Down here we have Mockingbirds. I understand there are northern ones (like this picture, but it looks like the bird I saw the other night in Sarasota). I never saw or heard one up north, but down here I have fallen love with their songs. During this time of year they are singing with abandon, they are also nesting. I know this personally, not that I've seen a nest or babies, but the behavior of the parents is a dead giveaway. How this plays out is that as innocent Pepper and I are going on our nightly walk, out of nowhere comes this flying missile of a bird, swooping in like a kamikaze pilot, with a banshee squawk dive bombing Pepper's cute little butt. Of course, he retaliates by snapping and growling at the bird who by this time is sitting atop a street sign cocking his/her head scoping out a new strike zone.

What I don't get is the genetics behind making birds draw attention to themselves to protect their young, when we wouldn't have seen them anyway. If we were walking in the Kalahari the distracting behavior would make sense...we're walking in downtown Sarasota, these are urban birds, they're street smart or I assume they are. But maybe those genes are too strong to over ride their environment. I wonder what that says about humans.