Mockingbirds Mimic Frogs

BirdNote^®
Mockingbirds Mimic Frogs 
Written by Richa Malhotra

This is BirdNote. 

The avian world is full of mimicry artists. Steller’s Jays, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and European Starlings can all imitate the calls of other species of birds. But Northern Mockingbirds have taken mimicry to a whole new level. Sure, they can mimic other birds. But their repertoire includes more than just bird standards — mockingbirds can mimic frogs and toads! 

    [Call of the Cope’s Gray Treefrog]

The mockingbird imitates the calls of not one or two but 12 species of amphibians found in North America. The mimicry is so good it’s hard to tell frog from bird. Here’s the call of a Cope’s Gray Tree Frog: 

    [Call of the Cope’s Gray Treefrog]

Now, compare it to the mockingbird’s attempt at copying it: 

    [Northern Mockingbird imitating Cope's Gray Treefrog]

Tree frog:

    [Call of the Cope’s Gray Treefrog]

Mockingbird:

    [Northern Mockingbird imitating Cope's Gray Treefrog]

So, how does this mimicry benefit the bird? That remains something of a mystery but scientists think that the females might find it attractive. 

    [Diverse song of the Northern Mockingbird; includes Boreal Chorus Frog mimicry] 

With such extensive knowledge of the Great American Songbird-book, mockingbirds really are the crooners – er, croakers – of the bird world. 

    [Song of the Northern Mockingbird]

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.
                                                             ###
Senior Producer: John Kessler
Production Manager: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Many bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Cope’s Gray Tree Frog ML 181955 recorded by H.C. Gerhardt. Northern Mockingbird ML94375 recorded by Wil Hershberger.
Northern Mockingbird mimicking Cope’s Gray Tree Frog courtesy of Xeno-Canto, XC 599233 recorded by Dave Gammon. Northern Mockingbird diverse song courtesy of Xeno-Canto, XC 172494 recorded by Eric DeFonso. 
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote   March  2021    Narrator: Michael Stein 

ID#  sound-26-2021-03-08     sound-26

Reference: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376635719302785…;