---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Richard Tkachuck <rictkal...@gmail.com> Date: Mon, Jun 9, 2014 at 7:41 AM Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Mockingbirds on our house To: Mike Pitzrick <mpitzr...@gmail.com>
Hi: Thanks for a great reply. tk On Sun, Jun 8, 2014 at 9:39 AM, Mike Pitzrick <mpitzr...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Richard, > > The range map for Northern Mockingbird in *Birds of North America* > indicates that they breed as far north as southern Ontario, and are > permanent residents as far north as Watertown, NY. Regarding migratory > habits, BNA says it is > > Not well understood. Reported to be partly migratory in northern portion >> of range, but at least some individuals remain in winter at northern limits >> of breeding range. Perceptions of status could be affected by reduced >> visibility of mockingbirds during winter. >> > > About the number of songs types one bird can make, > > The vocal repertoires of individual males have been estimated to be as low >> as 45 and as high as 203 song types ... Song types appear to be added >> continuously to the vocal repertoire, suggesting that an individual bird >> may not have an upper limit to its repertoire. > > > The BNA account does not appear to address the issue of the fidelity of > mimicry, so I will venture into the realm of my own impressions of how > mockingbird mimicry can be distinguished from the songs of birds they > imitate. I would welcome commentary from others who have similar or > different impressions. > > BNA mention that > > Mockingbirds typically repeat one song type several times before switching >> to another. Songs are presented in “bouts,” with each bout consisting of >> repetitions of only one song type. Song types of short duration are >> repeated more often within a bout than are longer song types >> > > This suggests one of the cues that might clue me into the fact that I'm > hearing an imitation of a cardinal song rather than a real cardinal song. > The mockingbird is likely to make several identical repetitions of the same > cardinal song in a pretty short time frame. > > Beyond that, it appears to me that while many aspects of the cardinal song > are faithfully reproduced to my ear, there are definitely alterations. To > me, a real cardinal song has more dynamic range, more change in pitch, more > variety between repetitions of the same song, more variability in song > length, etc. > > To anthropomorphize, when I hear a real cardinal, I sometimes form a > mental image of an opera singer. I hear years of voice lessons. Each note > is milked for every possible ounce of melodrama and emotion. I can almost > see the exaggerated facial expressions. > > The mockingbird reminds me more of an advanced beginner pianist. The > repertoire is getting to be quite large and increasing every week, but each > of the pieces is of similar length because it gets boiled down to a single > page in the piano lesson book. The performance is lacking in dynamic > range, change of tempo, and creativity. Each repetition is rendered > mechanically and identically. My impression is that of a rote performance. > > Does this ring true for other observers? > > Richard, I'm guessing you would really enjoy reading The Singing Life of > Birds > <http://www.amazon.com/The-Singing-Life-Birds-Listening/dp/0618840761/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402234001&sr=8-1&keywords=kroodsma> > by Donald Kroodsma. The book discusses Northern Mockingbird among other > species, comes with a CD, and is full of sonograms. > > -Mike > > > On Sat, Jun 7, 2014 at 8:25 AM, Richard Tkachuck <rictkal...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> A mockingbird has selected our house as a place to display his wide >> variety of sounds from early morning until the sun sets. This has raised >> some questions. >> 1, How large a collection of different sounds can one bird make? >> 2. I recognize some of the sounds. Would a cardinal be confused in >> hearing his call? >> 3. Are the sonograms of a mockingbird and a cardinal about the same, or >> can you tell them apart. >> 4. Mockingbirds migrate. Can you tell where they spent the winter by the >> songs they sing? >> 5. Do mockingbirds make calls of predators like owls or hawks? >> >> Thanks, >> Richard Tkachuck >> -- >> > -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
