Northern mockingbird Mimus polyglottos

Identification Tips:

• Length: 9 inches
• Slender bill
• Gray head and upperparts
• Yellow eye
• White underparts
• Long black tail with white outer tail feathers
• White wing bars
• White patch in wing, especially visible in flight
• Black legs
• Sexes similar
• Juvenile has spotted breast
• Most often found in scrubby habitats and in urban areas

Similar species:

Shrikes are similar but have black masks and thicker bills. Sage Thrasher is similar to juvenile mockingbird but lacks white wing patches and has darker, more extensive spotting below. Rare Bahama Mockingbird (stray to Florida) has streaked flanks and lacks wing patches.

Length and wingspan from: Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc.