Definition:

(noun) The scientific bird family classification of thrush-like birds that includes mockingbirds, thrashers, catbirds and tremblers. There are approximately 35 birds included in this family, though the entire Mimidae family is occasionally classified as a subfamily of the Troglodytidae family of wrens.

Mimidae birds are endemic to the New World and can be found in a wide range of habitats, from forests and scrub to deserts, grasslands and suburban areas.

They are absent from the thick tropical jungles of the Amazon basin and are also missing in the highest Arctic region.

These birds often have relatively dull, unobtrusive plumage, but their highly developed syrinx gives them incredible distinction for vocalizations, and many of them are capable of mimicking a wide range of other bird species as well as animal sounds, mechanical noises and other unusual tones, and they are astonishing singers. In addition to their vocal capabilities, characteristics shared by this family of birds include:

• Genders are similar in markings and coloration
• Relatively long tail and long legs
• Preference to forage on the ground, often for both fruit and insects
• Slender bills, often decurved, with curves more pronounced on longer bills

Familiar birds in the Mimidae family include the northern mockingbird, gray catbird, sage thrasher, brown thrasher, Bahama mockingbird and brown trembler.

Photo – Tropical Mockingbird © Tony Hisgett

Pronunciation:

MIH-mih-deye or MIH-mih-day

Also Known As:

Mimids, Mimic Thrushes