''Mimus'' is a genus of

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

birds in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Mimidae. It contains the typical

mockingbird Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the family (biology), family Mimidae. They are best known for the habit of some species Mimicry, mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Mimus'' was introduced in 1826 by the German zoologist

Friedrich Boie Friedrich Boie (4 June 1789 – 3 March 1870) was a German entomologist, herpetologist, ornithologist, and lawyer.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Universi ...

to contain a single species, ''Turdus polyglottis''

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1758, the

northern mockingbird The northern mockingbird (''Mimus polyglottos'') is a mockingbird commonly found in North America, of the family Mimidae. The species is also found in some parts of the Caribbean, as well as on the Hawaiian Islands. It is typically a permanent B ...

, which becomes the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

monotypy In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

. The genus name is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "mimic". A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2006 found that the genus ''Nesomimus'', containing the species endemic to the Galápagos islands, was embedded in the genus ''Mimus''. The genera were therefore merged under the earlier name, ''Mimus''. The position of the Galápagos species within the genus ''Mimus'' was confirmed by a more comprehensive study published in 2016. The genus contains 14 species: *

Brown-backed mockingbird The brown-backed mockingbird (''Mimus dorsalis'') is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in Argentina and Bolivia. Taxonomy and systematics The brown-backed mockingbird is a sister species to the white-banded mockingbird (''M ...

, ''Mimus dorsalis'' *

Bahama mockingbird The Bahama mockingbird (''Mimus gundlachii'') is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and is a vagrant to Florida. Taxonomy and systematics The Bahama mockingbi ...

, ''Mimus gundlachii'' *

Long-tailed mockingbird The long-tailed mockingbird (''Mimus longicaudatus'') is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics The long-tailed mockingbird has four subspecies, the nominate ''Mimus longicaudatus l ...

, ''Mimus longicaudatus'' *

Patagonian mockingbird The Patagonian mockingbird (''Mimus patagonicus'') is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in much of Argentina and locally in Chile. Taxonomy and systematics The Clements taxonomy and BirdLife International consider the Pata ...

, ''Mimus patagonicus'' *

Chilean mockingbird The Chilean mockingbird (''Mimus thenca''), locally known as ''tenca'', is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It primarily inhabits Chile's northern half, though there are sightings in Argentina. Taxonomy and systematics The Chilean mock ...

, ''Mimus thenca'' *

White-banded mockingbird The white-banded mockingbird (''Mimus triurus'') is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. ...

, ''Mimus triurus'' *

Northern mockingbird The northern mockingbird (''Mimus polyglottos'') is a mockingbird commonly found in North America, of the family Mimidae. The species is also found in some parts of the Caribbean, as well as on the Hawaiian Islands. It is typically a permanent B ...

, ''Mimus polyglottos'' *

Socorro mockingbird The Socorro mockingbird (''Mimus graysoni'') is an endangered mockingbird endemic to Socorro Island in Mexico's Revillagigedo Islands. The specific epithet commemorates the American ornithologist Andrew Jackson Grayson. ''Mimus graysoni'' shows ...

, ''Mimus graysoni'' *

Tropical mockingbird The tropical mockingbird (''Mimus gilvus'') is a resident breeding bird from southern Mexico to northern and eastern South America and in the Lesser Antilles and other Caribbean islands. Taxonomy and systematics The tropical mockingbird has som ...

, ''Mimus gilvus'' *

Chalk-browed mockingbird The chalk-browed mockingbird (''Mimus saturninus'') is a bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Suriname, and Uruguay. Taxonomy and systematics The chalk-browed mockingbird has four subspecies: the no ...

, ''Mimus saturninus'' The ''Nesomimus'' group includes the following species endemic to the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

: *

Española mockingbird The Española mockingbird (''Mimus macdonaldi''), also known as the Hood mockingbird, is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is Endemism, endemic to Española Island in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, and it is one of four closely relate ...

, ''Mimus macdonaldi'' (formerly Hood mockingbird) *

Galápagos mockingbird The Galápagos mockingbird (''Mimus parvulus'') is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Systematics The Galápagos mockingbird is one of four mockingbird species endemic to the Galápagos Is ...

, ''Mimus parvulus'' *

Floreana mockingbird The Floreana mockingbird (''Mimus trifasciatus'') or the Charles Island mockingbird, is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It was endemic to Floreana, one of the Galápagos Islands, but now is found only on two nearby islets, Campeón a ...

or Charles mockingbird, ''Mimus trifasciatus'' *

San Cristóbal mockingbird The San Cristóbal mockingbird (''Mimus melanotis'') or Chatham mockingbird, is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is endemic to San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos Islands.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Bi ...

, ''Mimus melanotis'' The ''Nesomimus'' group is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

. These mockingbirds were important in

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

's development of the theory of

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the Heredity, heritable traits characteristic of a population over generation ...

. Previous to the merger between ''Nesomimus'' and ''Mimus'' scientists have proved in 1971 that both groups can produce hybrids. Robert I. Bowman and Anne Carter have studied a female Galápagos mockingbird and a male from the long-tailed mockingbird subspecies ''Mimus longicaudatus punensis'' that have interbred. They raised a hybrid offspring to adulthood.Bowman, R. I. and A. Carter (1971). "Egg-pecking behavior in Galapagos mockingbirds". ''

Living Bird ''Living Bird'' is a quarterly magazine published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Editorial director Gustave Axelson leads the team of writers, editors, and designers that produce the magazine. Printed editions of ''Living Bird'' are distribu ...

'' 10:243-270. .

References

External links

Darwin's Mockingbirds
a site about the ''Nesomimus'' group run by Professor Robert L. Curry of

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

. Bird genera Taxa named by Friedrich Boie Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Mimidae-stub