One of the Obvious Ones: The Northern Mockingbird at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge

There are some birds you just can't miss. They are in your neighborhood. They're in your yard. Maybe you see them where you work, especially if you work outdoors. And if you can't see them, you probably hear them. They sing incessantly, and it doesn't matter if it's day or night. Some individuals will sing 200 different songs over the course of their lifetime. On top of everything else, they are territorial, and will be perched in obvious places, making sure they are seen. And they'll fight with other birds. There's a virtual war that takes place in my backyard between them and the Scrub Jays.

It is of course the Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), a bird that is almost unique to the United States (there are quite a few in Mexico, almost none in Canada). They've been found in all the lower 48 states, and are now common in Hawaii where they are an introduced species. They've also been seen in Alaska, but only very rarely. When I walk my neighborhood, I tend to ignore them. But when I toured the Merced National Wildlife Refuge a few weeks back, this individual was there to great me at the entrance to the auto-tour, literally perching on the welcome sign. I took it as an invitation, and snapped a number of close-ups.

As common as they are, the Northern Mockingbird almost disappeared from the eastern United states because they were cherished as songbird pets. They were enshrined in literature as well, being part of story of Scout and Atticus Finch. I guess Mockingbirds were on my mind this week as yet another misguided school districted decided to remove the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" because it made people "uncomfortable". From the movie version:

Atticus Finch: I remember when my daddy gave me that gun. He told me that I should never point it at anything in the house; and that he'd rather I'd shoot at tin cans in the backyard. But he said that sooner or later he supposed the temptation to go after birds would be too much, and that I could shoot all the blue jays I wanted - if I could hit 'em; but to remember it was a sin to kill a mockingbird.
Jem: Why?
Atticus Finch: Well, I reckon because mockingbirds don't do anything but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat people's gardens, don't nest in the corncrib, they don't do one thing but just sing their hearts out for us.