I heard a Phoebe singing in my front yard
on a fine June morning. My front yard is in Greenville, Alabama. Singing
Phoebe + Date + Location = A New Breeding Record for South Alabama, right?
I was puttering around in the garden when I
heard him. I dropped the hoe and hurried in the direction of the singer.
As I rounded the corner of the house I heard it again, a very clear and
distinct "Fee-bee". I quickly scanned the favorite perches of my
February Phoebes. No bird, silence. I returned to the hoe but not before I
detoured to the birding cabinet and picked up binoculars and hung them on
the side of the house. I intended to be ready when the singing continued.
It didn’t take long. This time I ran
around the house and arrived in plenty of time to zero in on the next
perfect "Fee-bee". Singing Phoebe + Date + Location =
A
New Breeding Record,
right? Wrong! There he was, high in the top branches of the oak,
proclaiming his dominion over man, bird, and beast, the King of Song, old
Mimus polyglottus.
This Mockingbird was really good. He
switched to a Purple Martin, unbelievable accuracy! His Cardinal,
Chickadee, and Towhee could fool the best of ears. (In fact it gave me
some pause as to birds I have listed on my breeding bird surveys) His
White-eyed Vireo was a little shaky, but what the heck, this song is so
variable that the Vireos don’t get it right half the time.
I listened off and on the rest of the day,
continuously amazed at the repertoire and the technique. During the
evening I selected a few books and sat down to read about the mimic
thrushes and Mimus poly in particular. As I read and idea formed. I
decided to find out how good this guy
really was.
I went to my music studio (I am a sometimes
music teacher) and took a soprano recorder (whistle flute) from the
drawer. I cued a tape of birdsongs to the Phoebe track and listen
ed
and played until I found the approximate pitches. I knew these notes would
be in the range of old Pavrotti Polyglottus. I would use a note in this
range as the starting point for a musical phrase I planned to teach my
front yard virtuoso.
I flipped through several music books
looking for a catchy, well known, short, musical phrase. The contents of
one of these listed several compositions by Beethoven. It came to me in a
flash! My Mockingbird was going to learn to sing the opening phrase of
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. You know, that’s the one that goes da, da,
da, da.
Early the next morning I took a position on
the porch and started playing. And I played and played and played; over
and over again; da, da, da, da - da, da, da, da. I would glance furtively
about occasionally because I wasn’t sure that I was ready to explain
what I was doing.
I set aside a little time morning and
afternoon to play and listen and on the ninth day I heard da, da. That was
exciting! I started to have visions of myself and Mimus on the Letterman
show. I increased the daily dose of da, da’s and on the 2nd
of July he nailed it. The pitch of the last note was a little flat but who
cares. After hearty congratulations and a standing ovation I dubbed my
virtuoso
Ludwig
Von Mockingbird.
I don’t hear Beethoven from the oak tree
as often as I hear Phoebes, Cardinals, and Towhees but every so often
there it is, an unmistakable da, da, da, da. The last note is still flat.
This summer we will be working on Mozart’s
"Eine Kleine Nacht Musik". If he gets it the Letterman show may
be a distinct possibility. I think his stage name will probably be
Ludwig
Wolfgang Amadeus Von Mockingbird.
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