The last Bastrop Gardener column was about the state bird of Texas the mockingbird. I have a wonderful little book, “The Mockingbird,” by Robin W. Doughty, published in 1988 and printed at the University of Texas Press in Austin and most of my information came from this book. Mockingbirds are so interesting that there is more to say about them than can fit in just one column.
This is the right time of year to learn about mockingbirds as they are starting to pair up and build nests around here in March. These birds are territorial and vigorously defend their territories but are not what we would call migratory. Both males and females seem to have winter territories and summer nesting territories.
There are no distinguishing markings between males and female mockingbirds and both males and females sing, although some observers think that males sing more during breeding season. It is so difficult to distinguish between males and females that in former years when it was not illegal to keep caged mockingbirds, sometimes bird keepers tried to get two individuals of the same gender to reproduce in captivity. The only way to positively tell the sexes apart is to observe them during nesting and see the females sitting on nests.
In his book, Doughty speculates that males are the best singers and sing the most impressively in spring for several reasons. The first purpose of the spring song is to stake out a nesting territory and proclaim it off limits to other mockingbirds and second purpose is to attract a mate. Doughty speculates that the male’s singing during nest building may “enhance the female’s receptivity to mating.” That is understandable.
Mockingbird nests are usually built rather low to the ground deep inside shrubs or short trees such as crape myrtles, yaupon or cedar trees. The nests can be anywhere from three to 10 feet off the ground. The male builds a platform of twigs with anything that is soft and pliable woven into the inside. The interior of the nest can be moss, cedar bark, hair, pieces of plastic, dryer lint or anything else soft.
According to the research, the males may build several nests and the female then chooses the one she likes best. Urban and suburban neighborhoods are favorite habitat for mockingbirds because they have “edges” – the landscape combination of plant cover in hedges and short trees and open spaces for catching insects.
Berry bushes and home vegetable gardens also provide food sources. Anyone who has ever had a fig tree knows how impossible it is to keep the mockingbirds out of the fruit. Mockingbird wars are waged over this fruit. The fig tree owner has no choice but to share the crop.
Mockingbirds eat horticultural crops such as blackberries, grapes and figs but at least 50 percent of their diet consists of beetles, spiders and grasshoppers. Mockers do not frequent birdseed feeders except out of curiosity. One young bird came to our feeder to see what the big attraction was, cocked his head a few times and then left, not interested. Mockers will become accustomed to a mix of bacon grease, cornmeal, flour and bread crumbs, especially if raisons are added to it. My birdfeed cookbook says to put this on a feeder tray or impale it on branches. The author must not have squirrels where she lives.
Both the male and the female mockingbirds are heavily involved in raising the young. While the female incubates the eggs, the male occupies a singing post nearby. Hatching occurs from 11 to 13 days after the eggs are laid.
Both parents feed the nestlings. If one parent is absent it is very difficult for a single parent to feed the nestlings and they normally don’t survive. Parents feed for about 12 days and the amount of food and speed with which they feed peaks at five or six days after hatching. They continue to feed for about 12 days until the baby birds are ready to fledge.
Fledging is a dangerous time for young mockingbirds. The success rate for raising baby birds to adulthood varies from 40 percent to around 70 percent. Nests are blown down in high winds and rainstorms. Predation by snakes and other birds such as kestrels, owls and bluejays is common. Neighborhood cats, domestic and feral, are an ever present danger, especially for vulnerable fledglings.
It doesn’t take too long for a baby-faced, clueless fledgling to find its wings, but in the meantime the parents are frantically guarding, watching and continuing to feed the young birds. Sometimes a well-meaning onlooker will try to replace a tiny bird back into the nest but this never works. Once they are out, they are out. The best thing to do in this case is to keep cats, dogs and other hazards away so the little bird can figure things out. After the babies are fledged the males do most of the feeding outside the nest until the offspring are totally on their own.
Once, I watched a family of mockingbirds for at least 30 minutes while the parents left in search of food. They would return, looking thin, exhausted and harassed. The young birds would turn into helpless infants instantly, gape their beaks and flutter their wings to be fed. The parents, who were excellent providers and nurturers, would feed them and fly off to bring back even more food. The juveniles would cavort in the trees and the grass again quite capable of feeding themselves but not ready to leave home and the food and the laundry service.

At the time, we had four juveniles of our own. They were also in peak condition, half in and half out of the nest. It was easy to relate.