Mimus
polyglottos
(Northern Mockingbird)
Physical
Description:
Length 10",
with long tail. Gray on back and lighter below. White outer tail feathers and
wing patches which are flashed repeatedly in a nervous manner.
Similar species- Loggerhead Shrike and Northern Shrike, which have a thicker bill and a dark face mask.
Song:
Original and
mimicked phrases in clear whistles, often repeated in sets of three.
Distribution:
Resident populations
in southern United States from California, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee,
and North Carolina, with summer movements to southern Oregon, Idaho, and across
to the Great Lakes and New England.
Habitat:
A
variety of open to partly open situations from areas of scattered brush to forest
edges and even desert conditions. In many areasvirtually restricted to areas
of human habitiation.
Diet:
Insects
and other invertebrates, fruits and berries.
Ecology:
Uses
songs and calls of other birds, as well as rusty gates, with unmated males singing
more vigorously, and often at night. Feeds by gleaning branches and on the ground,
where frequent wing flashes are thought to scare up insect prey, but also to
distract snakes and other potential predators. Nests in an open cup of twigs,
places in a coniferous
or deciduous shrub.
Reproduction:
monogamous, lays 3-5 eggs, incubated
for 12-13 days by the female only. She broods the young for 4 days after
hatching and the male gathers most of the food for his mate and the family.
Fairly rare nesting species in southern Idaho, and occasionally further north.
Conservation:
| Element Code: | ABPBK03010 |
| Status: | Protected nongame species |
| Global Rank: | G5 |
| State Rank: | S1 |
| National Rank: | N5 |
Important
State References:
No references are available at this time.