Birds / Bird Photography / Nature Photography

Back Off! This is My Breakfast!

Birds in Florida

Northern Mockingbirds are one of the most common songbirds in North America and an iconic bird in the Southern states. It’s also the state bird for Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, and Tennessee.

Mockingbirds are arguably the most noticed birds in the South, but are they more common or simply more vocal than other birds and, therefore, more obvious?

It’s estimated that Mockingbirds can imitate the calls of 60 birds, domestic pets like cats and dogs, and city sounds like car horns, sirens, bells, and alarms. I’ve witnessed a Mockingbird imitating a Red-Shouldered Hawk, an American Crow, and a doorbell.

They so often imitate other birds and sounds that we forget Mockingbirds have their own lovely twittering song:

Perhaps Mockingbirds are noticed more often because they’re aggressive and known to attack humans, cats, dogs, other birds, and wildlife. Like American Crows, they remember a human who has been mean to them and will attack that person again and again over long periods. My last outdoor cat was so despised by the Mockingbirds in our neighborhood that the birds attacked him ruthlessly, resulting in pecking wounds on his head. One Mockingbird even nipped my kitty’s tail!

From the 1700s into the early 1900s, Mockingbirds were captured and sold as pets, which led to a serious decline in their numbers. Thanks to laws stopping the capture and sale of songbirds, Mockingbird numbers recovered quickly.

The Mockingbird diet consists mostly of insects, seeds, and fruits. I see them dining on loquats, as shown in these photos, blackberries, pokeberries, and elderberries. They also eat planted fruits like oranges and grapes. You can attract Mockingbirds to your yard by including apple and peach slices, raisins, cranberries, and even bananas in your birdfeeder.

Although I can’t say that I see more Mockingbirds over the course of a year than other common birds like Northern Cardinals and Eastern Bluebirds, I can say Mockingbirds are the one bird I see every day during the year.

© Dennett 2024

Thank you, Dan Pfeifer, for your lovely publication, Gardening, Birding, and Other Outdoor Adventure.