Florida State Bird - Northern Mockingbird
The official Florida state bird is the Northern Mockingbird. This tiny bird is easily recognizable and may even be confused with the American Robin.
Habitats
While the Northern Mockingbird is normally found and native to Florida (besides the other states that call this bird their state bird), you will also find the Northern Mockingbird living in areas all the way to Canada. These birds like open land and reside in numbers in many suburbs. Mockingbirds are not afraid of humans, will often nest in residential trees without fear, and can be seen “air-attacking” animals and other people. Air attacking is when a bird dives quickly at a person or an animal when they get close to the birds nest. The Mockingbirds don’t physically attack, they just do a fast dive, getting close, but then veering back into the air.
The Northern Mockingbird likes areas that have an abundance of insects like caterpillars, small fruits and other bugs like beetles, grasshoppers and wasps. This bird is also considered great at pest control because of its diet and they help spread the seeds of flowers.
Physical Description
The Northern Mockingbird averages about ten inches tall, which is about the same height as the Robin of North America. The feathers of the Mockingbird are usually gray on the back and a lighter gray on the breast. Sometimes, if you are looking at a Mockingbird in flight, the breast may appear white.
Nesting and Breeding
The male builds a nest all on his own and uses low branches or the insides of bushes and hedges. He uses twigs and other materials to create a sturdy home. The male does nothing with the inside of the nest. Essentially, he creates a foundation of a bottom and sides. After completing the nest, he seeks out a female and brings her back to check out the nest. She will either approve or disapprove the nest. If she approves the nest, then she finishes the nest by adding soft materials to the bottom of the nest, to make it conducive for laying and nurturing eggs. The female will lay three to five eggs. The eggs are typically bluish-green with small brownish markings. While the eggs incubate, the male keeps guard and keeps the territory safe for his new family.
Unique Feature of the Mockingbird
The name Mockingbird derives from the talent of the bird. The Mockingbird can imitate the noise and songs of other birds (especially other Mockingbirds). The bird can even imitate the vocals of dogs and cats and even humans, but not speech. Some Mockingbirds have even been reported of repeating the sounds of cars and lawn mowers!
Females don’t sing as much and the males like to belt out their songs at night and in the early morning. If there is a full moon and you live in an area where many Mockingbirds live, you may be subjected to the sounds of the Mockingbirds.
State Bird Change
Florida is considering changing the state bird from the Mockingbird to the Florida Scrub Jay. The latter bird is on the Audubon’s Blue List, which means that the population of the Scrub Jay is in detrimental decline. The Scrub Jay is having a hard time finding habitats to create homes and nests. The proposal reasons that creating awareness will actually help the Scrub Jay and with four states already using the Northern Mockingbird, changing Florida’s state bird to something else isn’t harming the bird.
Fun Facts about the Florida State Bird
- Florida selected the Northern Mockingbird as the Florida State Bird in 1927 by the Senate Concurrent Resolution Number 3.
- The Northern Mockingbird is also the state bird of Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas.
- The Latin name is Mimus Polyglottos.