Northern Mockingbird

Description: 9-11" Robin-sized, a slender, long-tailed gray bird with white patches on wings and tail, slender bill, white wing patches very obvious in flight, white outer tail feathers, back legs, sexes similar juvenile has spotted breast	Habitat: Open woodlands, suburban areas, gardens, pastures, thickets, hedges, towns, orchards, deserts. Male sings continuously for hours during the day or night. Often repeats vocalizations three times. Imitates many bird songs as well as other unusual noises. Common and widespread.
Nesting: 3-5 blue-green eggs, spotted with brown in a cup of sticks and weed stems, placed in a bush or low tree	Range: breeds from northern Canada and Michigan southward, winters south portion of range
Voice: a long series of musical and grating phrases, each repeated three or four times, often imitates other species	Diet: insects, including crayfish, sowbugs, snails, few small vertebrates; berries. Nestlings fed mostly insects, some fruit.

Notes: Conspicuous "wing-flashing" ostensibly functions to stir up insects and to distract predators, especially snakes, fiercely defends nest site will attack anything that comes near nest

When present in Oklahoma: common resident in state year-round