''Mimus'' is a

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Mimidae. It contains the typical

mockingbird Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the family Mimidae. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession. ...

s. In 2007, the genus ''Nesomimus'' was merged into ''Mimus'' by the American Ornithologists' Union. The genus name is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "mimic". The following

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

are placed here: *

Brown-backed mockingbird The brown-backed mockingbird (''Mimus dorsalis'') is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in Argentina and Bolivia. Taxonomy and systematics The brown-backed mockingbird is a sister species to the white-banded mockingbird (' ...

, ''Mimus dorsalis'' *

Bahama mockingbird 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. Taxonomy and systematics The Bahama mockingbi ...

, ''Mimus gundlachii'' *

Long-tailed mockingbird The long-tailed mockingbird (''Mimus longicaudatus'') is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics The long-tailed mockingbird has four subspecies, the nominate ''Mimus longicaudatus l ...

, ''Mimus longicaudatus'' *

Patagonian mockingbird The Patagonian mockingbird (''Mimus patagonicus'') is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in much of Argentina and locally in Chile. Taxonomy and systematics The Clements taxonomy and BirdLife International consider the Pat ...

, ''Mimus patagonicus'' *

Chilean mockingbird The Chilean mockingbird (''Mimus thenca''), 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. Taxonomy and systematics The Chilean mo ...

, ''Mimus thenca'' *

White-banded mockingbird The white-banded mockingbird (''Mimus triurus'') is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D ...

, ''Mimus triurus'' *

Northern mockingbird The northern mockingbird (''Mimus polyglottos'') is a mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe ...

, ''Mimus polyglottos'' *

Socorro mockingbird The 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'' show ...

, ''Mimus graysoni'' *

Tropical mockingbird The tropical mockingbird (''Mimus gilvus'') is a resident breeding bird from southern Mexico to northern and eastern South America and in the Lesser Antilles and other Caribbean islands. Taxonomy and systematics The tropical mockingbird has ...

, ''Mimus gilvus'' * Chalk-browed mockingbird, ''Mimus saturninus'' The ''Nesomimus'' group includes the following species endemic to the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

: *

Hood mockingbird The Hood mockingbird (''Mimus macdonaldi''), also known as the Española mockingbird, is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is endemic to Española Island in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, and it is one of four closely related mocking ...

, ''Mimus macdonaldi'' *

Galápagos mockingbird The Galápagos mockingbird (''Mimus parvulus'') is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Systematics The Galápagos mockingbird is one of four mockingbird species endemic to the Galápagos I ...

, ''Mimus parvulus'' *

Floreana mockingbird The Floreana mockingbird (''Mimus trifasciatus'') 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 an ...

or Charles mockingbird, ''Mimus trifasciatus'' *

San Cristóbal mockingbird The San Cristóbal mockingbird (''Mimus melanotis'') or Chatham mockingbird, is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is endemic to San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos Islands.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. B ...

, ''Mimus melanotis'' The ''Nesomimus'' group is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

. These mockingbirds were important in

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

's development of the theory of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...

. Previous to the merger between ''Nesomimus'' and ''Mimus'' scientists have proved in 1971 that both groups can produce hybrids. Robert I. Bowman and Anne Carter have studied a female Galápagos mockingbird and a male from the long-tailed mockingbird subspecies ''Mimus longicaudatus punensis'' that have interbred. They raised a hybrid offspring to adulthood.BOWMAN, R. I. and A. CARTER (1971). "Egg-pecking behavior in Galapagos mockingbirds". ''

Living Bird ''Living Bird'' is a quarterly magazine published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Editorial director Gustave Axelson leads the team of writers, editors, and designers that produce the magazine. Printed editions of ''Living Bird'' are distribu ...

'' 10:243-270. .

References

External links

Darwin's Mockingbirds
a site about the ''Nesomimus'' group run by Professor Robert L. Curry of

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

. Bird genera Mockingbirds Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Mimidae-stub

See also

References

External links