Mimus is a bird genus in the family Mimidae. It contains the typical mockingbirds. In 2007, the genus Nesomimus was merged into Mimus by the American Ornithologists' Union.[2] The genus name is Latin for "mimic".[3]

Mimus
Chilean mockingbird (M. thenca)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Mimidae
Genus: Mimus
F. Boie, 1826
Type species
Turdus polyglottos[1]
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

14 recognized species, see text

Synonyms

Nesomimus Ridgway, 1890
Orpheus Swainson, 1827

The following species are placed here:

The Nesomimus group includes the following species endemic to the Galápagos Islands:

The Nesomimus group is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. These mockingbirds were important in Charles Darwin's development of the theory of evolution by natural selection.

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.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Mimidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  2. ^ American Ornithologists' Union, changes since 2005
  3. ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 255. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. ^ BOWMAN, R. I. and A. CARTER (1971). "Egg-pecking behavior in Galapagos mockingbirds". Living Bird 10:243-270. ISSN 1059-521X.
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