Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson XXII · Topic 2: Bird study: birds to know
22. The mockingbird
Goal: Your child can describe the mockingbird's gray-and-white colors, wing patches and singing habits, and name some sounds it copies.
You'll need
- Binoculars (optional)
- A bird app or recordings of several common birds (to compare with what the mocker sings)
- Nature notebook
What's in the book
The leading thought, the method (each pupil watches mockers around houses; a school record of all observations) and twenty questions about when and at night it sings, its own and borrowed songs, flight, nest and eggs, devotion to the young, its dances and flight songs, territory, colors, food and tricks, ending with a story to write.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Mockingbirds live all year across the southern United States and in many northern towns too. They sing most in spring and summer, often from a rooftop, chimney or treetop, and sometimes all night. Look in yards, parking lots and shrubby parks.
Keep the big idea in mind
Read this to yourself:
The mockingbird is the only one of our common birds that sings regularly at night. It imitates the songs of other birds and has also a beautiful song of its own.
Listen to the singer
Can you distinguish the true mockingbird song from the songs which he has learned from other birds? Describe the actions of a mocker when he is singing.
How many songs of other birds have you heard a mocker give and what are the names of these birds?
Keep a tally of the copies your child can name: a blue jay, a cardinal, a car alarm.
Night song
Does he sing only on moonlight nights? Does he sing all night?
If a mocker sings near you, step outside after dark one evening and listen.
Look closely
Describe the colors of the mockingbird as follows: Beak, head, back, tail, wings, throat, breast, under parts and feet.
Describe the flight of the mockingbirds. Do they fly high in the air like crows?
Watch for the white wing patches flashing when it flies or lifts its wings.
Guarding home
Does the mocker select certain places for his own hunting grounds and drive off other mockers which trespass?
How does the father bird protect the nestlings from other birds, cats and snakes?
Mockingbirds near a nest will dive at cats, dogs and even people. If one does, walk away calmly.
Put it into words
Ask your child what makes a mockingbird special. Then share the leading thought.
Nature notebook
Draw a mockingbird singing on a high perch. Around it, write the names of the birds and sounds it copied.
Afterwards
Comstock's last question asks children to write a little story of their own observations. An older child can write a short paragraph after a week of listening.
Tip
Comstock mentions teaching tunes to pet mockers. Keeping a wild mockingbird is not allowed today; your child can whistle a tune near a singing mocker and see if it is ever copied back.