Española Mockingbird

About the Española Mockingbird

The Española mockingbird (Mimus macdonaldi), also known as the Hood mockingbird, is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is endemic to Española Island in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, and it is one of four closely related mockingbird species endemic to the Galápagos archipelago. It is found in dry forests and is omnivorous, though it primarily is a carnivore or scavenger. The species has a highly territorial social structure and has no fear of humans. It is the only species of Galápagos mockingbird that Charles Darwin did not see or collect on the voyage of HMS Beagle.

The Española mockingbird was formally described in 1890 by the American ornithologist Robert Ridgway based on a specimen collected by naturalists on the USS Albatross on the island of Española in the Galápagos Islands. Ridgway coined the binomial name Nesomimus macdonaldi where the specific epithet was chosen to honour Marshall McDonald who was the United States Commissioner of Fisheries. The Española mockingbird is now one of 14 species placed in the genus Mimus that was introduced in 1826 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. Wikipedia →