Tropical Mockingbird

Mimus gilvus

Males mimic the songs and calls of dozens of other bird species, stringing them together into prolonged vocal displays to defend territories.

Scientific name

Mimus gilvus

Taxonomy

Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Mimidae › Mimus

IUCN Red List status

Least Concern

Population trend

increasing

Biome

grassland

Habitat

Open scrubland, savannas, pastures, forest edges, suburban gardens, and agricultural clearings.

Diet

Omnivorous; primarily feeds on insects, spiders, seeds, and small cultivated and wild fruits.

Range

Southern Mexico, Central America, Northern and Eastern South America, Lesser Antilles

Size

23–26 cm long, 45–60 g

Lifespan

8–12 years

Active

diurnal

Threats

Generally resilient, but locally affected by pesticide exposure, feral cat predation, and collisions with man-made structures.

Safe to approach?

Harmless to humans. They are bold around human habitation and can be observed safely from a few meters away. They may dive or vocalize loudly if a person approaches their active nest, so keep distance from nesting shrubs.

The tropical mockingbird ( Mimus gilvus ) is a resident breeding bird from southern Mexico south to northern Brazil, and in the Lesser Antilles and other Caribbean islands. The birds in Panama and Trinidad may have been introduced. The northern mockingbird ( M. polyglottos ) is its closest living relative, but the critically endangered Socorro mockingbird ( M. graysoni ) is also much closer to these two than previously believed .

Photo: Gonzalo Zepeda Martínez, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist

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