Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!paul.rutgers.edu!pratt From: pratt@paul.rutgers.edu (Lorien Y. Pratt) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: Northern Mockingbird (I think) Keywords: Beginner/Help/Identify Message-ID: Date: 2 Jun 90 03:11:11 GMT References: <976@soleil.UUCP> Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J. Lines: 35 >Feeling nature's call around 2:00 - 3:00 a.m., I head to the bathroom. About >this time, I can hear what I am guessing is a Northern Mockingbird. What I >am hearing is a variety of bird calls in random order; hence, my humble >guess. I cannot see this bird at all, only hear its sounds. My neighbors tell >me that what I am hearing is bats. I seem to recall a posting similar to this one about a year ago. The response was that lonely, unmated male mockingbirds are the ones that sing at night. The theory goes that they have lots of excess energy... Relevant quotes from John K. Terres' Audobon Encyclopaedia of North American Birds (Alfred Knopf, NY, 1987): page 610: Most famous member of family is the mockingbird...has imitated songs within 10 minutes, also notes of frog, cricket, piano and squeak of wheelbarrow page 611: ...bird famed as mimic and for rapturous singing on moonlit nights among magnolias and moss-covered live oaks of South...male sings by day or night, strongly musical song with almost endless variations...especially noted for mimicry of sounds so expertly copied that an electronic analysis cannot detect differences from original; besides 39 species songs and 50 call notes, has imitated cackling of hen, barking of dog, postman's whistle and even notes of piano (Forbush, 1925-29) Also see about a 500-word essay on Mockingbird mimicry, page 608, with much the same theme, but more references and studies of their amazing vocal mimicry: ``by far the most famed for vocal micry among N. American birds. Many, perhaps most, are remarkable mimics'' -- ------------------------------------------------------------------- L. Y. Pratt Computer Science Department pratt@paul.rutgers.edu Rutgers University Hill Center (201) 932-4634 New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA