Mockingbirds are a group of birds that constitute the family Mimidae. Endemic to the New World, they earn their name from their expertise in mimicking the songs of other birds. Besides their role in communication, such vocalizations help them defend their territories and even attract mates.
Scientific Classification
Animalia
Chordata
Aves
Passeriformes
Mimidae
Scientific Classification
Animalia
Chordata
Aves
Passeriformes
Mimidae
These birds are typically medium-sized, having gray to brownish feathers, a long tail, and pale patches on their wings. They often flick their wings in a jerky motion, revealing these patches, most likely to fend off potential predators.
Floreana Mockingbird or Charles Island Mockingbird (Mimus trifasciatus)
San Cristóbal Mockingbird (Mimus melanotis)
Blue Mockingbird (Melanotis caerulescens)
Blue-and-White Mockingbird (Melanotis hypoleucus)
Description
Size: Typically between 7 and 12 in (18 and 30 cm) from bill tip to tail tip
Mockingbird
Weight: Around 1.4 to 2.0 oz (40 to 58 g)
Body and Coloration: These birds are characterized by gray to grayish-brown upperparts and paler, whitish underparts. Most species also have pale-colored patches on the wings and outer tail feathers. Their long and sturdy legs give them an upright posture when perched on a twig or branch.
Their heads are round, with gently sloping foreheads. The bill, thin and slightly curved downward, is typically black.
Distribution
These birds are native to the Americas and are primarily found in North and Central America. The most widespread species is the northern mockingbird, found throughout the continental United States, across Mexico, and extending into parts of Central America. The species is also present in the Greater Antilles and several Caribbean islands, including the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.
Four species, the hood mockingbird, Galápagos mockingbird, Floreana mockingbird, and San Cristóbal mockingbird, are endemic to the Galapagos Islands.
Habitat
Mockingbirds, particularly the northern mockingbird, prefer living in open or semi-open areas rather than dense forests. They are found at the edges of woodlands, typically where shrubs are abundant. These birds also occupy agricultural fields, lawns, parks, and gardens.
Mockingbird Picture
Mockingbird Nest
Diet
They are opportunistic omnivores feeding on a variety of food items. During the breeding season, when these birds need to feed their nestlings, they typically consume small invertebrates, including beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, spiders, snails, and worms. A few species, such as the tropical mockingbird, may occasionally feed on vertebrates, like lizards, as well as on eggs of other birds.
When not in the breeding season, mockingbirds primarily feed on fruits, berries, seeds, and grains, along with some animal prey. The Bahama mockingbird also sips on the nectar of flowers.
Behavior
Mockingbirds mimic the songs of other birds, as well as the sounds of non-avian animals, such as frogs, insects, and dogs. They may sometimes repeat a single mimicry phrase up to 200 times before switching to a different phrase. These birds often sing late past midnight.
Although most species remain in their territories for the entire year, during winter, many populations in the northern extremes of their distribution undertake short-distance, partial migrations (only a few hundred miles) to the south.
When foraging on the ground, these birds thrust their wings open in a sudden, jerky motion to reveal the pale patches inside. Though debated, this behavior is believed to help ward off predators or startle insects.
Reproduction
Most mockingbirds form monogamous pair bonds that last at least for a single breeding season. The male tries to court the female through aerial flights, wing-flashing, and singing complex phrases. The pair builds shallow cup-shaped nests above ground in shrubs or low trees.
Mockingbird Eggs
Mockingbird Chicks
The female typically lays 2 to 5 eggs per clutch. The eggs are pale blue or greenish-white in color and are often dotted. While the male guards the territory, the mother incubates the eggs, typically for 11 to 14 days.
Lifespan
Mockingbirds typically live around 8 years in the wild. However, in captivity, these birds are believed to survive up to 20 years.
The oldest recorded northern mockingbird was at least 14 years and 10 months old when it was found in Texas.
Predators
Eggs and nestlings of mockingbirds are preyed upon by domestic and feral cats. Their nests are also targeted by snakes, blue jays, American crows, Cooper’s hawks, fish crows, flying squirrels, opossums, and raccoons.
Adults fall prey to sharp-shinned hawks, great horned owls, and screech owls.
Interesting Facts
The northern mockingbird is the state bird of five U.S. states, namely, Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
In 1835, when Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands on the ship HMS Beagle, he observed that mockingbirds varied noticeably from island to island. This observation intrigued him regarding the immutability of species, resulting in his revolutionary theory of evolution.
