| Bahama mockingbird | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In Ciego de Avila Province, Cuba | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Mimidae |
| Genus: | Mimus |
| Species: | M. gundlachii |
| Binomial name | |
| Mimus gundlachii Cabanis, 1855 | |
 | |
The Bahama mockingbird (Mimus gundlachii) is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and is a vagrant to Florida. [2] [3]
The Bahama mockingbird has two subspecies, the nominate Mimus gundlachii gundlachii and M. g. hillii. [2] Its specific epithet honors Juan Gundlach. [4]
The Bahama mockingbird is 28 cm (11 in) long and weighs between 57 and 85 g (2.0 and 3.0 oz) with an average of 66.8 g (2.36 oz). Adults of the nominate subspecies have a mottled face with a pale supercilium. Their upperparts are brownish gray with dark streaks from the crown to the lower back. Their outer tail feathers have whitish tips. Their underparts are light gray with light streaking on the upper breast and more prominent streaks on the flanks. The juvenile is similar but has more densely spotted underparts. M. g. hillii has more prominent streaking on its back than the nominate and the white tips on the tail feathers are larger. [4]
The nominate subspecies of Bahama mockingbird is found in the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago off Cuba's north coast. M. g. hillii is found only in southern Jamaica. [4]
Except in Jamaica, the Bahama mockingbird inhabits a variety of biomes including coastal strand, semi-arid scrub, open woodland, and plantations. In Jamaica it inhabits dry scrubby woodland on limestone hills. It appears to favor taller, denser vegetation than the similar northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottus) where their ranges overlap. [4]
The Bahama mockingbird is omnivorous; its diet includes invertebrates, nectar, small fruits, and little lizards. It mainly forages on the ground, searching through leaf litter, but also hunts up to 6 m (20 ft) high in vegetation. It aggressively defends feeding sites. [4]
The Bahama mockingbird's breeding season spans from February to July in most areas but from April on the Cuban islands. Both sexes build a rough open cup nest of twigs, lined with softer fibers, and usually placed low in a bush. They aggressively defend their territory with vigorous song. The clutch size is two or three. [4]
The Bahama mockingbird's song is loud and repetitive, a "series of abrupt, varied notes and phrases, with repetition". It apparently does not mimic other birds' songs. [4]
The IUCN has assessed the Bahama mockingbird as being of Least Concern. [1] It is common in the Bahamas, in southern Jamaica, and on some of the Cuban cays. As human habitation spreads it might suffer from competition with the northern mockingbird. [4]
The northern rough-winged swallow is a small, migratory swallow. It is very similar to the southern rough-winged swallow, Stelgidopteryx ruficollis.
The sharp-shinned hawk or northern sharp-shinned hawk, commonly known as a sharpie, is a small hawk, with males being the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, but with the species averaging larger than some Neotropical species, such as the tiny hawk. The taxonomy is far from resolved, with some authorities considering the southern taxa to represent three separate species: white-breasted hawk, plain-breasted hawk, and rufous-thighed hawk. The American Ornithological Society and some other checklists keeps all four variations conspecific.
The tropical mockingbird is a resident breeding bird from southern Mexico to northern and eastern South America and in the Lesser Antilles and other Caribbean islands.
The Bahama woodstar or Bahama hummingbird is a species of hummingbird endemic to the Lucayan archipelago, including the Bahamian and Turks and Caicos islands. It is named the "hummer" by locals due to a distinct humming sound it makes while feeding.
The plain-capped starthroat is a species of hummingbird in the "mountain gems", tribe Lampornithini in subfamily Trochilinae. It is found from Mexico to Costa Rica.
The Antillean palm swift is a species of bird in subfamily Apodinae of the swift family Apodidae. It is found on the Caribbean islands of Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola.
The chalk-browed mockingbird is a bird in the family mimidae. It is found in Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Suriname, and Uruguay.
The Bahama swallow is an endangered swallow endemic to The Bahamas.
The Cuban emerald is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in the Bahamas and Cuba.
The great lizard cuckoo is a species of bird in the tribe Phaenicophaeini, subfamily Cuculinae of the cuckoo family Cuculidae. It is found in the Bahamas and Cuba.
The scaly-breasted thrasher is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found throughout much of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean Sea.
The brown-backed mockingbird is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in Argentina and Bolivia.
The long-tailed mockingbird is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
The Chilean mockingbird, locally known as tenca, is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It primarily inhabits Chile's northern half, though there are sightings in Argentina.
The San Cristóbal mockingbird or Chatham mockingbird, is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is endemic to San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos Islands.
The Floreana mockingbird or the Charles Island mockingbird, is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It was endemic to Floreana, one of the Galápagos Islands, but now is found only on two nearby islets, Campeón and Gardner-near-Floreana. The Floreana mockingbird is also known as Darwin's mockingbird, as it was the arguable inspiration for Charles Darwin's work on the origins of species; he noticed distinct differences between them and previous species he had encountered and consequently established the existence of other variants on neighboring islands.
The western spindalis is a songbird species. It was formerly considered conspecific with the other three species of Spindalis, with the common name stripe-headed tanager.
The red-legged thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. Native to the Caribbean, it is found in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. It formerly occurred on the Swan Islands, Honduras, but was extirpated there.
The loggerhead kingbird is a species of sub-oscine passerine bird belonging to the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. This species is found in wooded habitats in the islands of the northern Caribbean, with records of vagrants from Florida.
The West Indian woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and Cuba.
