Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Northern Mockingbird [lateral view]. Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; Lakeland Dr., Putnam County, Tennessee; 6 November 2014.

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Abundance: Common at all seasons; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the breeding population trend is quite stable, perhaps even increasing on the Cumberland Plateau (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; specimen (13 June 1938; Rocky Branch, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940); photograph [see above]; photograph [lateral view of adult] (Veronica Wright; Crossville, Cumberland County, Tennessee; 19 February 2011); photograph [ventral view of adult] (Stephen J. Stedman; Putnam County, Tennessee; 26 December 2011).photograph [lateral view of albino individual] (Stephen J. Stedman; Roaring River Recreation Area, Jackson County, Tennessee; 3 July 2002).

Regional High Count and FBC/FBB High Count: 251 (4 October 2008; White County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 239 (16 May 2009; White County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.]; CBC/CBB High Count: 219 (17 December 2011; Putnam County, Tennessee [Cookeville CBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).

Habitat: Accepts a wide variety of semi-open habitats, being about as likely to be encountered in urban and suburban areas as in rural and agricultural ones; absent or present in very low density in areas where forest habitats are unbroken.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 60 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 140 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, leading to YardWatch frequency classifications of Fairly Common and Common, respectively; these YardWatch frequency classifications indicate that during 2003 this mimid was a bit less frequently encountered in Regional yards and neighborhoods than in the Region as a whole, while during 2004 it was encountered in Regional yards and neighborhoods about as frequently as in the Region as a whole.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: Based on a large database obtained at all seasons, the status of the state bird of Tennessee can be characterized as quite good; the increase in the population in Cumberland County, Tennessee, from the time of the Breeding Bird Atlas project (1986–1991) to the time of the 2010 UCR Foray (see Foray Results [above]) is especially noteworthy, but also of note based on data from forays in the 16 Tennessee counties of the region is the generally denser population of mockingbirds inhabiting the Eastern Highland Rim, the Western Highland Rim (Macon County), and the Sequatchie Valley versus the populations in the Central Basin and on the Cumberland Plateau except for Cumberland County.

    Beginning in late fall, mockingbirds often select and defend from all other frugivorous birds, including other mockingbirds, a vine, shrub, or tree bearing a plentiful supply of soft, fleshy mast.  Mockingbirds defending such mast-producing plants are sometimes quite aggressive and attack interloping species of all kinds. Various mast-producing plants become the object of defense by mockingbirds, including Foster holly (Ilex sp.), illustrated in this photograph (Stephen J. Stedman; City Lake, Putnam County, Tennessee; 10 December 2011), Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), illustrated in this photograph (Stephen J. Stedman; Hidden Cove Rd., Putnam County, Tennessee; 17 December 2011), and privet (Ligustrum sp.), illustrated in this photograph (Stephen J. Stedman, Hunter's Cover Rd., Putnam County, Tennessee; 26 December 2011).

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited