Northern Mockingbird - Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas Website
Northern Mockingbird - Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas Website
Northern Mockingbird - Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas Website
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<strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong> (Mimus polyglottos)<br />
Deaver D. Armstrong<br />
Goose Island State Park, TX<br />
4/7/2006 © John Van Orman<br />
(Click to view a comparison of <strong>Atlas</strong> I to II)<br />
The <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong>’s incredible ability<br />
to not only imitate but also remember up to 200<br />
different “songs” is well known (Kroodsma<br />
2005). This remarkable bird uses songs of other<br />
bird species and non-bird species and even<br />
copies sounds of mechanical devices like<br />
telephones and sirens. Historically, the species<br />
was captured and caged for this very ability and<br />
many early records in <strong>Michigan</strong> were<br />
discounted as being attributed to escaped pets<br />
(Sprunt 1948, Barrows 1912).<br />
The <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong> regularly breeds as<br />
far north as the southern part of the eastern<br />
provinces of Canada west to Ontario and then<br />
only casually north of a line drawn west across<br />
the U.S. from the southern half of <strong>Michigan</strong>.<br />
There are scattered reports of the species<br />
breeding as far north as Alaska (Sibley 2000,<br />
National Geographic Society 2002). It nests as<br />
far south as southern Mexico (Derrickson and<br />
Breitwisch 1992). In <strong>Michigan</strong> it is a rare but<br />
regular breeder in the southern and western part<br />
of the LP and rare but regular during the<br />
breeding season in the UP (Binford 2006,<br />
Hickman 2008). Except for one 1954 record of a<br />
bird wintering at a feeder in Marquette, in late<br />
winter the <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong> is found only<br />
in the LP where it is rare to casual (Zimmerman<br />
and Van Tyne 1959, Chartier and Ziarno 2004).<br />
Distribution<br />
The <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong> was first listed in<br />
<strong>Michigan</strong> by Sager (1839). Barrows (1912)<br />
called it a rare summer visitor to southern<br />
<strong>Michigan</strong> and attributed at least some of the<br />
reports to escaped caged birds. Wood (1951)<br />
mentioned a total of seven nest records between<br />
1910 and 1934, all in the SLP in counties which<br />
have records in both <strong>Atlas</strong>es and most other<br />
historical accounts (Zimmerman and Van Tyne<br />
1959, Payne 1983). Zimmerman and Van Tyne<br />
(1959) added records from Clare and<br />
Cheboygan Counties in the NLP. Payne (1983)<br />
added 16 more counties to the list of those<br />
reporting <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong>s in the<br />
breeding season. Most of these newly added<br />
counties were in the NLP and the western UP.<br />
Binford’s records of <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong><br />
nests in the Keweenaw Peninsula in 2005 and<br />
2006 are the northernmost nesting records for<br />
the species in the state and the first ever for that<br />
region of the UP (Binford 2006). Statewide,<br />
most of the birds recorded during both <strong>Atlas</strong><br />
periods were in the fruit producing counties in<br />
the southwestern part of the state and around<br />
Grand Traverse Bay. Southeastern counties in<br />
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center
<strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong> (Mimus polyglottos)<br />
Deaver D. Armstrong<br />
the lower two tiers and southwestern counties in<br />
the lower three tiers have the most records.<br />
Elsewhere in the state, observations of breeding<br />
birds are scattered though there appears to be<br />
some increase in numbers in the very center of<br />
the LP from the first to the second atlas. Few<br />
birds were found in the eastern part of the UP in<br />
