President mockingbird-Dick the Mockingbird is the name of one of US president Thomas Jefferson's pet birds. Although presidents before him also had pets of their own, Thomas Jefferson is thought to be "the first president to have a pet [that lived ]in the White House..." Prior to his term in the Oval Office, Jefferson bought his first mockingbird from a slave for five shillings. The usual price for such a bird was ten or fifteen dollars Birds were without a doubt Jefferson’s favorite animal; during his time in the White House as third president, Jefferson wrote observations on the types of birds that he spotted in the area.

In a letter to a friend, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "I sincerely congratulate you on the arrival of the mockingbird. Teach all the children to venerate it as a superior being which will haunt them if any harm is done to itself or its eggs. read more