Mockingbird Hill Gardens

The Gardens at Mockingbird Hill are Recommended by ‘Birds Of the West Indies’ and 22 of the 28 Jamaican endemics plus 6 Caribbean endemics can be found on the 7½ acre property which is particularly known as one of the better places to see the  Black-billed Streamer tailed Hummingbird. The lush gardens provide a rich habitat for more than 72 bird species, including many migrants. At last count, we’ve hosted 17 species of North American warblers! Whether watching birds from your balcony, along our quiet private road, or while dining on the terrace, birding at Hotel Mockingbird Hill will prove a most rewarding experience.

Local Names.

The imaginative local names for birds are just one aspect of Jamaica’s colourful culture: Doctorbird (because the Streamertail’s long tails resemble the frocks once worn by medical men), Old Man Bird (Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo) and the smaller Old Woman Bird (Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo), Auntie Katie (Jamaican Oriole), Big Tom Fool (Rufous-tailed Flycatcher) and the Duppy Bird (Common Ground-Dove), Robin Redbreast (Jamaican Tody), Hopping Dick (White-Chinned Thrush), Markhead (Spindalis) and Little Tom Fool (Sad FlyCatcher) to name a few. The English bird names are just as intriguing: Bananaquits, Orangequits and Jamaican Mango make up a veritable fruit salad, while Jamaican Euphonia fails to live up to its name, sounding instead like a car trying to start. And, at 5 centimetres long and weighing around three grams, the Vervain Hummingbird is the second smallest bird in the world.