So...yesterday, I heard THE mockingbird! The way he changes sounds so quickly, I'm not really thinking he's the mystery bird now. Especially since the mystery bird makes his one sound over and over. Catherine, it's a monotone, for sure. It's usually 2 "teets", separated by a pause, then many "teets" in a row before pausing and starting over. It appears to be speeding up, but now my memory is fading. It's been so long since I've heard it as close to the house as it was the first 2 days. It's a strong sound, not very high pitched, just solid. I have absolutely nothing to compare it to, so I'm sorry for the vague descriptions! As I mentioned earlier, the tempo of the song of the vermilion flycatcher is VERY similar, albeit it's MUCH more high-pitched than the mystery bird's. (I just listened to the song on the Cornell site, and it sounds nothing like the vermilion song in my book - "The repeated territorial song of the male Vermilion Flycatcher!" Ack!) DH did say the bird was a tad smaller than our scrub jays. He said the tail appeared black on the top with "some white underneath"....although trying to view anything against the harsh glare of the sky is NOT very accurate. LOL Thanks for continuing to try, ladies!! The wind is here until Friday, so I may not get another chance to see it until then. :( Brenda

Chipping sparrows seem to be really easy prey for the cowbird. For the last 2 years, I've seen the chipping sparrow come to my feeder and then feed the baby cowbird, which was twice the size of the chipping sparrow. Hopefully, this year, the cowbird isn't around. I've seen a pair of chipping sparrows at my feeder continually so hopefully, they will be more successful this year.

Hi ggopal, I saw this same bird yesterday and again today. The Android app "Merlin Bird ID", a free app at the Google Store, identified it as a Northern Mockingbird. Today, I am in Newton, MA 02465. Using the Merlin app, I set it to Mockingbird calls and this bird flew back and forth several times getting within three feet of me. It was apparently trying to locate the "other Mockingbird". After putting my cellphone on a bush and standing about 10 feet away, the Mockingbird came within a foot of the cellphone, again trying to locate the other bird.

I have never known Northern Mockingbirds to stay hidden. They are boisterous buggers and perch in prominent spots, often repeatedly flying up and back down onto their perch while flapping their wings and displaying their conspicuous white patches. Gray Catbirds, on the other hand, can sing repeating phrases of strange whistles and squeaks (and not giving the typical "meow" call) and can be really hard to find as they stay lower in the brushy growth. Sometimes they are singing from the back of the brushy growth and hidden from view. If you are sure it's not a Yellow-breasted Chat (who stay well-hidden), I'd wager Gray Catbird (unless proven otherwise). http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Dumetella-carolinensis