I know you have heard them. They are widespread in Alabama and the rest of the southern states. They sing from treetops, power lines, and rooftops. The mockingbird's scientific name is Mimus ployglottos, which means 'many-tongued mimic'. The naturalist John Borroughs called it "the lark and the nightingale in one". The mockingbird can imitate other birds' song so accurately that only electronic analysis can detect the difference. They can have hundreds of songs or noises that they imitate, in addition to songs of their own. They have been heard imitating gate hinges, dogs barking, whistles, calls of frogs and insects in addition to various bird songs. It is rather plain-looking, this mockingbird, this most remarkable songbird. Perhaps he mimics the songs of other to make up for the fact that he is plain, gray and white with no splashes of blue, yellow, or deep red to brighten the landscape. Maybe he just doesn't like his own song, thinking it inadequate wh...
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