Why mockingbirds sing

If you have your own, feel free to send me an email or visit www. If we assume it is correct that the bird singing is an unmatched male, obviously it is singing in an attempt to attract a mate.

It is likely singing during the day as well and just trying to extend its chances by singing longer. Also, perhaps it sings at night because singing during the day hasn't worked out yet for the bird. It is trying at night because the songs are not drowned out by the various noises that happen during the day. It is not competing with traffic, other birds, construction, leaf blowers, lawn mowers, airplanes, idling delivery trucks, children playing, well, you get the idea.

Its songs can dominate the auditory nightscape instead of being overpowered. Again, just a thought. Norwalk's Val Frost, with whom I traded some e-mails about the topic recently, felt that perhaps night-singing mockingbirds are "encouraged by bright light moon or lights , coupled with a 'Type A' personality.

I believe what we have here is an over-achiever or possibly a very lonely guy. So the next time you hear a mockingbird singing at night, don't get frustrated, listen up and enjoy the show. For the Birds runs Thursdays in The Hour. Chris Bosak can be reached at bozclark earthlink. Visit his website at www. More for you. Men's basketball gameday: Coppin State at No. UConn freshman Corey Floyd Jr.

In-Depth Coverage. Colin McEnroe opinion : Big Bird needles right wing. How UConn coach Jim Mora might pick his coaching staff. Mockingbird songs may also incorporate the vocalizations of non-avian species, such as mammals including the pet dog! From one spring to the next, an individual male mockingbird repeats a minimum of 35 to 63 percent of his previously heard song types, while at the same time adding more songs to his delivery.

This explains why your backyard mockingbird changes its vocal personality from year to year, as well as why a mocker in Oakland will sound different from one in San Rafael.

That is, you can generally detect—from variations in tone and context—the difference be-tween a mockingbird mimicking an Amer-ican robin, and a robin. And so can the robin. I think if you try listening to the mockingbird, its song will become dear to you. And someday if you move out of the mockingbird's range, you will miss it. We can see birds with our ears. Through trees. Around corners. In the dark. Behind our heads. Birding By Ear CD teaches how to know birds by their sounds.

There's a version for Eastern North America and one for Western. We recommend them. I admit, the famous poem is a bit somber. It was, after all, written by a man in his 20s who was dying of TB. But you can read Ode to a Nightingale here if you want to see how a bird's song inspired one of the greatest poets of the English language. The mockingbird of North America is recognized as an even better singer than the European nightingale that John Keats wrote his poem about.

Everyone interested in watching wild birds deserves her or his very own binoculars. A good binocular for getting started does not have to be expensive, but it should have good optical quality. Love songs Most songbirds learn all the songs they'll ever sing before they're a year old.