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Mimus trifasciatus
The Floreana Mockingbird is endemic to Floreana, one of the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador; at present it only occurs on offshore islets however. This species is on the brink of extinction.
Floreana/outlying islets.
This is one of 4 endemic species of mockingbird in the Galapagos, each unique to an island or group of islands. It was actually the differences in appearance between these species, not the Darwin finches, that first alerted Darwin to his ideas on adaptation. Sorry for the poor quality, this bird is very camera shy & the photos taken from a moving dingy. Because of its critically endangered status, the population is monitored & banded, as you can see from the rings on this individual's legs.
Spotted on Nov 29, 2012
Submitted on Dec 23, 2012
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Each of the extremely rare Floreana mockingbirds has a unique colour ring combination that allows researchers to track each individual. 261 individuals have been ringed since 2010 and 223 ringed between 2006-2010. I was lucky enough to see two different birds as photos #1 & 3 show a red ring on the right leg, & photo 2 on the left leg.