Mockingbirds – the “real Texans”
Texas was the first state to choose a state bird when Governor Dan Moody approved the measure in 1927, and the Northern Mockingbird was chosen as its mascot. It later became the state bird of four other states – Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
The Texas legislature has ruled “the mockingbird,” found statewide, as “the most suitable species for the Texas state bird” because it is “a fighter for the protection of its home, falling, if any, in his defense, like any true Texan, â€according to the Texas State Historical Association.
At no point is this defensive spirit more evident than in spring, when the nests are built, the eggs hatched and the chicks leave the nest, still unable to fly and susceptible to all manner of predators.
Snakes, cats, raccoons, other birds and even squirrels – opportunistic meat-eaters – are its most imminent threats, and parents – usually monogamous couples and both take care of their offspring until ‘so that they can fly and feed on their own – will fight out of the approach of anyone, including people, who ventures too close to their nest or chicks. Spreading their wings, they strafed the approaching squirrels with vicious cries, flying a few inches above as they chased them away from their young.
Mockingbirds, whose Latin name Mimus polyglottos literally means “multilingual mimicry,” have hundreds of songs in their playbook and can mimic the calls of other birds, amphibians, as well as artificial sounds like machines and of music, according to Audobon Company.
What simple gray and black mockingbirds lack in visual brilliance, they make up for in vocal propensity.
Mocking fan John James Audobon called them “the king of songâ€, the species becoming so popular in the 19th century that they nearly went extinct in the illegal pet trade.
To this day, mockingbirds remain protected by state and federal laws that prohibit capturing or possessing them, their eggs, or their nests.
If you find a baby bird that has fallen from its nest, first identify if it is a nest or a young, according to the Audobon Company. The chicks are usually featherless and should be returned to the nest if possible using gloved hands, so as not to impart a human odor to the bird.
The chicks should be left alone, as the parents will find it by call and answer and continue to feed.
They advise that an abandoned or sick young or nest be carefully secured and taken to a wildlife rehabilitation facility or veterinarian.
Beyond their vocal talents, Mockingbirds are also renowned for their symbolic significance, evidenced by Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbirdâ€.
Lee uses the mockingbird as a symbol of innocence, where killing a mockingbird is tantamount to destroying innocence – just as the innocence of new childhood characters is destroyed by the evil exposure of racial prejudice.
In the book, Scout explains that “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird… Mockingbirds don’t do anything but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat people’s gardens, don’t nest in ledges, they don’t do anything but sing their hearts out for us.