Tyler,

This seems odd. I've seen *lots* of mockingbirds back east, but
I don't recall ever seeing them at even the modest elevations of
the hills of Massachusetts and upstate New York. They seem in my
experience to prefer lowlands and brushy cover.

The other problem is "melodious song after melodious song." This
is certainly something a mocker *could* do, but more typically
they're not so fussy about musical composition, and will quickly
run through call notes and song fragments, with the result being
rather cacophonous.

The physical description best fits a mockingbird, of course, but
with just a little bit of morphing it might turn into a Townsend's
Solitaire, especially if your father's recollection was imperfect.
I should note here that I have zero experience of TOSO, but the
song descriptions in the field guides -- NGS has it as a "complex,
melodious warbling" -- would seem to make it a good fit.

JMc

P.s. Speaking of which, can anyone suggest a fairly reliable place
for finding Townsend's Solitaire that's within a reasonable drive
from Seattle?


Jim McCoy
jfmccoy at earthlink.net
Redmond, WA



-----Original Message-----
From: AfriKid16 at aol.com [mailto:AfriKid16 at aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 01, 2001 4:20 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Highly Probable Northern Mockingbird


Tweeters -

Today while my Dad was climbing Granite Mountain near Snoqualmie Pass,
he
heard what he believed to be a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD. Of all places, near
the
top of the mountain. He located it, and he says that it was a grey bird the
size of robin with white wing patches. He believes he saw a slightly
longish, down-curved bill. But what intrigued him most was the song . . .
well, songs. He says that the bird would constantly sing melodious song
after melodious song. Sounds like a NOMO to me . . . any other ideas?

Tyler Davis, 16
Mercer Island, WA
afrikid16 at aol.com