If that mockingbird don’t sing, it might be a thrush

Sometimes, a mockingbird is just a mockingbird. But it was confusion over this bird that caused a little stir a few weeks ago, enlivening a dull winter day and providing food for thought.

It all started with a birding e-mail post I read a short time ago. It stated that a Townsend’s solitaire, a western-breeding thrush, had been seen on the University of Maine campus. Considering the number of western birds sighted in Maine so far this year – the varied thrush and the Western tanager, for example – I wasn’t too surprised to hear of the Townsend’s. It has been seen in Maine before, a vagrant wandering far from its home range.

The person or persons who posted the sighting wrote that it was first seen near Patten Hall, then over in the ornamental gardens.

Thinking about it, I realized that I wasn’t familiar with a Patten Hall on this campus. When I ran into Bill Glanz, associate professor of zoology at the university and an avid birder, I asked him if he had read this post and if he knew of a Patten Hall. He said no, but checked a campus map to be certain. No Patten Hall.

He then went on to say that he had seen a group of young birders from another campus and wondered if perhaps the confusion arose from a time and location mix-up. But there was still the matter of the mention of the ornamental gardens, which we do have on this campus. Perhaps another campus has ornamental gardens – along with a Patten Hall. Or maybe one of the buildings here had once gone by the name of Patten Hall? Reluctantly, we dropped the subject, each going our own way and scratching our heads.

A few days after this, my friend Ed Grew came to see me at work. “Did you see the northern mockingbird outside? It must have been a mockingbird – I don’t know what else it could have been.”

Mockingbirds breed throughout much of the United States. They were common where I lived in New Jersey, and I was often awakened by one singing its heart out at midnight. They’re not as common in Maine, but have become more numerous here in the last several years. Still, I hadn’t seen one in awhile, and I was excited to see one again.

I followed Ed to the foyer at the east side of the building, and there it was, sitting high up in a shrub.

I looked at the bird, but something didn’t click. It didn’t match my memories of what mockingbirds are – flashy, noisy, and belligerent.

This bird sat quietly, still as stone, while we gawked at it from close range. Its coloring seemed off, too – more of a dull brown than the usual crisp gray, contrasting with the whiteness of the chest. And it continued to act so odd – more sedate than a mockingbird is usually known to be.

Immediately, I jumped to the conclusion that it was the mysterious Townsend’s solitaire. My Peterson’s field guide seemed to confirm it, but I overlooked some details in my haste to identify it.

The bird flew into a crabapple tree, so Ed and I followed it. I continued to state that I thought it was the solitaire, and Ed – bless his soul – very gently and diplomatically continued to suggest otherwise. Soon, we were joined by some faculty members who have interest in birds, and we all stood and gawked. I kept babbling about how unlike a mockingbird this bird was, how muted its plumage was in comparison to what I was used to seeing, and on and on. Everyone else nodded understandingly … or where they just humoring me?

It wasn’t until Ed later sent me actual photos of each bird that I could see how I was mistaken. The Townsend’s has an obvious white eye-ring; the mockingbird doesn’t. The Townsend’s eye is dark; the mockingbird’s is light enough to discern the pupil. And the Townsend’s is a solid slate gray with no contrasting back and chest plumage. And, someone in the little group that stood outside the library had seen the white wing patches flash when the bird flew away. Plus, when perched, the solitaire has a more upright stance than does the mockingbird.

I was stumped; I couldn’t get over how blind I was to small details, just because my holistic view of the bird didn’t seem to click with what I was actually seeing. I still thought something wasn’t right, but finally had to admit that it was a mockingbird we had seen.

Until, that is, I spoke with Maine Audubon’s Judy Markowsky. She tended to err on the side of the unusual – in her opinion, if something didn’t seem right, then it probably was a Townsend’s solitaire, especially since it had already been reported on the Orono campus.

I responded that we had concluded it was another campus a Townsend’s must have been spotted on, making it even more unlikely that our bird was anything other than a mockingbird. Case closed, I thought.

But no…. Markowsky confirmed that it was the Orono campus in the original post, not a mistake in location.

So, somewhere on the Orono campus, a Townsend’s solitaire could still be lurking….

NEWS bird columnist Chris Corio can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net