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Probably one of the prettier Mockingbird images I've ever made. It was a decent angle too - the bushes were on a hillside and I was rather even with them from an overlook, so not my typical bird-way-up-in-the-tree shot.
On a light post in the parking lot next to my dentist’s office. The best camera for the shot is the one you have with you.
Pretty sure this is a Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, but the photos on line are a lot fatter!
The poseur on his perch. He affects the manner of the lord of the manor. Who is this preposterous fraud? Who else but the northern mockingbird? He also fancies himself as a singer!
The first Mockingbird for the Sony ... captured while out hiking along some nearby woods. Been very cloudy and moody recently and not the best lighting for birding. But it was interesting to test out and practice more with the Sony 7R5M and the 200/600.
This one landed for about 10 seconds before taking off again and I was able to get a couple shots off before it moved on.
The Northern Mockingbird is a prolific singer and mimic. They can copy the sounds of other birds, insects and even car alarms and often repeat whatever calls 6 - 7 times in a row. These were the second most common vocalists around our resort in Cuba and are known by the locals as "La Sinsonte" .
In full force when singing you can see them puff up their throat and make multiple whistles and sounds throughout their vocalzation. Rather plainly coloured but such amazing singers.
It’s not just other mockingbirds that appreciate a good song. In the nineteenth century, people kept so many mockingbirds as cage birds that the birds nearly vanished from parts of the East Coast.
This Holly bush sits in front of my parent's home in Homosassa, Florida. On top of the holly bush sits a mockingbird named Shakespeare. He's spent the last four winter's right in the same spot and while I was there I saw him sitting there every day. For a mockingbird, he doesn't sing much unlike my parent's dog Heidi who loves to sing. I think this is because he is not too interested with courting and prefers to spend the days eating the Holly berries. Another more logical explanation is that Shakespeare is most likely a female who tend to sing less than the male.
Some things you may not know: The northern mockingbird is the Official State Bird of Florida. Florida designated the nothern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) as the official state bird in 1927. Northern Mockingbirds have extraordinary vocal abilities; they can sing up to 200 songs (except Shakespeare it would seem), including the songs of other birds, insect and amphibian sounds (even an occasional mechanical noise). The northern mockingbird is also the state bird of Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi. Interesting picks considering it's a northern mockingbird.
Probably since they are so common and not so colorful I tend to overlook our state bird, the Northern Mockingbird. It is actually a pretty neat bird with its singing ability and it’s feisty nature. This individual was fiercely defending a berry bush from the cardinals and other birds while we were hanging out at Bentsen State Park a few days ago.
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Mimus polyglottos
This little Mockingbird Fledgling was sitting in one of our blueberry bushes. He was afraid to move so I got some really nice pictures of him then let him be.
The Mockingbird is one of the most fearless defenders of their territory of any bird, regardless of their size. I have seen them attack and run off everything from smaller birds to humans and even full grown horses. Their ferocious yellow eyes may be enough to tell others they are serious about defending their territory.