Guide Online

A couple days ago I heard a lot of birds singing loudly outside my window. Well, I thought it was a lot of birds, but after a while I realized it was actually just one bird—a northern mockingbird in enthusiastic singing mode. Mockingbirds got their name because they can imitate other birds' songs (as well as other sounds). They like to repeat each song a few times and then go on to the next one, one after the other, nonstop. This bird sang from the time I ate supper till the time I went to bed a couple hours later! I wonder if he was hoarse the next day.

Since I recognize several common bird songs, I like to try to figure out which birds the mockingbird is copying. It's not too hard to pick out robins, cardinals, blue jays, and more. It is funny to hear so many different sounds coming out of the same bird.

Here's a link where you can hear some samples of a mockingbird song.