Mockingbird
Encyclopedia
Mockingbirds are a group of New World
passerine
bird
s from the Mimid
ae family
. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibian
s, often loudly and in rapid succession. There are about 17 species
in three genera
. These do not appear to form a monophyletic lineage: Mimus
and Nesomimus are quite closely related; their closest living relatives appear to be some thrasher
s, such as the Sage Thrasher
. Melanotis
is more distinct; it seems to represent a very ancient basal
lineage of Mimidae.
When the survey voyage of HMS Beagle
visited the Galápagos Islands
in September to October 1835, the naturalist Charles Darwin
noticed that the mockingbirds Mimus thenca differed from island to island, and were closely allied in appearance to mockingbirds on the South America
n mainland. Nearly a year later when writing up his notes on the return voyage he speculated that this, together with what he had been told about Galápagos tortoise
s, could undermine the doctrine of stability of species. This was his first recorded expression of his doubts about species being immutable, which led to him being convinced about the transmutation of species
and hence evolution
.
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s from the Mimid
Mimid
The mimids are the New World family of passerine birds, Mimidae, that includes thrashers, mockingbirds, tremblers, and the New World catbirds...
ae family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s, often loudly and in rapid succession. There are about 17 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in three genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
. These do not appear to form a monophyletic lineage: Mimus
Mimus
Mimus is a bird genus in the family Mimidae. It contains the typical mockingbirds. In 2007, the genus Nesomimus was merged into Mimus by the American Ornithologists' Union.The following species are placed here:...
and Nesomimus are quite closely related; their closest living relatives appear to be some thrasher
Thrasher
Thrashers are a New World group of passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the Mimidae family. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genera.These do not form a clade but are a phenetic assemblage...
s, such as the Sage Thrasher
Sage Thrasher
The Sage Thrasher is a medium-sized passerine bird from the family Mimidae, which also includes mockingbirds, tremblers and New World catbirds. It is the only member of the genus Oreoscoptes. This seems less close to the Caribbean thrashers, but rather to the mockingbirds instead .O...
. Melanotis
Melanotis
Melanotis is a genus of bird in the Mimidae family.It contains the following species:* Blue Mockingbird * Blue-and-white Mockingbird -Taxonomy:...
is more distinct; it seems to represent a very ancient basal
Basal (phylogenetics)
In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...
lineage of Mimidae.
Species in taxonomic order
- Brown-backed MockingbirdBrown-backed MockingbirdThe Brown-backed Mockingbird is a species of bird in the Mimidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile....
, Mimus dorsalis - Bahama MockingbirdBahama MockingbirdThe Bahama Mockingbird is a species of bird in the Mimidae family.It is found in the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and is a vagrant to the United States....
, Mimus gundlachii - Long-tailed MockingbirdLong-tailed MockingbirdThe Long-tailed Mockingbird is a species of bird in the Mimidae family. It is found in dry scrubland and woodland in western Ecuador.In Peru it is found throughout the coastal region, although much less so south of Ica....
, Mimus longicaudatus - Patagonian MockingbirdPatagonian MockingbirdThe Patagonian Mockingbird is a species of bird in the Mimidae family. It is found in Argentina and locally in Chile. Vagrants have been recorded in the Falkland Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical dry shrubland and heavily degraded former forest.-References:* BirdLife International...
, Mimus patagonicus - Chilean MockingbirdChilean MockingbirdThe Chilean Mockingbird locally known as Tenca is a species of bird in the Mimidae family.It inhabit Chile and Argentina...
, Mimus thenca - White-banded MockingbirdWhite-banded MockingbirdThe White-banded Mockingbird is a species of bird in the Mimidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay....
, Mimus triurus - Northern MockingbirdNorthern MockingbirdThe Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, is the only mockingbird commonly found in North America. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Turdus polyglottos....
, Mimus polyglottos (state bird of ArkansasArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, and TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
) - Socorro MockingbirdSocorro MockingbirdThe Socorro Mockingbird, Mimus graysoni, is an endangered mockingbird endemic to Socorro Island in Mexico's Revillagigedo Islands. The specific epithet commemorates the American ornithologist Andrew Jackson Grayson....
, Mimus graysoni - Tropical MockingbirdTropical MockingbirdThe 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 is its closest living relative, but the...
, Mimus gilvus - Chalk-browed MockingbirdChalk-browed MockingbirdThe Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Mimus saturninus, is a bird found in most of Brazil, and parts of Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, and Suriname. It's a bird of open wooded areas, including urban and suburban gardens...
, Mimus saturninus - Hood MockingbirdHood MockingbirdThe Hood Mockingbird, Mimus macdonaldi, also known as the Española Mockingbird is a species of bird in the Mimidae family. It is endemic to Española Island in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, and it is one of four closely related mockingbird species endemic to the Galápagos archipelago...
, Mimus macdonaldi - Galápagos MockingbirdGalápagos MockingbirdThe Galápagos Mockingbird is a species of bird in the Mimidae family. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.-Description:...
, Mimus parvulus - Floreana MockingbirdFloreana MockingbirdThe Floreana Mockingbird or Charles Mockingbird is a bird species in the family Mimidae.It is endemic to Floreana, one of the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador; at present it only occurs on offshore islets however...
or Charles Mockingbird, Mimus trifasciatus - San Cristóbal MockingbirdSan Cristobal MockingbirdThe San Cristobal Mockingbird or Chatham Mockingbird is a species of bird in the Mimidae family. It is endemic to San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador....
, Mimus melanotis - Blue MockingbirdBlue MockingbirdThe Blue Mockingbird is a species of bird in the Mimidae family. It is endemic to Mexico, but has occurred as a vagrant in the southern United States...
Melanotis caerulescens - Blue-and-white MockingbirdBlue-and-white MockingbirdThe Blue-and-white Mockingbird is a species of bird in the Mimidae family. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and south-eastern Mexico. Its natural habitats are dry scrubland, woodland, second growth and forest edges at 1000–3000 m above sea-level.It is about 25 cm long...
Melanotis hypoleucus
Darwin and mockingbirds
Second voyage of HMS Beagle
The second voyage of HMS Beagle, from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836, was the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle, under captain Robert FitzRoy who had taken over command of the ship on its first voyage after her previous captain committed suicide...
visited the Galápagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
in September to October 1835, the naturalist Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
noticed that the mockingbirds Mimus thenca differed from island to island, and were closely allied in appearance to mockingbirds on the South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n mainland. Nearly a year later when writing up his notes on the return voyage he speculated that this, together with what he had been told about Galápagos tortoise
Galápagos tortoise
The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise is the largest living species of tortoise, reaching weights of over and lengths of over . With life spans in the wild of over 100 years, it is one of the longest-lived vertebrates...
s, could undermine the doctrine of stability of species. This was his first recorded expression of his doubts about species being immutable, which led to him being convinced about the transmutation of species
Transmutation of species
Transmutation of species was a term used by Jean Baptiste Lamarck in 1809 for his theory that described the altering of one species into another, and the term is often used to describe 19th century evolutionary ideas that preceded Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection...
and hence evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
.
External links
- Mockingbird videos, photographs and sound recordings on the Internet Bird Collection