Gordon Dimmig / Macaulay Library
Mimus polyglottus, the "many-tongued mimic"
I have wished a bird would fly away,
And not sing by my house all day;
Have clapped my hands at him from the door
When it seemed as if I could bear no more.
The fault must partly have been in me.
The bird was not to blame for his key.
And of course there must be something wrong
In wanting to silence any song.
A Minor Bird, by Robert Frost
I'm a longtime admirer of maligned birds—the ones people denounce for being too loud, too mean, or too dirty: grackles, starlings, magpies, gulls, pigeons. Mockingbirds are no exception. They're noisy, highly territorial, and fiercely protective of their nests, sometimes to a fault.
Their brazen nature gives them a reputation as bird feeder bullies, but they will fearlessly take on much larger threats: crows, hawks, and notably, unsuspecting people and their pets who wander too close to their nesting grounds. As the warmer seasons approach, so does their breeding season, and their activity ramps up and their elaborate songs become louder and more varied. Where I live, they currently dominate the neighborhood. Recently, a few people have described to me their experiences with an obnoxious bird. When I asked if it was gray with big white patches on its wings, they all confirmed what I suspected—it was a mockingbird.
What is this and why is the little one so angry?
byu/goPACK17 inwhatsthisbird
Video: A mockingbird defensively mauling a red-tailed hawk who simply does not care.
Their tenacious personalities are a big part of what I find so charismatic about them. They're hilariously bold, clearly intelligent, and have a tendency to make my Merlin app think there are 10 different uncommon birds in my back lawn in one minute. While their calls are good enough to trick Merlin, they typically sing in a pattern that can be picked up with practice. They repeat another bird's song sequence in multiples (usually 2-6 times), and will rapidly cycle through their internal sound library.
So, if Merlin claims you've heard a rare bird and there's a gray bird perched on a pole nearby that's belting its heart out, there's a very high likelihood it was just a Northern Mockingbird. Besides birdsong, they will imitate just about anything they can hear, some common imitations being car alarms, dog barks, and frog croaks. Unpaired male mockingbirds also engage in hours long nocturnal singing in search for a mate.
