Brown-backed Mockingbird
Mimus dorsalis
Handsome mockingbird found in scrubby areas in the high Andes. It has rich brown upperparts, mostly white underparts, and a white eyebrow. The brilliant white wing stripes and outer tail feathers flash conspicuously in flight, and help to separate it from the relatively plain Patagonian Mockingbird. Similar to White-banded Mockingbird, but tends to be browner (less gray) on the back and crown, has smaller white wing stripes, and is normally found at much higher elevations. It has a huge vocal repertoire ranging from shrill whistles to harsh churrs and metallic trills.
Identification
The brown-backed mockingbird is 21 to 25.5 cm (8.3 to 10.0 in) long and weighs between 52 and 65 g (1.8 and 2.3 oz) with an average of 58.7 g (2.07 oz). The adult has a well-defined whitish supercilium, a black line through the eye, and dusky cheeks. Its crown and upperparts are chestnut brown that is brightest on the rump. The crown has darker streaks. Most of the tail is blackish but the outer three to four feathers are white. Its underside is whitish with a buff tinge to the chest, sides and flanks. The juvenile is similar with the addition of dusky spotting on its breast.
Taxonomy
The brown-backed mockingbird is a sister species to the white-banded mockingbird (Mimus triurus). It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Mimus dorsalis
- Authority
- (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Mimidae
- Genus
- Mimus
Range and habitat
Most of the brown-backed mockingbird's range is in western and southern Bolivia, from La Paz Department south. It also entends into northwestern Argentina as far south as Tucumán Province.<p>The brown-backed mockingbird inhabits arid landscapes of brush, desert shrubs, and hedgerows, often near human habitation. In elevation it mostly occurs between 2,300 and 3,500 m (7,500 and 11,500 ft) but can be found as low as 1,700 m (5,600 ft) and as high as 4,200 m (13,800 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The brown-backed mockingbird forages mostly on the ground, but details of its feeding behavior and diet have not been published.<p>The brown-backed mockingbird breeds from November to March. It constructs a cup nest of twigs, often in cactus and sometimes in a bush. The clutch is four eggs. Essentially nothing else is known about its breeding phenology<p>The brown-backed mockingbird's song is "a series of repeated harsh notes and chuckles".
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Roraiman Barbtail
Roraimia adusta
Small, boldly patterned bird of mossy tepui forests. Mostly rufous-brown on back and tail, with dark ear patch, bright white throat, and dark underparts streaked white. Found only in humid, mossy forest on tepui slopes, where it is often one of the more common understory birds provided moss growth is sufficient. Clambers over branches and climbs small tree trunks, gleaning insects from bark and probing into moss, usually in the understory but up into middle levels as well. Often follows mixed-species flocks. Contact call between members of a pair is an sharp squeak. Song is a series of 6–9 high-pitched, forceful notes, the first somewhat lower pitched. Unlikely to be mistaken for other species given bold plumage pattern and restricted range.
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