Bahama Mockingbird

Overview

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 occasionally appears as a vagrant in Florida.

Identification

• 28 cm long and weighs between 57 and 85 g, with an average of 66.8 g.
• Nominate adults feature a mottled face with a pale supercilium, brownish-gray upperparts with dark streaks, and light gray underparts with light streaking on the upper breast and more prominent streaks on the flanks.
• Outer tail feathers possess whitish tips, and juveniles have more densely spotted underparts.
• Song is loud and repetitive, consisting of a series of abrupt, varied notes and phrases, with repetition.

Habitat

The nominate subspecies occupies the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago, while M. g. hillii is restricted to southern Jamaica. Except in Jamaica, it inhabits coastal strand, semi-arid scrub, open woodland, and plantations, favouring taller, denser vegetation than the northern mockingbird. In Jamaica, it prefers dry scrubby woodland on limestone hills.

Diet

The Bahama mockingbird is omnivorous, feeding on invertebrates, nectar, small fruits, and little lizards. It mainly forages on the ground by searching through leaf litter, though it also hunts in vegetation up to 6 m high, aggressively defending its feeding sites.

Did you know?

Unlike many members of its family, the Bahama mockingbird apparently does not mimic other birds' songs.