Mockingbirds and Crows

The day before yesterday, I saw 3 mockingbirds.

One flew into a small ornamental tree I happened to be walking past.

He swooped low in front of me and then glided up onto a branch,

where he closed his barred wings 

and turned around to watch the pedestrian traffic.

photo, morguefile.com

The second mockingbird I saw was sitting on a branch 

of one of our chindo viburnum shrubs.

Mockingbirds always seem to me to have two speeds: slow and sitting

and fast and flitting.


Photo from the Palm Beach Post newspaper.
Visit the Post here:  Palm Beach Post 2010 File photo

The third mockingbird I saw yesterday was flying fast.

It was chasing a crow across the street,

occasionally moving in to goad the crow forward.

Curiously, this is the second time

I have seen a mockingbird chase a crow across a busy intersection

while I was idling at a stop light.

Google images photo, en.wikipedia.org

It is always clear the mocker means business,

giving the crow a  peck or a prompt when it catches up.

And the crow doesn't put up that much of a fight.
Almost like a game, and the mockingbird is the victor.

I've read that this kind of behavior is a common form 

of staking territory or protecting one's nest.

Either way, it's fun to watch the chase.
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