Tropical Mockingbird

The Tropical Mockingbird (Mimus gilvus) is a resident breeding bird from southern  Mexico south to northern Brazil, and in the Lesser Antilles and other Caribbean  islands.

Adults are grey on the head and upper parts with yellow eyes, a white eye stripe and dark patch through the eye. The underparts are off-white, and the wings are blackish with two white wing bars and white edges to the flight feathers. They have long dark tails with white feather tips, slim black bills with a slight downward curve, and long dark legs.

Tropical mockingbirds forage on the ground or in vegetation or fly down from a perch to capture invertebrates. They mainly eat insects and some berries. These fearless birds will also take food off unattended plates or tables.

A pair of Tropical Mockingbirds (Mimus gilvus) in Drill, Mahaicony. (Photo by Kester Clarke www.kesterclarke.net)