Brooklyn Bird Watch: July 21

Northern Mockingbird. Scientific Name: Mimus polyglottos

July 21, 2023 Joseph Palmer

Northern Mockingbird. Photo: Heather Wolf

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Today Brooklyn Bird Watch features another Heather Wolf photo of the Northern Mockingbird. Brooklyn Bird Watch featured the Northern Mockingbird back in April of 2022.

The Northern Mockingbird is known for having one of the largest repertoires of songs with about 200, and they are continually adding new sounds.

Back in the 1800s this songbird almost went extinct due to people taking nestlings from the nest or catching the adults to keep them in cages at home. In cities like Philadelphia, St. Louis, and New York they were sold for as much as $50.

A male may have two distinct repertoires of songs: one for spring and another for fall.

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. People took nestlings out of nests or trapped adults and sold them in cities such as Philadelphia, St. Louis, and New York, where, in 1828, extraordinary singers could fetch as much as $50.

Mockingbirds are also considered to be very smart birds. Studies have proven that Northern Mockingbirds not only recognize individuals of potentially dangerous behavior but remember an individual’s past behavior and will single them out for attack.

Click here to see the Brooklyn Bird Watch original Northern Mockingbird post.

2023: Northern Mockingbird sightings since the first of this year.
Brooklyn Bridge Park: 4,646
Prospect Park: 6,913