Date: 4/17/25 9:35 am From: Bob Toleno via groups.io <bob...> Subject: Re: [SFBirds] [CALBIRDS] April migration: Late and Slow! , Some annual early questionable reports
Not a study, but one anecdotal piece of data: five years ago in March, my
local mockingbird was on my roof singing, and i could identify at least a
dozen different species that it was imitating. I thought it might be fun to
teach it a new song, so i got my bluetooth speaker and played Common
Poorwill song a few times. He became immediately attentive, actually flying
in a little closer when he heard the playback. Less than a minute later, he
was singing a perfect rendition of a Common Poorwill song. (The nearest
breeding habitat for that species is at least 20 miles from my house.) Over
the course of the next three years, i heard him continue to insert Common
Poorwill song into his repertoire. I think he must have died or moved to a
different territory a couple years ago, because i haven't had a male
mockingbird singing actively from my yard since 2023.
So, it's not a study, but i can verify that at least one mockingbird had
the ability to retain a song for at least three years after hearing it just
a couple times.
Bob Toleno
Hayward
On Wed, Apr 16, 2025 at 9:25 PM Ralph via groups.io <sharks_hockey_maniac=
<yahoo.com...> wrote:
> I had a Lesser Goldfinch doing a Western Wood-Pewee call in my backyard in
> Stanislaus County a couple weeks ago. I wondered if it might have heard an
> early migrant or if it just remembered the call from a previous season.
> Does anyone know if there has ever been a study of how long goldfinches, or
> even mockingbirds, for that matter, retain songs/calls they’ve learned to
> mimic?
> --
> Happy birding, and, as always, may the light be with you,
> Ralph Baker, Riverbank, CA
>
>
>
