On Mockingbirds
by Larry Taylor
genre:
Outdoors & Nature
description:
thoughts in the backyard
chapters
chapter 1:
On Mockingbirds
On Mockingbirds
chapter 1
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updated 07/22/08
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On Mockingbirds
Dr. Larry Taylor
A Mockingbird woke me up this morning. Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) get a bad rap.
Amateur and professional ornithologists don’t particularly care for them because they are ubiquitous. Their range now covers most of the continental United States, and they are expanding steadily northward due to their aggressive territorial nature and ability to adapt to urban sprawl.
Artistically minded observers of nature aren’t particularly fond of them either because the males will perch for hours mimicking every bird call they’ve ever heard, as well as squeaky gates, and even barking dogs. They are not very original or creative. As a song says, mocking birds “have no new song to sing”. I left my keys in the ignition while I opened my car door recently, only to hear a perfectly pitched “beep...beep...beep” coming from a nearby tree after I removed them.
But I like Mockingbirds. I admire their beauty. Just because you’re common, doesn’t make you ugly. And, I admire their memories. I certainly couldn’t repeat back everything I’ve heard, said, or sung in the last 24 hours, much less everything I’ve heard in my life. Mockingbirds have an amazing ability to absorb and repeat information. They generally sing/chirp each phrase they’ve heard several times, then move nonstop on to the next, not repeating any for hours on end. A talent like that would skate you through medical school.
I wonder … when it comes to beauty, nature, ideas, people … how many of those beautiful things, natural phenomena, opinions, and persons do I dismiss because they are commonplace or not entirely original?
Helen Keller (1880-1968), the first deaf-blind person to graduate from college, who went on to be an outstanding author, activist, and lecturer, as well as personal inspiration to millions, told the story of a young man who walked for 20 minutes in the woods. Keller used to sit in the forest with her hands outstretched until song birds would land on her fingers. She would gently feel the vibrations of the bird’s throat, and thereby experience birdsongs. Upon his return, she asked the young man what he had seen on his walk.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” she replied incredulously. “I am deaf and blind and I cannot spend five minutes in the forest without seeing a thousand things!”.
Am I like the young man, missing the grace around me?
Mockingbirds are people too.
© 2008 Lawrence Russell Taylor, PhD. All rights reserved worldwide.
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Dr. Larry Taylor
A Mockingbird woke me up this morning. Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) get a bad rap.
Amateur and professional ornithologists don’t particularly care for them because they are ubiquitous. Their range now covers most of the continental United States, and they are expanding steadily northward due to their aggressive territorial nature and ability to adapt to urban sprawl.
Artistically minded observers of nature aren’t particularly fond of them either because the males will perch for hours mimicking every bird call they’ve ever heard, as well as squeaky gates, and even barking dogs. They are not very original or creative. As a song says, mocking birds “have no new song to sing”. I left my keys in the ignition while I opened my car door recently, only to hear a perfectly pitched “beep...beep...beep” coming from a nearby tree after I removed them.
But I like Mockingbirds. I admire their beauty. Just because you’re common, doesn’t make you ugly. And, I admire their memories. I certainly couldn’t repeat back everything I’ve heard, said, or sung in the last 24 hours, much less everything I’ve heard in my life. Mockingbirds have an amazing ability to absorb and repeat information. They generally sing/chirp each phrase they’ve heard several times, then move nonstop on to the next, not repeating any for hours on end. A talent like that would skate you through medical school.
I wonder … when it comes to beauty, nature, ideas, people … how many of those beautiful things, natural phenomena, opinions, and persons do I dismiss because they are commonplace or not entirely original?
Helen Keller (1880-1968), the first deaf-blind person to graduate from college, who went on to be an outstanding author, activist, and lecturer, as well as personal inspiration to millions, told the story of a young man who walked for 20 minutes in the woods. Keller used to sit in the forest with her hands outstretched until song birds would land on her fingers. She would gently feel the vibrations of the bird’s throat, and thereby experience birdsongs. Upon his return, she asked the young man what he had seen on his walk.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” she replied incredulously. “I am deaf and blind and I cannot spend five minutes in the forest without seeing a thousand things!”.
Am I like the young man, missing the grace around me?
Mockingbirds are people too.
© 2008 Lawrence Russell Taylor, PhD. All rights reserved worldwide.
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