Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several species of New World birds of the family Mimidae, especially Mimus polyglottos, a gray and white bird of North America and the Caribbean islands, noted for the ability to mimic the sounds of other birds.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In Demerara, a name applied to orioles of the genus Cassicus, and especially to C. ieteronotus, which is often kept as a cage-bird on account of its pleasant note.
  • noun In Australia, the lyre-bird, Menura superba: so called on account of its remarkable power of song.
  • noun An oscine passerine bird of the subfamily Miminæ and restricted genus Mimus; a mock-bird or mocker.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) A long-tailed gray-and-white songbird of North America (Mimus polyglottos), remarkable for its exact imitations of the notes of other birds. Its back is gray; the tail and wings are blackish, with a white patch on each wing; the outer tail feathers are partly white. Originally its range was confined mostly to the southern states, but by late 19th century it had migrated as far north as New York. The name is also applied to other members of thee same and related genera, found in Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies, such as the blue mockingbird of Mexico, Melanotis caerulescens.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A long-tailed American songbird of the Mimidae family, noted for its ability to mimic calls of other birds.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun long-tailed grey-and-white songbird of the southern United States able to mimic songs of other birds

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The mockingbird is a good capture , another bird with great personality.

    GBBC* 2009 « Fairegarden 2009

  • The parrot and the mockingbird were the property of Madame Lebrun, and they had the right to make all the noise they wished.

    The Awakening 2000

  • The parrot and the mockingbird were the property of Madame Lebrun, and they had the right to make all the noise they wished.

    The Awakening 1899

  • The parrot and the mockingbird were the property of Madame Lebrun, and they had the right to make all the noise they wished.

    The Awakening and Selected Short Stories Kate Chopin 1877

  • The mockingbird is a solid, robin-sized avian with a wicked beak and admirable determination.

    STLtoday.com Top News Headlines 2010

  • Even if they wanted to, getting rid of the bird isn't an option -- the mockingbird is a protective species in

    NBC Washington - Top Stories 2010

  • To kill a mockingbird is a sin, Finch told his children, because it brings no harm to others.

    Gas Drilling 2010

  • To kill a mockingbird is a sin, Finch told his children, because it brings no harm to others.

    The Appleton Post-Crescent Latest Headlines 2010

  • The mockingbird is a solid, robin-sized avian with a wicked beak and admirable determination.

    STLtoday.com Top News Headlines 2010

  • Dallas police confirmed that because the mockingbird is the state bird, shooting or killing the mockingbirds is illegal.

    NBC Dallas-Fort Worth - News Top Stories 2009

Comments

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  • . . . On the willow's highest branch, monopolizing

    Day and night, cheeping, squeaking, soaring,

    The mockingbird is imitating life.

    All day the mockingbird has owned the yard.

    As light first woke the world, the sparrows trooped

    Onto the seedy lawn: the mockingbird

    Chased them off shrieking. Hour by hour, fighting hard

    To make the world his own, he swooped

    On thrushes, thrashers, jays, and chickadees --

    At noon he drove away a big black cat.

    Now, in the moonlight, he sits here and sings.

    A thrush is singing, then a thrasher, then a jay --

    Then, all at once, a cat begins meowing.

    A mockingbird can sound like anything.

    He imitates the world he drove away

    So well that for a minute, in the moonlight,

    Which one's the mockingbird? which one's the world?

    -- Randall Jarrell

    April 24, 2008

  • This is awesome. Thanks, reesetee!

    April 24, 2008

  • You can hear Jarrell reading the poem at

    mockingbird

    April 24, 2008

  • Thanks, s. Meant to mention that. And remember: April is Poetry Month. :-)

    April 24, 2008