What would be the evolutionary advantage given to mockingbirds by mimicking other birds?
Asked by
rojo (
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May 14th, 2013
I would think that the two main reasons birds sing is to attract a mate and to claim an area of territory as its’ own.
So what is the advantage of using another birds call?
Do they get some interspecies nooky? To each his own but it would seem biologically unproductive (or unreproductive anyway).
And when you claim territory it is usually from other members of the same species either to protect food resources or to keep competition lower and increase the opportunity to breed. So what it with the mimicry? Sure, I can see it keeping away a robin or a cardinal but does it keep other mockingbirds out of the claimed territory? Do they know it is another mockingbird faking it? And if so, wouldn’t the other birds being imitated?
Finally, do mockingbirds actually have their own call? All I can recall is the high pitched screech they give when chasing another bird away.
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16 Answers
Pure speculation here, but since one of the functions of bird song is to lay claim to a territory, maybe it’s the bird equivalent of posting “No Trespassing” signs in several languages. Could be that it deters competition not only from other mockers, but from other rivals for food resources.
^^^Some really notorious mockers are alleged to have imitated bullfrogs, the local volunteer fire bell, your alarm clock, and your car horn. (Don’t you love thinking of these as rivals for foods.)
It’s an interesting question There are other mimic birds;
catbird
brown thrasher
myna
parrots
lyre bird imitating camera, car alarm, chain saws
@rojo: A lovely question to start off my day.
There’s one bird, I forget which species, maybe secretary bird, it mimics every sound it hears.
Shutters on cameras, buzz saws from lumbermen, anything & everything within it’s sound rage. There’s footage of it somewhere from a BBC documentary, absolutely fascinating it is.
Oh…I see the post above got ahead of me, the lyre bird is what I was thinking of.
@gailcalled I swear I heard one sing the Nokia jingle once.
^^^ Probably was indeed bribed by Nokia. Did it have a more opulent nest than its neighbors (with cable)?
Speaking of birds @rojo, recently while taking my dog on her evening walk, we were practically attacked by about a dozen or so seagulls, huge buggers too. My dog found the whole thing a big chase game, but for me it was like a scene from The Birds, I hadn’t even had fish for supper either :/
@gailcalled I just assume that he was trying to get through to tech support. No bars, as usual.
Song mimicry has always posed a bit of a puzzle to ornithologists. Almost all male birds use songs to attract females, but these musical suitors cannot succeed unless potential mates recognize their species-specific melodies. By appropriating the songs of dozens of other birds, a habitual mimic like the northern mockingbird would seem to defeat its own efforts.
As authentic as these avian impersonations may sound to human ears, however, female mockingbirds are not so easily fooled. The pitch and tempo often differ from those of the original, but even more telling is the seeming gusto with which a male mockingbird goes about his singing. Rapidly cycling through a succession of 30 or more songs, he makes it simple for a female to tell the difference.
In fact, as a male mockingbird develops a wide repertoire, he actually enhances his ability to woo a mate. Research has shown that female mockingbirds are more attracted to males with a wide selection of songs. Since it takes time for a male mockingbird to learn an array of calls, the females may simply be using their ears to find a more mature and experienced mate. The vocal ability of mockingbirds is remarkable; one mocker whistled through the songs of 55 species in just one hour, and individual repertoires of more than 150 songs have been documented. Mockingbirds also borrow freely from the nonavian world including barking dogs, gray treefrogs, or even a sqeaky wheelbarrow.
Source
Here’s a lyrbird going through an amazing repertoire of sounds including a camera shutter, the same with a motor drive, a car alarm and even a chain saw. But talk about evolutionary advantages, how about Bibi the African Grey Parrot who knows how to ask what you are cooking and order up chicken of steak? And just in case you think the video’s fake, here’s Bibi’s Wikipedia Page.
@ ETpro; I posted the same link of the lyre bird in the second answer from the top.
However, Bibi is new information for me.
Further to the mimicking ability of African Grey Parrots, check out this video of the work of Dr. Irene Pepperberg. The birds certainly seem to understand what they are saying.
@gailcalled Amazing. Watched it all the way through. What a smart bird.
^^^ I believe that he has his own website; blog and trust fund. We are in the wrong business, it
seems.
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