Southern Mockingbirds
Mimus polyglottos
The Northern Mockingbird is a very familiar bird in North America and Mexico. These birds make themselves very conspicuous by singing and perching in prominent locations. Mockingbird songs can be differentiated from other thrashers in their phrasing. Their songs usually have two or three repeated phrases in a row before they switch to another phrase. Both males and females sing, and may have a repertoire of 200 songs.
The northern limit to the range for these birds extends further north in the eastern USA (to Maine) than in the west (to southern Oregon), and they are year-round residents in all but the the most northern zones which they occupy. Mockingbirds are fierce defenders of their territory, and few birds, regardless of size can resist the onslaught once the chase has begun. A wide variety of habitats from urban and suburban, to thorny dry deserts are all suitable to these hardy birds.
Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi all claim the Northern Mockingbird as their state bird. One could argue that the proper name for these birds should be the Southern Mockingbird!
This collection of eight images is restricted to those gathered in Texas. There are thirty-five images in the <Species Gallery>.

Northern Mockingbird(Mimus polyglottos) |
Description: The Northern Mockingbird is the state bird for Texas. These birds enjoyed drinking nectar from the hummingbird feeders. The camp where I spent April in Brownsville, Texas has a "Reseca" or Oxbow lake on its border, Several feeder stations, with tall trees and grassy areas. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:25 10:35 |
Location:
Breeze Lake |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: Mockingbird_D507265-Breeze-Lake-TX |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Northern Mockingbird(Mimus polyglottos) |
Description: I found mockingbirds nearly everywhere I visited in Texas, including these at a roadside rest area about one hour east of Fort Stockton. I was surprised how many birds I found. There were 3 oriole species, 3 flycatcher species, and cactus wrens. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:09 18:26 |
Location:
East Pecos County Rest Area |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/640 |
File Name: NorthernMockingbird_D505618-EastPecosCounty |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Northern Mockingbird(Mimus polyglottos) |
Description: Northern Mockingbirds sound similar to Brown Thrashers, but repeat phrases in three's, and Brown Thrashers repeat in two's. Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge on the South Texas Coast. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:20 13:39 |
Location:
Laguna Atscosa NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/6.3, 1/6400 |
File Name: NorthernMockingbird_D506474-LagunaAtascosa |
© 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Northern Mockingbird(Mimus polyglottos) |
Description: Mockingbirds dominated the other drinkers at the old Sam Nail Ranch waterhole. When they would arrive by the dozens, all the other birds gave ground. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:07 11:04 |
Location:
Sam Nail Ranch |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/640 |
File Name: NorthernMockingbird_D5X3518-SamNailRanch |
(C)2019 Jack Daynes |


Northern Mockingbird(Mimus polyglottos) |
Description: Mockingbirds dominated the other drinkers at the old Sam Nail Ranch waterhole. When they would arrive by the dozens, all the other birds gave ground. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:07 10:53 |
Location:
Sam Nail Ranch |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: NorthernMockingbird_D5X3497-SamNailRanch |
(C)2019 Jack Daynes |


Northern Mockingbird(Mimus polyglottos) |
Description: Emboldened by their numbers, all it took to intimidate most of their neighbors was a stern look. The old water source at the Sam Nail Ranch brought the birds in to drink and bathe. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:07 10:29 |
Location:
Sam Nail Ranch |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: NorthernMockingbird_D5X3399-SamNailRanch |
(C)2019 Jack Daynes |


Northern Mockingbird(Mimus polyglottos) |
Description: Mockingbirds dominated the other drinkers at the old Sam Nail Ranch waterhole. When they would arrive by the dozens, all the other birds gave ground. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:07 10:26 |
Location:
Sam Nail Ranch |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: NorthernMockingbird_D5X3362-SamNailRanch |
(C)2019 Jack Daynes |


Northern Mockingbird(Mimus polyglottos) |
Description: Mockingbirds dominated the other drinkers at the old Sam Nail Ranch waterhole. When they would arrive by the dozens, all the other birds gave ground. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:07 10:25 |
Location:
Sam Nail Ranch |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: NorthernMockingbird_D5X3334-SamNailRanch |
(C)2019 Jack Daynes |

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