Chalk-browed mockingbird

Mimus saturninus

(Photo from Terra de Gente)

Common name:
chalk-browed mockingbird (en); sabiá-do-campo (pt); mouqueur plombé (fr); sinsonte de cejas blancas (es); camposspottdrossel (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Mimidae

Range:
This South American species is found from central and eastern Brazil and Bolivia down to central Argentina.

Size:
These birds are 24-27  cm long and weigh around 70 g.

Habitat:
The chalk-browed mockingbird is found in dry, open woodlands, scrublands, pastures, swamp forests and urban and sub-urban gardens. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 2.500 m.

Diet:
They eat both fruits and insects, but also seeds, worms and spiders. The fruits include oranges, avocados, tapias and various other wild fruits, while the insects include ants, termites and beetles.

Breeding:
Chalk-browed mockingbirds breed in August-January. They are monogamous, but several helpers assist with territorial defence, nest-guarding and feeding of young. The nest is a cup made of twigs, placed in a scrub or tree up to 2 m above the ground. The female lays 3-4 white eggs which are incubated for 12-15 days. The chicks fledge 12-15 days after hatching, but remain within the parents, where they may become helpers and assist with the clutch in the next year.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats