Woodburn On. 20/21 April 2016. Today, returning from a fruitless errand I parked to scan an unkempt grassy field hoping for an early Upland Sandpiper (no luck). As I paused, a Northern Mockingbird arrived to perch on the top of a small hawthorn on the other side of the road. I grabbed my camera and took a number of easy shots that are remarkable only because the bird is as grey as the day and the forest backdrop were; but still a nice mockingbird.
It dropped to the scratchy tangle below and started sorting through the dry grasses and leaves. Then it started doing something I hadn’t seen before, the bird repeatedly and briefly spread both wings in an open umbrella fashion. Apparently this wing flashing behaviour has been well studied but not convincingly explained, my immediate thought was that it serves to startle invertebrate food into movement thus giving away its position. It’s a widely held thought but no seems to be convinced yet. I remain intrigued.
