The Patagonian mockingbird (''Mimus patagonicus'') is a species of

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 lightweig ...

in the family Mimidae. It is found in much of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and locally in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 202 ...

and BirdLife International consider the Patagonian mockingbird to be a

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to the

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''). The

International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...

(IOC) does not treat them as that closely related.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 15, 2019HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world'' Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip xls zipped 1 MBretrieved May 27, 2021 The Patagonian mockingbird is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

Description

The Patagonian mockingbird is long. Males weigh and females . Adults have a brown crown, a whitish supercilium, and a blackish line through the eye. Their upperparts are plain grayish brown that is paler on the rump. The wings are blackish and show two thin pale bars when folded. Their tail is blackish except for the white outer edge of the outermost feathers and white tips on the others. They are a buffy gray below that is paler on the throat and belly. The juvenile is essentially the same with the addition of blackish spots on the breast.Cody, M. L. (2020). Patagonian Mockingbird (''Mimus patagonicus''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.patmoc1.01 retrieved July 20, 2021

Distribution and habitat

The Patagonian mockingbird is a year round resident of northwestern and central Argentina. It breeds in southern Argentina and southern Chile as far as the Strait of Magellan and in the non-breeding season migrates north to central and somewhat into northeastern Argentina. It is a casual visitor to

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...

and has been recorded in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

. The Patagonian mockingbird generally inhabits open shrublands and bushlands including the Patagonian steppe. In southeastern Argentina it is also found in somewhat open woodland. In elevation it ranges from sea level to .

Behavior

Feeding

The Patagonian mockingbird feeds mostly on the ground. In the breeding season its primary diet is insects and it adds fruits and berries in the non-breeding season.

Breeding

The Patagonian mockingbird breeds in January in northern Argentina and between October and December in Chile. It is monogamous and appears to be territorial. Family groups stay together in the non-breeding season. Its nest is an open cup made of twigs and lined with softer materials and is placed low in vegetation. The clutch size varies from three to six.

Vocalization

The Patagonian mockingbird sings continuously for long periods from an open perch or from within vegetation, "a warbling series of varied notes and phrases". It mimics other species.

Status

The IUCN has assessed the Patagonian mockingbird as being of Least Concern. It is fairly common except in Chile and there are no known threats to its population.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q648917 Patagonian mockingbird Birds of Argentina Birds of Patagonia Patagonian mockingbird Taxonomy articles created by Polbot