have been known to learn over 200 distinct tunes over their lifetime!

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While there are several different species of mockingbirds, most of them living in South America, it is the Northern Mockingbird which is seen in the continental United States. It has a huge range distribution, covering most of the southern half of the United States and extending eastward to New York and Massachusetts.  They are a medium-sized bird, about the size of a robin.  Their coloring is a pale gray above and whitish below.  Their most notable feature is the presence of 2 white wing bars, large patches of white which are highly visible in flight.

Mockingbirds are omnivorous.  They primarily eat fruits and berries, such as holly, smilax, sumac, blackberries, and grapes.  But they also eat insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, wasps, and spiders.  Small lizards and earthworms are also part of their diet.

Nests can be located anywhere from 1 to 50 feet off the ground in both shrubs and trees.  Built by both the male and female, they are made of twigs, grass, and dry leaves.  Nesting season is from March to August.  The normal clutch is from 3 to 6 small (1 inch) blue/green eggs which have blotches of brown.  Only the female incubates the eggs, which hatch in 11-14 days.  The babies are tended by both parents, and the young leave the nest at 10-12 days old.

The mockingbird lives in a variety of settings….from residential areas and city parks to farmland and open country with thickets and desert brush.  They are extremely territorial, especially during mating season.  One way they defend their territory is with their song, mimicking as many different bird species as they can muster, in hopes of fooling the competition into thinking that the space is already occupied.  But if that fails, they have no fear of dive-bombing their invaders, whether it be other birds, or your family’s pets.  And my dachshund can attest to that!  I have seen her running for the house with the mockingbird hot on her heels!

• The mockingbird was adopted as the official state bird of Texas in 1927.
• It is also the state bird of 4 other states: Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
• Both the male and female mockingbird look alike.  That is, their coloring is the same, although the male may be slightly larger.
• Most night time singers are unmated males.
• There is more night time singing during a full moon.
• Mockingbird pairs often stay together for life.
• The males have a different song repertoire in the spring versus the fall
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Have I piqued your interest in this wonderful songbird?  Besides being entertaining, the mockingbird is also beneficial as an insect eater.  They will help you rid your yard of those pesky grasshoppers and crickets!

To keep them happy at your feeder, and especially during the winter months, select birdfood which contains dried fruit or berries. Use a platform feeder instead of the kind with a perch, and provide a clean water source.

And when planting new greenery in your garden, choose a variety that mockingbirds love.  These include holly, dogwood, pyracantha, cotoneaster, Virginia creeper, blackberries, raspberries, and grapes.