Northern Mockingbirds are highly skilled mimics that can imitate many calls of other bird species so well that even experienced birders can be fooled. They don’t limit their abilities to just bird calls – human whistles, truck backup beeps and sirens are all in their range of sound reproduction.
Its Latin species name, polyglottos translates to meaning “many tongues.” Mockingbirds establish territories and drive off invaders including Red-tailed Hawks and cats. Ohio is the northern edge of this essentially southern bird’s range and though usually found in the southern two-thirds of the state, I’ve been seeing them regularly in Cuyahoga County lately.
These not particularly flashy, slender-bodied gray birds apparently pour all their “color” into their personalities. They sing almost endlessly, sometimes even at night. The Northern Mockingbird is a relatively unremarkable bird to look at but a spectacular one to listen to.
It enjoys making its presence known by usually sitting conspicuously on high vegetation, fences, eaves, or telephone wires. This one was in the uppermost reaches of a tree.
This bird is featured in the title and as a central metaphor of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. In the story, mockingbirds are portrayed as innocent and generous, and two of the main characters say it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because, “they don’t do one thing for us but make music for us to enjoy…they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.”