Bird of the Month
by Carolyn Preston
Northern Mockingbird
If you have been hearing an endless string of 10 or 15 birds singing outside your house, you might have a Northern Mockingbird in your yard. They sing almost endlessly, even sometimes at night, and they flagrantly harass birds that intrude on their territories, flying slowly around them or prancing toward them, legs extended, flaunting their bright white wing patches. This species was often captured for sale as a pet from the late 1700’s to the early 1900’s and as a result became scarce. After the cagebird trade was stopped, the Mockingbird again became common in many areas.
Males may learn around 200 songs throughout their life. Females also sing but more quietly than the male. They are found in areas with shrubby vegetation like hedges, fruiting bushes and thickets, typically 3-10 feet off the ground. They eat mainly insects in the summer but switch to eating fruit in fall and winter.
There are 2-3 broods a year with 2-6 eggs in each. Incubation is 12-13 days when the hatched chicks are naked, blind, and helpless with light gray down. The nestling period is 12=13 days. It will take about another week to fly with confidence.
They are not a conservation concern. The oldest bird on record was at least 14 years, 10 months old when it was found In Texas.