Mimus - Northern Mockingbird (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, is the only mockingbird commonly found in North America. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Turdus polyglottos. The Northern Mockingbird breeds in southeastern Canada, the United States, northern Mexico, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and the Greater Antilles. It is replaced further south by its closest living relative, the Tropical Mockingbird. The Socorro Mockingbird, an endangered species, is also closely related, contrary to previous opinion. The bird is the state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has occurred in Europe as an extreme rarity. Spreading its wings. The purpose of this behavior is uncertain. Northern Mockingbirds eat mainly insects in summer but switch to eating mostly fruit in fall and winter. These birds forage on the ground or in vegetation; they also fly down from a perch to capture food. They mainly eat insects, berries and seeds. Theyve been seen drinking sap from the cuts on recently pruned trees. While foraging they frequently spread their wings in a peculiar two-step motion to display the white patches. There lacks consensus among ornithologists over whether this behavior is purely a territorial display, or whether the flashing white patches startles insects into giving up their cover. Mockingbirds' willingness to nest near houses, their loud and frequent songs, and their territorial defense often annoy people. John van der Linden, author of the Eastern Birding Central FAQ, reported 25 to 50 percent of the e-mail questions he received were concerned with how to deal with annoying mockingbirds.... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=391037