1 June 2023
Northern mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) are famous for mimicking the voices of other birds. Often they’re so good at it that the only way to recognize they’re mockingbirds is to notice that the phrases are repeated three times, then a pause.
On Tuesday 30 May I encountered a mockingbird singing his heart out atop a light post at CMU’s Morewood parking lot. He was so excited that he jumped up and down with his wings open. “Look at me!”
Just for yuks I turned on Merlin sound ID to see how the app would process his song. Sometimes Merlin said “northern mockingbird,” sometimes it said the bird he was mimicking.
In the following 2:49 minutes he’s the only bird singing.
What’s he say? Who is he mimicking? Leave a comment with your answer.
UPDATE: Check the comments for my list of songs that I *think* he sang.
(photo from Wikimedia Commons, audio by Kate St. John embedded from xeno canto)
How fun is this. The bird is showing off his vast repertoire. Thanks for sharing, Kate!
tufted titmouse?
Carolina wren?
Wow! He put on quite a set! I think I picked up on a Killdeer and Robin at some point. Maybe an Eastern Towhee? Thanks for sharing, Kate.
I used the Merlin Sound ID for the first time recently to identify a Great Horned Owl making small screeches in the night. Very cool app.
Listening to the mockingbird I think he mimicked these birds, but he also riffed on some of them like a jazz singer:
Carolina wren (then a bunch of riffs),
Blue jay, tweedle
Brown-headed cowbird, rattle
Northern cardinal (impressive imitation of a cardinal)
Red-winged blackbird
Killdeer
Northern flicker
American robin, danger-tuck
House sparrow
Tufted titmouse
These guys are funny. In the South, they’re all over the place, and in addition to bird noises they mimic frogs, car alarms, and ringtones. When they’re not busy attacking dogs or hawks, lol.
My apartment complex in NC issues warnings whenever they nest on the premises, because they are so defensive.