It is a sin to kill a mockingbird
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Sean of the South
Sean Dietrich
It’s raining hard. Thundering loudly. Like the world is falling apart. And yet there is a mockingbird outside my window.
The bird is unfazed by the downpour.
Funny. I’ve never seen a bird in the rain before. Admittedly, I don’t know anything about birds. But I thought most birds, except waterfowl, found shelter during rainstorms.
I move closer to get a better look. The bird’s feathers are grayish, with snow-white patches on its wings and tail.
The bird is getting hammered by the rain. But if you can believe it, the mockingbird is fluttering its wings and singing. Singing in the rain.
So I listen.
The birdsong is beautiful. I can tell the bird is aware of me because it keeps flicking its head in my direction. But the mockingbird doesn’t seem bothered by me or the thunder shower.
I cannot help but marvel at how this creature is so outwardly unafraid.
It wasn’t that long ago that mockingbirds were endangered in America. When America was young, Americans were obsessed with capturing things and killing them. We nearly wiped out entire species such as passenger pigeons, mountain lions, bison, etc.
And we were about to do the same to mockingbirds. Namely, because they were trendy pets to have.
Thomas Jefferson had a mockingbird named “Dick.” Dick was famous for being one of President Jefferson’s closest friends. Dick lived in the White House. Jefferson rehearsed speeches by reading aloud to Dick, who sat on his desk. Sometimes, Dick would sing Jefferson to sleep, perched atop his shoulder.
But mostly, mockingbirds were owned by rich people. In the 1800s, a mockingbird was a real novelty. You kept the bird in a cage. You gave it just enough food to survive. You taught the bird new songs to whistle, and it would mimic you.
Then you could show off your mockingbird to your Wednesday bridge group. The bird wouldn’t last long in captivity, of course. It usually died within months.
Even so, mockingbirds became so popular among the wealthy class that they were hunted furiously. The species began disappearing. Soon, it became a rarity to hear mockingbirds in the wild.
Something had to be done.
In 1918, President Wilson made it illegal to hunt mockingbirds. You could spend months in jail. In the ‘20s it was commonly said to be “a sin to kill mockingbirds.”
Oh, but they are a resilient species. Maybe one of the most irrepressible in nature.
They are fiercely defensive; they will dive-bomb cats and dogs and squirrels. They have been known to kill snakes and turtles by pecking at their heads.
They are highly intelligent. Research has shown that mockingbirds can distinguish between human faces and remember individual people. They can even sometimes mimic human vocal sounds.
They are unafraid of rain. Unafraid of thunderstorms. Unafraid of hail.
Mockingbirds have been reported during tornadoes, foraging for food, as though nothing is wrong.
People have even seen mockingbirds amidst hurricanes, singing through the storm. Directly after Hurricane Katrina, for example, the first reported sounds in a deathly silent New Orleans were mockingbirds. All over town, you could hear them. Singing.
Singing through storms. Singing through rain. Singing through hell itself. Not because they must. But because they can.
There’s a lesson here. But I’m not smart enough to figure it out.
