Bird Of The Week: The Mockingbird
Kai Goldstein | February 11, 2025
Northern Mockingbird || Mimus polyglottos
If there is any bird worthy of being the lead singer in your band it is the Northern Mockingbird. They’re easy to identify by sound from their string of different calls and whistles, sometimes singing at night too. A male can learn to mimic 200 different songs in his life. That is nearly double as many songs as Nirvana has released. Male Northern Mockingbirds will build multiple nests, sometimes incorporating human litter, from which a female can choose. They hardly use the same nest twice. These aggressive birds are territorial year-round, harassing other birds off of fruiting plants and hunting grounds. They eat mainly insects in the warm season and fruit when it gets colder. These copycats can be heard year-round in our area, pretending to be someone they are not.