Mimo azzurro

Identificazione

Measuring 9.5–10.5 in (24–27 cm) in length, and weighing between 50.2 and 59.7 g (1.77 and 2.11 oz), the blue mockingbird is a medium-sized mimid. Individuals of the subspecies caerulescens have a mean body mass slightly higher than that for individuals of the subspecies longirostris — 63.5 g (2.24 oz) for the former and 59.7 g (2.11 oz) for the latter.

Tassonomia

When he first described the blue mockingbird in 1827, William John Swainson assigned it to the mockingbird Orpheus, and when Orpheus became a junior synonym for the genus Mimus, the species was moved accordingly. Not all authorities agreed; several placed it in the thrush Turdus. However, when Charles Lucien Bonaparte moved it to its current genus Melanotis in 1850, most authorities quickly followed suit. There is disagreement as to whether it is monotypic or not.<p>Among taxonomists who believe the species is polytypic, two subspecies are generally recognized.<p>The blue mockingbird has historically been considered conspecific with the closely related blue-and-white mockingbird. Its species name is derived from the Latin adjective caerǔlěus, meaning "blue".

Nome scientifico

Melanotis caerulescens

Autorità

(Swainson, 1827)

Ordine

Passeriformi

Famiglia

Mimidae

Genere

Melanotis

Areale e habitat

The blue mockingbird lives in a variety of woodlands: humid forest, riparian thickets, scrub, pine-oak forests and second growth. It is found at elevations ranging from lowlands to 2,450 m (8,040 ft).

Migrazione

Resident species

Comportamento

The blue mockingbird builds a cup nest of twigs and rootlets.<p>The blue mockingbird is an omnivore; it feeds primarily on invertebrates, but also on some vegetable matter.

Conservazione

Because of its very large range and sizable population (estimated to number 500,000–4,999,999 individuals), the blue mockingbird is rated as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. There is, however, evidence that its overall numbers are dropping, primarily due to habitat fragmentation and loss. The Mexican government has named the longirostris subspecies as a taxon of "special concern".

Tendenza della popolazione

declining