Mimus polyglottos
By Biól. Jesús Ángel Barajas Fragoso
Surely you know it by Cenzontle or its nickname “the bird of 400 voices”, the first comes from the nahuatl Centzontototl, the second comes from its ability to sing. Ornithologists have wanted to reaffirm this fact because Mimus means in Latin imitator and polyglottos means many languages, the one that imitates many languages-voices.
Here you can listen to the song of this beautiful bird
It has an extraordinary ability to imitate the sounds of its environment: birds, car alarms, doors closing and more. Apart from its visual and sonorous charm, it is an important element in its habitat as it controls insect populations and disperses seeds.
Culturally it is present in stories or songs, read the following poem by the Acolhua King Nezahualcoyotl (1402-1472):
“I love the song of the mockingbird, bird of four hundred voices.
I love the color of jade and the enervating perfume of flowers,
but most of all I love my brother: the man.”
