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Northern Mockingbird
Mimus polyglottos
29.6197, -95.6349
Field Notes
Description:
The 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.[2]
The Northern Mockingbird breeds in southeastern Canada, the United States, northern Mexico, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and the Greater Antilles. It is replaced further south by its closest living relative, the Tropical Mockingbird. The Socorro Mockingbird, an endangered species, is also closely related, contrary to previous opinion.[3][4] The bird is the state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.[5]
This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has occurred in Europe as an extreme rarity.
Habitat:
Mockingbirds have a strong preference for certain trees such as maple, sweetgum, and sycamore; they generally avoid pine trees after the other trees have grown their leaves. They have a particular preference for low lying branches. Mockingbirds are often found in urban and suburban areas, where they perch on telephone poles, streetlights, or high points on buildings. While singing on a high perch they will often bolt several feet into the air in a looping motion, with wings outstretched to display their white underside, then land back on the perch without breaking a note. This has been studied and thought to be a courtship display.
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