Blue-and-white Mockingbird
Melanotis hypoleucus
Skulking and heard far more often than seen, this fairly large and ample-tailed songbird replaces Blue Mockingbird in highlands and foothills south of Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Favors thickets, dense scrubby woodlands, and forest understory. Behavior similar to Blue Mockingbird: skulking and difficult to see clearly. Plumage striking: denim-blue above with a black mask, white below. Varied songs and calls similar to Blue Mockingbird.
Identification
The blue-and-white mockingbird is 24.2 to 28 cm (9.5 to 11.0 in) long; 20 specimens had a mean mass of 68 g (2.4 oz). The adults' upperparts are a dull slate blue that is slightly brighter on the crown. The wings and tail are slaty black. A conspicuous black "mask" covers from the lores past the eye. The underparts are white darkening to bluish or slate gray on the flanks and vent area. The juvenile has a similar pattern but its upperparts are dull slaty gray instead of blue.
Taxonomy
The blue-and-white mockingbird is monotypic. It and the blue mockingbird (Melanotis caerulescens) are the only species in their genus.
- Scientific name
- Melanotis hypoleucus
- Authority
- Hartlaub, 1852
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Mimidae
- Genus
- Melanotis
Range and habitat
The blue-and-white mockingbird is a year round resident of Mexico from south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec through Guatemala to El Salvador and southern Honduras. It inhabits a variety of landscapes including the edges of humid evergreen forest, pine-oak forest, second growth, and humid and semi-arid scrublands. In elevation it ranges between 900 and 3,000 m (3,000 and 9,800 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Orange-backed Woodpecker
Chrysocolaptes validus
Dressed all in patchwork, this crested woodpecker is brightly colored and unmistakable; no other large crested woodpecker in its range has wingbars. Male has a faded reddish crest, an orange breast, and a whitish back with a warm buffy tinge. Female has a brown head and breast and a whiter back. Calls are sharp and strident, and can be given singly or, more commonly, as part of prolonged series in which pairs of notes are squished together to produce a squeaky-toy sound: “pee-pee-pee-peeyit-pee-pee-pee-peeyit!” Found in forests from lowlands up into hilly and montane areas.
Northern Hawk-Cuckoo
Hierococcyx hyperythrus
A large, elusive cuckoo of lowland woodlands; plumages of both adults and juveniles mimic plumages of sparrowhawks. Adult gray above and pale below, with light orange suffusion on breast and sides; strikingly similar in plumage to Japanese and Chinese sparrowhawks, but has a much thinner bill (bicolored in adults) and a more lithe and smaller-headed profile. Juvenile brown above and white below, with heavily streaked underparts. Song a feverish, rapidly accelerating "chu-witchy-chu-witchy!”
Band-winged Nightjar
Systellura longirostris
Medium-sized nightjar found in a wide range of open habitats from sea level up to the edge of cloud forest in the Andes (4,400 m). Cryptically patterned in brown and gray like other nightjars. Both sexes have a buffy collar around the neck and whitish or buffy bands across each wing. Also look for the relatively long, squared-off tail. Nocturnal, and therefore most easily detected and identified by voice. Song a high, thin “tseeeeeu.”
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