Northern Mockingbird Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesNorthern Mockingbird
Adult
Medium-sized slender songbird with a long tail. Adults are grayish above and whitish below with two white wingbars.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, December 07, 2016Adult
Medium-sized slender songbird with a long tail. Adults are grayish above and whitish below. Mimics songs of other songbirds.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, December 07, 2016Adult
Very vocal: song is a long series of phrases, with each phrase repeated 2–6 times before shifting to a new sound. Many sounds are mimicked. Both males and females sing.
© Eric Liner / Macaulay LibrarySantiago de Cuba, April 01, 2007Not all videos have sound
Juvenile
Juveniles have spotted breasts.
© Davey Walters / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, September 03, 2016Adult
Note distinctive slender shape with long tail. The large white wing patches visible in flight fold up into a small white mark when the bird is perched.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryTexas, May 02, 2008Not all videos have sound
Adult
White wing patches are distinctive.
© Gordon Dimmig / Macaulay LibraryPennsylvania, March 23, 2013Adult
Often runs and hops along the ground. Found alone or in pairs year-round.
© Mary Keleher / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, April 02, 2017Adults
When defending territory boundaries, rival birds fly toward each other, land near the boundary, and face off, silently hopping from one side to another. Eventually, one bird retreats and the other chases it a short ways.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 23, 1997Not all videos have sound
Adult
Usually sits conspicuously on high vegetation, fences, eaves, or telephone wires. Found in in towns, suburbs, backyards, parks, forest edges, and open land at low elevations.
© Franklin Diaz / Macaulay LibraryGeorgia, May 05, 2017Adult
Both sexes help build the nest, with the male starting several nests and the female choosing one and then finishing it, lining it with grasses, rootlets and other soft vegetation. This video has no audio.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 23, 2008Not all videos have sound
Similar SpeciesLoggerhead Shrike
Adult/immature
Shrikes have the same overall pattern as mockingbirds but have blacker wings, a bigger head, a black mask, and a heavy, hooked bill unlike Northern Mockingbirds which have grayer wings and face and a thin bill.
© Michael Smith / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, March 28, 2016Similar SpeciesNorthern Shrike
Adult/immature
Shrikes have the same overall pattern as mockingbirds but have blacker wings, a bigger head, a black mask, and a heavy, hooked bill unlike Northern Mockingbirds which have grayer wings and face and a thin bill.
© Howard Wu / Macaulay LibraryVirginia, December 04, 2016Similar SpeciesGray Catbird
Adult/immature
Gray Catbirds are darker gray, with no white in the wings or tail like Northern Mockingbirds.
© Bryan Calk / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 08, 2017Similar SpeciesTownsend's Solitaire
Adult
Townsend's Solitaires are birds of the mountains; they have a white eyering and a small, buffy mark in the wing rather than bold white wingbars seen on Northern Mockingbirds in flight.
© Ryan O'Donnell / Macaulay LibraryArizona, January 08, 2017Similar SpeciesBlue-gray Gnatcatcher
Breeding male
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are less than half the size of a Northern Mockingbird, with a white eyering and a tendency to flit quietly through high branches unlike mockingbirds which are loud and conspicuous.
© Linda Chittum / Macaulay LibraryVirginia, April 15, 2017Similar SpeciesSage Thrasher
Adult
Sage Thrashers have streaked underparts whereas Northern Mockingbirds have clean whitish underparts. Sage Thrashers do not flash white in wings or tail like mockingbirds.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, November 01, 2003Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Mockingbirds and Thrashers(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Mimidae)
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