Mockingjay (bird)

Lucy Gray Baird: "A mockingjay's a bona fide bird."
Coriolanus Snow: "And it sings in your show?"
Lucy Gray: "Not my show, sweetheart. Yours. The Capitol's anyway."

—Lucy Gray telling Coriolanus Snow about the mockingjay

The mockingjay is a bird that was created through the unintended mating of mockingbirds and jabberjays.

History

Origin

The father of the species was the jabberjay, an exclusively male muttation species that the Capitol invented to spy on rebels during the First Rebellion. Jabberjays could memorize entire conversations and repeat them back to their Capitol handlers. However, rebels caught on and fed lies to the birds, sending them back loaded with misinformation. After that, the Capitol shut down the operation and jabberjays were released into the wild in the hope that they would die off. They eventually did, but not before mating with female mockingbirds, producing the mockingjay. This was unforeseen, because no one expected jabberjays to be able to reproduce with other bird species. It was never discovered by the Capitol exactly how the rebels learned the truth about the birds. Dr. Kay speculated two possibilities. The first was that they didn't cover their tracks well enough in making sure the information they acted on could have had a source other than a recording in the woods. The other was that the rebels had a spy at the base the birds were reporting to.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

"The show’s not over until the mockingjay sings."

—Lucy Gray Baird

At the execution of Arlo Chance, mockingjays picked up a melodic arrangement of the man's dying words. Coriolanus Snow suggested using the birds as target practice. In the following weeks, he and other District 12 Peacekeepers were assigned to help scientists catch and care for 50 jabberjays and 50 mockingjays. While the jabberjays were easy to catch, the mockingjays were more suspicious, making them harder to ensnare. The captured birds were eventually flown back to the Citadel in the Capitol.

When Snow joined the Covey on a trip to the lake, he observed mockingjays in the trees, but no jabberjays, and took it as a sign that the birds were reproducing without them. This disturbed him because it meant the birds had grown beyond the Capitol's control.

The Hunger Games

Mr. Everdeen was known to sing to the mockingjays, and when he did, all the birds fell silent to listen. According to Peeta Mellark, Katniss Everdeen had the same talent. After the reaping for the 74th Hunger Games, Madge Undersee gave Katniss her mockingjay pin to wear as a tribute token.

In the arena, Katniss and her ally Rue sang to mockingjays in order to signal each other that they were alright. Rue had done something similar when she worked in the orchards of District 11. From high up in the trees, she was typically first to see the flag that signaled quitting time for the day. She would then whistle a four-note melody that would be picked up by local mockingjays and spread to all the workers.

Katniss receiving the mockingjay pin in The Hunger Games: Illustrated Edition

Mockingjays flying above the Cornucopia.

Catching Fire

Katniss learned that her mockingjay pin originally belonged to Madge's aunt Maysilee Donner, who died in the 50th Hunger Games.

Film adaptation

In a deleted scene from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, President Snow explained to Plutarch Heavensbee that mockingjays were something that should never have existed, and he applied the same principle to Katniss and Peeta's joint victory.

A mockingjay in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1.

Mockingjay

Katniss took on the role of the Mockingjay and acted as a rebel figurehead throughout the Second Rebellion.

Mockingjay - Part 1

In a televised speech, President Snow banned any references to the mockingjay symbol or association with Katniss Everdeen, on pain of death. This point was accompanied by live executions in front of crowds in Districts 8 and 11.

Description

Appearance

Mockingjays are black, crested birds with white patches on the undersides of their wings. Coriolanus Snow described them as being slightly larger than their jabberjay fathers. Like jabberjays, they are excellent mimics, and they're known for their ability to memorize and repeat both birdsong and human voices. Although mockingjays can't enunciate words, they can echo any vocalization from a child's high-pitched warble to a man's deep tones. They can even whistle the melodies of songs with multiple verses, if one has the patience to sing to them. They pick up tunes quickly and spread them to other nearby mockingjays. Supposedly, they will only repeat songs if they enjoy the singer's voice.

The bird on the cover of the Mockingjay novel.

A mockingjay beside costume design sketches for Mockingjay - Part 1.

Design sketches of mockingjay feathers.

Habitat

According to Dr. Kay, mockingjays could be found "all over Panem, wherever jabberjays and mockingbirds cohabited". In particular, she recounted sending jabberjays to District 9 and District 11 as well as 12, so mockingjays could exist in District 9 too. Katniss described them as being "about as rare as rocks. And about as tough", suggesting that they were very common and able to thrive in almost any environment. Outside of the districts, the birds were also present in the 74th Hunger Games arena.

Symbolism

A flaming mockingjay pin.

Mockingjays have a certain level of symbolism in Panem, though the nature of that symbolism can vary widely.

Rebellion

Upon realizing that the bird on her pin is a mockingjay, Katniss refers to the birds as "something of a slap in the face to the Capitol". Interestingly, this musing came before the 74th Hunger Games competition actually began, which suggests that the "rebellious" symbolism of the mockingjay was already established - or at least implied - before Katniss even arrived on the scene.

After the 74th Hunger Games, largely because of Katniss and her pin, mockingjays became a widespread symbol of rebellion in the districts. While out in the woods, Katniss encountered two women from District 8, Bonnie and Twill, who were rebels on a journey to District 13. Although 13 was commonly believed to have been destroyed by the Capitol 75 years earlier, the women noticed that the exact same mockingjay appeared in many commercials and newsreels about the district, proving that the footage had faked. To gain Katniss’ trust, they showed her a flat piece of bread that had been stamped with the image of a mockingjay (a sign that they were on her side and wanted to fight). At the end of Catching Fire, Katniss realizes that, by her own volition or not, she is “the Mockingjay”, a living symbol of defiance against the Capitol and a rallying point for the oppressed people of Panem.

After the 75th Hunger Games, wearing a mockingjay symbol in any form is considered a sign of rebellion by the Capitol — whether or not the wearer intended any harm.

Remembrance

For Madge, the bird and pin could symbolize remembrance, a relic from a relative that she was never able to know. Katniss wore the pin as her token in both the 74th and 75th Hunger Games, to represent District 12 and remind her of home. For Katniss herself, the birds are a reminder of her father, and later of Rue.

In the Capitol

Mockingjays have several distinctive meanings for Capitol citizens. On the one hand, they are a reminder of past mistakes, of the tricks played by the rebels and the Capitol's failure in killing off their own creation of jabberjays. On the other hand, images of mockingjays similar Katniss’ pin became a fashion trend after her and Peeta's joint victory; it was seen in jewelry, fashion accessories, and even tattoos. Everyone wanted to remember a particularly exciting Hunger Games by wearing the winner's token (Katniss mused that this use and popularity of the symbol must drive President Snow crazy). Plutarch even had a watch whose crystal face bore an image a mockingjay, but the image was only visible when exposed in a certain way, underlying Plutarch's secret connection to rebel forces. He showed this to Katniss not only to hint that he was on her side, but also to hint the nature of the arena in the 75th Hunger Games.