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Northern Mockingbird

Mimus polyglottos

Description:

From Wiki: The northern mockingbird is a medium-sized mimid that has long legs and tail.[9] Both males and females look alike.[10] Its upper parts are colored gray, while its underparts have a white or whitish-gray color.[11] It has parallel wing bars on the half of the wings connected near the white patch giving it a distinctive appearance in flight.[11] The black central rectrices and typical white lateral rectrices are also noticeable in flight.[11] The iris is usually a light green-yellow or a yellow, but there have been instances of an orange color.[7] The bill is black with a brownish black appearance at the base.[7] The juvenile appearance is marked by its streaks on its back, distinguished spots and streaks on its chest, and a gray or grayish-green iris.[7] Northern mockingbirds measure from 20.5 to 28 cm (8.1 to 11.0 in) including a tail almost as long as its body. The wingspan can range from 31–38 cm (12–15 in) and body mass is from 40–58 g (1.4–2.0 oz). Males tend to be slightly larger than females.[12][13] Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in), the tail is 10 to 13.4 cm (3.9 to 5.3 in), the culmen is 1.6 to 1.9 cm (0.63 to 0.75 in) and the tarsus is 2.9 to 3.4 cm (1.1 to 1.3 in).[7] The northern mockingbird's lifespan is observed to be up to 8 years, but captive birds can live up to 20 years.[14]

Habitat:

The mockingbird's habitat varies by location, but it prefers open areas with sparse vegetation. In the eastern regions, suburban and urban areas such as parks, gardens are frequent residential areas. It has an affinity for mowed lawns with shrubs within proximity for shade and nesting.[15] In western regions, desert scrub, chaparral are among its preferred habitats When foraging for food, it prefers short grass.[11] It also has an affinity for mowed lawns.[11] This bird does not nest in densely forested areas,[7][16] and generally resides in the same habitats year round.[15] The mockingbird's breeding range is from Maritime provinces of Canada westwards to British Columbia, practically the entire Continental United States south of the northern Plains states and Pacific northwest, and the majority of Mexico to eastern Oaxaca and Veracruz.[7] The mockingbird is generally a year-round resident of its range, but the birds that live in the northern portion of its range have been noted further south during the winter season.[11] Sightings of the mockingbird have also been recorded in Hawaii (where it was introduced in the 1920s),[15] southeastern Alaska,[17] and twice as transatlantic vagrants in Britain.[11] The mockingbird is thought to be at least partly migratory in the northern portions of its range, but the migratory behavior is not well understood.[15]

Notes:

Apparently, there is no obvious way to tell the difference between a male and female mockingbird, except the male sings more!!

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Cindyloohoo
Spotted by
Cindyloohoo

Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee, USA

Spotted on Jun 6, 2015
Submitted on Jun 8, 2015

Spotted for Mission

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