MBBA I, and they were not present at all during<br />
MBBA II. Despite being at the northern edge of<br />
its range, <strong>Michigan</strong>’s <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong><br />
population seems to be expanding slightly in<br />
both the LP and UP.<br />
<strong>Breeding</strong> Biology<br />
Most <strong>Mockingbird</strong>s in <strong>Michigan</strong> are migratory<br />
though a few are always found on Christmas<br />
<strong>Bird</strong> Counts (NAS 2009). Successful nesters<br />
who do migrate tend to return to their previous<br />
year’s breeding territory and re-pair (Derrickson<br />
and Breitwisch 1992). <strong>Mockingbird</strong>s prefer<br />
cultivated lands or gardens and their nests are<br />
usually built in shrubs or small trees (Sprunt<br />
1948, Derrickson and Breitwisch 1992). The<br />
four eggs are incubated for about 12 days. <strong>Bird</strong>s<br />
will have two, sometimes three broods,<br />
sometimes beginning a new nest while still<br />
caring for young of the previous brood.<br />
(Derrickson and Breitwisch 1992, Smith and<br />
Poon 2007). The earliest reported date for a<br />
<strong>Michigan</strong> nest is early June, but Ontario birds<br />
have been found to be on nests as early as mid-<br />
April and Wisconsin birds were seen nest<br />
building in early May (Dziepak 1991, Harriman<br />
2006, Smith and Poon 2007).<br />
Abundance and Population Trends<br />
While the southernmost states in USFWS<br />
Region 3 (OH, IN, IL) have by far the region’s<br />
largest population estimates for <strong>Northern</strong><br />
<strong>Mockingbird</strong> (approximately 160,000 per state),<br />
the northern states in the region, including<br />
<strong>Michigan</strong> and Wisconsin, have estimates of only<br />
900 and 300 individuals respectively, and<br />
Minnesota did not detect any (PIF 2007). A<br />
comparison of the township summaries between<br />
the first and second <strong>Atlas</strong> periods shows some<br />
obvious increases in the number of records in<br />
the SLP. BBS data also show an increasing<br />
trend statewide between MBBA I and MBBA II,<br />
but in <strong>Michigan</strong> and adjacent states, none of<br />
these are significant. The USFWS Region 3<br />
trend shows a slight increase of 0.96% per year<br />
(Sauer et al. 2008).<br />
Conservation Needs<br />
Because the <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong> is at its<br />
northern range limit in <strong>Michigan</strong>, populations<br />
will likely continue to be small and there are no<br />
current specific management plans for this<br />
species. However, documentation of its range<br />
expansion by Binford (2006) and others calls for<br />
careful observation and reporting to the<br />
<strong>Michigan</strong> Audubon Society of all potentially<br />
nesting individuals, especially those in the UP.<br />
Literature Cited<br />
Barrows, W.B. 1912. <strong>Michigan</strong> <strong>Bird</strong> Life.<br />
Special Bulletin. <strong>Michigan</strong> Agricultural<br />
College. Lansing, <strong>Michigan</strong>, USA.<br />
Binford, L.C. 2006. <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong><br />
breeding in Houghton Co., <strong>Michigan</strong>.<br />
<strong>Michigan</strong> <strong>Bird</strong>s and Natural History 13(2):<br />
61-64.<br />
Chartier, A.T., and J. Ziarno. 2004. A <strong>Bird</strong>er’s<br />
Guide to <strong>Michigan</strong>. American <strong>Bird</strong>ing<br />
Association. Colorado Springs, Colorado,<br />
USA.<br />
Derrickson, K.C. and R. Breitwisch. 1992.<br />
<strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong> (Mimus polyglottos).<br />
The <strong>Bird</strong>s of North America Online.<br />
Cornell Lab of Ornithology.<br />
. Accessed 15<br />
April 2009.<br />
Dziepak, P. 1991. <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong><br />
(Mimus polyglottos). Pages 362-363 in R.<br />
Brewer, G.A. McPeek, and R.J. Adams, Jr.<br />
1991. The <strong>Atlas</strong> of <strong>Breeding</strong> <strong>Bird</strong>s of<br />
<strong>Michigan</strong>. <strong>Michigan</strong> State University Press.<br />
