To Kill a Mockingbird

Mockingbird sketch

In our school we've finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and I'm supposed to research and write a report about mockingbirds. Since I also needed to do a blog post, I decided that I might as well post my report on my blog. Enjoy!!

In the 1820's which bird did people capture and sell for up to $50 because of its songs?

Need a hint? 

This bird was almost wiped out of the east coast in the nineteenth century because many people kept them as pets

      If you guessed the mockingbird you are correct.

      To learn more about this avian singer keep reading.

                                                     Mockingbird Report
Name / Song
The Northern mockingbird was given its name because of its ability to mimic other bird’s songs as well as insects, and amphibians. In fact, their Latin name Mimus polyglottus, means many-tongued mimic.

·   A male mockingbird can mimic up to two hundred different birds in his life.

· Males that have not found a female yet sing more than any other mockingbirds.

Habitat /Diet

Mocking birds live throughout the continental United States and in some parts of Mexico. Although they prefer farm land, brush, and undergrowth they have been known to adapt to suburbs.

The Northern Mockingbird dines on seeds, bugs, berries, and sometimes garbage.

·      Mockingbirds sometimes fly up and hover to eat hanging fruit.

·    They sometimes eat small lizards,

·    It is not uncommon to see Mockingbirds drinking sap from cuts on recently pruned trees.

Nesting/Reproduction

Breeding usually occurs during spring. “*The male probably chooses the nest site and begins building several nests before the female chooses one to finish and lay eggs in. Females may start laying in a second nest while the male is still caring for fledglings from the previous one.”*  

·         A mocking birds egg are greenish blue with red or brown spots on it.

·         They lay around two to six eggs at a time.

·         The Northern mockingbird rarely reuses their nests.

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For those of you who haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird Ms. Lee wrote the following in her book:

Atticus said to Jem one day, “I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.
“Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Sites I used. http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/mockingbird.htm and http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_mockingbird/id

*Taken from http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_mockingbird/lifehistory#at_nesting

Mockingbird sketch taken from http://www.betterlivingthroughbeowulf.com/?p=13838
atticus and kids fromhttp://cruz0.blogspot.com/