Mimus polyglottos

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Family Sturnidae

A Family of medium-sized passerine birds with strong feet, strong direct flight, and a preference for open country. They are gregarious and omnivorous , often preferring insects and fruit. Most have dark plumage with a metallic sheen.

Physical Description

Habitat

The Northern Mockingbird lives in a wide variety of natural and human-modified areas and is common in suburban areas and towns.

Vegetation: arid lowland scrubs, arid montane scrubs, arid lowland scrubs, second-growth scrub, tropical lowland evergreen forest, second-growth forests and woodlands, tropical deciduous forests • Maximum Elevation: 3,100 meters • Foraging Strata: Canopy • Center of Abundance: Lower subtropical: lowlands, lower than 500 m.; subtropics. • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Low

Ecology:
List of Habitats :1.5Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry 3.5Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry 3.7Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude 14.6Artificial/Terrestrial - Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest

Biology

Diet

Mockingbirds eat a wide variety of food items, including insects, berries , earthworms, and occasionally small lizards.

Reproduction

The breeding season lasts from late February through September. Nests are built 1-3 m (3-10 ft ) above ground in shrubs and trees . Males build the nest cup with twigs , and females line the nest with grass . The female lays 3 - 5 greenish-blue eggs heavily marked with brown spots and squiggles. The female incubates these for 12 days, and the young are altricial when they hatch . Both the male and female feed the young, which fledge after spending 12 days in the nest.

• Breeding Habitat : Urban
• Nest Location: Ground-low nesting
• Nest Type: Open-cup
• Clutch Size: 3-5
• Length of Incubation : 12-13 days
• Days to Fledge: 11-13
• Number of Broods: 2, occasionally 3 or 4

Migration

Northern populations migrate; most are nonmigratory

Behavior

In addition to being well-known for its extensive song repertoire, the Mockingbird is notorious for its conspicuous and aggressive nest defense. Mockingbirds are often seen chasing large birds such as crows and hawks away from their nests. Common predators include hawks, owls, and snakes .

When Mockingbirds sing, they mimic the songs of other birds, animals, and even machinery. Several different songs are sung consecutively, and each song is usually repeated twice before switching to a different song.

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001.

Similar Species

Bahama Mockingbird, Townsend's Solitaire

Members of the genus Mimus

There are approximately 42 species in this genus:

M. apicalis · M. columbianus · M. dorsalis · M. fretus · M. gilvus · M. gilvus antelius · M. gilvus antillarum · M. gilvus gilvus · M. gilvus gracilis · M. gilvus leucophaeus · M. gilvus magnirostris · M. gilvus melanopterus · M. gilvus rostratus · M. gilvus tobagensis · M. gilvus tolimensis · M. glacialis · M. graysoni (Socorro Mockingbird) · M. gundlachi · M. gundlachii (Bahama Mockingbird) · M. gundlachii gundlachii · M. gundlachii hillii · M. laevistriatus · M. longicaudatus · M. longicaudatus longicaudatus · M. longicaudatus platensis · M. melanotis · M. modulator · M. natalensis · M. patagonicus · M. polyglottos (Northern Mockingbird) · M. polyglottos leucopterus (Northern Mockingbird) · M. polyglottos orpheus · M. polyglottos polyglottos (Northern Mockingbird) · M. polyglottus (Northern Mockingbird) · M. polygottos · M. saturninus · M. saturninus arenaceus · M. saturninus frater · M. saturninus modulator · M. thenca · M. triurus · M. usambaricus

Bibliography

• Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places: For References from A–L. For References from M–Z.
• BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
• BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 11, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 13 providers.
• Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
• NatureServe. 2003. Downloadable animal data sets. NatureServe Central Databases. Accessed February 6, 2005.
• Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, and quot;Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds, and quot; in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
• Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• The Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Department of Natural Resources
• Universal Biological Indexer and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 17, 2008.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 11, 2008:

• Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
• Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
• Avian Knowledge Network: Project FeederWatch
• Avian Knowledge Network: Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory - Section Survey
• Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum: Bishop Museum Natural History Specimen Data
• Bird Studies Canada: Marsh Monitoring Program - Birds
• Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 1981-1985
• Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 2001-2005
• Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Royal British Columbia Museum
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
• Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates: Bird Collection
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• New Brunswick Museum: NBM birds
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
• UCLA-Dickey Bird Collection (UCLA-Dickey): Bird specimens
• UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
• University of Colorado Museum: Zoological specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3848243
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-178622
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13853179
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 178620
• IUCN ID: 51936
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABPBK03010
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 274

©2004-2008 the BayScience Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.