This morning I got him in my sights and captured him, to share with you. A tricky feat, zooming into the sun (which is why he's nearly a silhouette) and yet with enough detail that we can see on the orange just below him, a brave or stupid or suicidal caterpillar wending its way upward. It's like a scene from Animal Planet when the deer ambles foolishly toward the wolf's lair. "Stop!" you want to shout. "He doesn't see you yet! You can still get away!" But then, if singing is an honorable way to earn one's supper, Caruso deserves this one.
Mockingbirds, according to my brief research, don't compose their own tunes, so their renditions are what we music lovers call "covers" of other birds' songs. They can also imitate other animals, including amphibians. I've paid close enough attention to wonder if they have tiny recording devices in their brains because they seem to do the same routine, in the same sequence, over and over. This annoys some humans, but I find it amusing. Of course, he's not outside my bedroom window.
