- Mimus polyglottos
Identification
- Gray above, white below
- Black flight feathers with large white patches that flash in flight
- White outer tail feathers
- Slim white eye-line
May be confused with a Shrike (Northern or Loggerhead), but note different body shape, bill shape, and mask.
Distribution
Southern United States north to California in the west and central New York and southern Maine in the east. Also found in the Caribbean and Mexico. Casual vagrant north of range. Accidental vagrant to the UK and the Netherlands.
Taxonomy
Polytypic. Consists of three subspecies.
Habitat
Woodland edges, copses and hedgerows, very common in suburban gardens and also found in many city parks.
In winter, maintains a small territory around patches of fruiting shrubs/trees that it defends from other birds.
Behaviour
These birds forage on the ground or in vegetation and fly down from a perch to capture food. Diet includes insects, berries and seeds.
They build a twig nest in a dense shrub or tree.
