snailkites:

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Northern Mockingbirds are well-known for their vocal repertoire. They continue to add new songs as they age, and some have been known to sing over 200 different variants. If you listen closely, you can pick out individual species’ calls in a Mockingbird’s; I’ve heard Killdeer, Summer Tanager, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and more. Their endless songs can sometimes extend into the night, incessantly warning others off their territory on threat of violence.

I observed a brawl between two Northern Mockingbirds last Saturday near the dining hall. One male sang constantly, flitting from bush to bush, as it was pursued by a second bird that was out for blood. The attacking bird pursued the singing bird for over 20 minutes and the two locked claws, fought on the ground, and pinned each other repeatedly. Eventually the aggressive bird gave up and flew away. Did it lose its territory to a more energetic punk? Or was it a newcomer to the area who was trying to stake a claim on the other one’s established plot? I wasn’t sure who I was rooting for.