''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 genus name is
Latin for "mimic".
The following
species are placed here:
*
Brown-backed mockingbird, ''Mimus dorsalis''
*
Bahama mockingbird, ''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, ''Mimus thenca''
*
White-banded mockingbird, ''Mimus triurus''
*
Northern mockingbird, ''Mimus polyglottos''
*
Socorro mockingbird, ''Mimus graysoni''
*
Tropical mockingbird, ''Mimus gilvus''
*
Chalk-browed mockingbird
The chalk-browed mockingbird (''Mimus saturninus'') is a bird in the family mimidae. It is found in Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Suriname, and Uruguay.
Taxonomy and systematics
The chalk-browed mockingbird has four subspecies, the n ...
, ''Mimus saturninus''
The ''Nesomimus'' group includes the following species endemic to the
Galápagos Islands:
*
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, ''Mimus parvulus''
*
Floreana mockingbird or Charles mockingbird, ''Mimus trifasciatus''
*
San Cristóbal mockingbird, ''Mimus melanotis''
The ''Nesomimus'' group is
endemic to the
Galápagos Islands. These mockingbirds were important in
Charles Darwin's development of the theory of
evolution by
natural selection.
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'' 10:243-270. .]
See also
*
List of commonly used taxonomic affixes
References
External links
Darwin's Mockingbirds a site about the ''Nesomimus'' group run by Professor Robert L. Curry of
Villanova University.
Bird genera
Mockingbirds
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Mimidae-stub