Bird's the Word: Mockingbird

Is it a car alarm? Is it a cell phone? Is it keeping you from falling back to sleep with its repetitive whistles and squeaks? Then you have a mockingbird, my friend, the best mimic in Massachusetts. Northern mockingbirds, with characteristic yellow eyes, flashes of white in their wings, and quirky shoulder-shrugging dances in the grass, are definitely most recognized for their songs. You’ve heard them around, though maybe haven’t stopped to listen too carefully. That seagull you heard on a telephone wire? Mockingbird. The alarm clock on the eaves of a house? Mockingbird.

The light saber in the bushes? Mockingbird. I heard that last one once in Brookline. True story.

While most birds have a few songs and calls they use all the time, the mockingbird collects its repertoire from the sounds it hears in its environment. This means if it lives in an urban environment, it’s likely to have learned songs from urban birds, like starlings and house sparrows, as well as from urban noises, like car alarms and crosswalk signals. Its song will bounce from bird song to city sound and back to bird song quickly and effortlessly. And they don’t seem to tire, they will continue singing long after you have gone on your way.







Finding mockingbirds is easy, just keep your ears open around the city. Listen for a while and see what you recognize, and see if you can spot it on its perch. From now on, the next time you hear a cardinal beat boxing with a car horn, you’ll know it’s a mockingbird.





Loves: Telephone poles, rooftops, open lawns
Sounds: Like a robot menagerie
Looks: Plain gray, with a twinkle in its eye
Find: Anywhere in Boston


httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0URYw27qd0


PHOTOS CREDIT TO: SCOTT ADAMS, TRISHA SHEARS AND KEN SLADE.