East Lansing, <strong>Michigan</strong>, USA.<br />
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center
<strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong> (Mimus polyglottos)<br />
Deaver D. Armstrong<br />
Harriman, B.R. 2006. <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong><br />
(Mimus polyglottos). Pages 360-361 in N.J.<br />
Cutright, B.R. Harriman, and R.W. Howe,<br />
editors. <strong>Atlas</strong> of the <strong>Breeding</strong> <strong>Bird</strong>s of<br />
Wisconsin. Wisconsin Society for<br />
Ornithology. Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA.<br />
Hickman, S. 2008. Checklist of The <strong>Bird</strong>s of<br />
<strong>Michigan</strong>’s Upper Peninsula.<br />
. Accessed 29 June 2009.<br />
Kroodsma, D.E. 2005. The Singing Life of<br />
<strong>Bird</strong>s: The Art and Science of Listening to<br />
<strong>Bird</strong>song. Houghton Mifflin Company, New<br />
York, New York, USA.<br />
National Geographic Society. 2002. Field<br />
Guide to The <strong>Bird</strong>s of North America.<br />
National Geographic Society, Washington,<br />
D.C., USA.<br />
National Audubon Society (NAS). 2009. The<br />
Christmas <strong>Bird</strong> Count Historical Results.<br />
.<br />
Accessed 1 April 2009.<br />
Partners in Flight [PIF]. 2007. PIF Landbird<br />
Population Estimates Database. Version<br />
2004. Rocky Mountain <strong>Bird</strong> Observatory.<br />
. Accessed 15 April 2009<br />
Payne, R.B. 1983. A Distributional Checklist<br />
of the <strong>Bird</strong>s of <strong>Michigan</strong>. Miscellaneous<br />
Publication 164. University of <strong>Michigan</strong><br />
Museum of Zoology. Ann Arbor, <strong>Michigan</strong>,<br />
USA.<br />
Sager, A. 1839. Report of Doctor Abraham<br />
Sager, zoologist of Geological Survey.<br />
House Documents of the State of <strong>Michigan</strong>:<br />
410-421.<br />
Sauer, J.R., J.E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2008.<br />
The North American <strong>Breeding</strong> <strong>Bird</strong> Survey,<br />
Results and Analysis 1966-2007. Version<br />
5.15.2008. USGS Patuxent Wildlife<br />
Research Center. Laurel, Maryland, USA.<br />
Accessed 1 April 2009.<br />
Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to <strong>Bird</strong>s.<br />
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, New York,<br />
USA.<br />
Smith, R. and W. Poon. 2007. <strong>Northern</strong><br />
<strong>Mockingbird</strong> (Mimus polyglotton). Pages<br />
446-447 in M.D. Cadman, D.A. Sutherland,<br />
G.G. Beck, D. Lepage, and A.R. Couturier,<br />
editors. 2007. <strong>Atlas</strong> of the <strong>Breeding</strong> <strong>Bird</strong>s<br />
of Ontario, 2001-2005. <strong>Bird</strong> Studies<br />
Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Field<br />
Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural<br />
Resources, and Ontario Nature. Toronto,<br />
Ontario, Canada.<br />
Sprunt Jr., A. 1948. Eastern <strong>Mockingbird</strong>.<br />
Pages 295-315 in A.C. Bent. Life Histories<br />
of North American Nuthatches, Wrens,<br />
Thrashers and Their Allies. U. S. National<br />
Museum Bulletin 195.<br />
Wood, N.A. 1951. The <strong>Bird</strong>s of <strong>Michigan</strong>.<br />
Miscellaneous Publication 75. University of<br />
<strong>Michigan</strong> Museum of Zoology. Ann Arbor,<br />
<strong>Michigan</strong>, USA.<br />
Zimmerman, D.A., and J. Van Tyne. 1959. A<br />
Distributional Checklist of the <strong>Bird</strong>s of<br />
<strong>Michigan</strong>. Occasional Paper 608.<br />
University of <strong>Michigan</strong> Museum of<br />
Zoology. Ann Arbor, <strong>Michigan</strong>, USA.<br />
Suggested Citation<br />
Armstrong, D. D. 2011. <strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Mockingbird</strong><br />
(Mimus polyglottos). in A.T. Chartier, J.J.<br />
Baldy, and J.M. Brenneman, editors. The<br />
Second <strong>Michigan</strong> <strong>Breeding</strong> <strong>Bird</strong> <strong>Atlas</strong>.<br />
Kalamazoo Nature Center. Kalamazoo,<br />
<strong>Michigan</strong>, USA. Accessed online at:<br />
.<br />
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center