NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD GALLERY
(Mimus polyglottos)

eBird provides this description of the Northern Mockingbird:  Gray with whitish underparts and long tail. In flight, it becomes much flashier with large white patches on the black wings and tail. Pale eye. Found in a variety of habitats with bushes and trees, from neighborhoods to desert scrub and old pastures. Mimics birds, car alarms, slamming doors, and other noises in its song, repeating a phrase 5-7 times before switching to next set of notes.

All About Birds adds to the description of the Northern Mockingbird with this:  If you’ve been hearing an endless string of 10 or 15 different birds singing outside your house, you might have a Northern Mockingbird in your yard. These slender-bodied gray birds apparently pour all their color into their personalities. 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.

I have seen the Northern Mockingbird at a number of locations.  On April 17, 2020 I saw one at Crescent Bend Nature Park along the trail.  On April 18, I saw a Northern Mockingbird near the Wurzthalle in Landa Park. And, on April 27, 2020 I saw one at Sabine Woods. This is a fun bird to watch!

Northern Mockingbird at Crescent Bend, April 17, 2020.
Northern Mockingbird at Landa Park, April 18, 2020.
Northern Mockingbird at Sabine Woods, April 27, 2020.


“Cool Facts” About the Northern Mockingbird From All About Birds…

  • It’s not just other mockingbirds that appreciate a good song. In the nineteenth century, people kept so many mockingbirds as cage birds that the birds nearly vanished from parts of the East Coast. People took nestlings out of nests or trapped adults and sold them in cities such as Philadelphia, St. Louis, and New York, where, in 1828, extraordinary singers could fetch as much as $50.
  • Northern Mockingbirds continue to add new sounds to their repertoires throughout their lives. A male may learn around 200 songs throughout its life.
  • The Northern Mockingbird frequently gives a “wing flash” display, where it half or fully opens its wings in jerky intermediate steps, showing off the big white patches. No one knows why it does this, but it may startle insects, making them easier to catch. On the other hand, it doesn’t often seem to be successful, and different mockingbird species do this same display even though they don’t have white wing patches.
  • Northern Mockingbirds sing all through the day, and often into the night. Most nocturnal singers are unmated males, which sing more than mated males during the day, too. Nighttime singing is more common during the full moon.
  • Northern Mockingbirds typically sing from February through August, and again from September to early November. A male may have two distinct repertoires of songs: one for spring and another for fall.
  • The female Northern Mockingbird sings too, although usually more quietly than the male does. She rarely sings in the summer, and usually only when the male is away from the territory. She sings more in the fall, perhaps to establish a winter territory.
  • The oldest Northern Mockingbird on record was at least 14 years, 10 months old when it was found in Texas.