Northern Mockingbird: The Singing Bully of the Backyard
Link to this photo on my Flickr profile. This morning two mockingbirds in the green field were spinning and tossing the white ribbons of their songs - Mary Oliver 1 If you have a backyard and you live in Nothern or Central America, you probably have at least one Northern Mockingbird ( Mimus polyglottos ) living nearby. They are the second most popular state bird in the United States, a symbol of Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, and Alaska. 2 They are visually easy to identify; they have long tails they flick about and large white spots on the backs of their wings. What's in a name? However, their family name, Mimidae, and even their genus and species name hints at a very different way to identify Mockingbirds. 3 Mimus ployglottus translates to "many-tongued mimic" in English. Listen for a long string of unrelated songs all woven together that resembles the songs of other birds in your neighborhood. If you have never heard one before, ...
