The tropical mockingbird (length 23 cm) likes open spaces. It can be found on the open savannas near Zandery airport and in town for instance on grassfields, cemetaries and just on the streets. Before there were many lawns in paramaribo the best place to see it was the savanna area. Now it is very common in town. They are conspiciuos with their long tail, bordered with white and by their melodious song. In quality it resembles that of thrushes and as indicated by their name, they can imitate other birds. The song of the tropical mockingbird is generally much longer than the short piece (3 sec, 19kb) presented here. They have a habit of stopping abruptly in a run and then raising their wings, like in the last photos of a courtship display.
young in nest
nest in tree fork
Mockingbird making an impression by raising its wings and flashing its tail, here probably a courtship display, but they can do it anytime.
Each small square indicates the observation of at least one (group) of these birds, the medium ones at least 4 observations on different days and the largest ones 10 or more. The color of each square indicates: blue for coastal area, yellow for savanna and red for rainforest.
The first picture was made by J.H. Ribot in Paramaribo, the third by Pascal Dubois in French Guyane. The nestlings were photographed by Foek Chin Joe in Suriname and the nest by J.H. Ribot in Lelydorp, Suriname. Three photos at the bottom were made by Leo Olmtak, of a bird trying to make an impression by raising its wings.
Names in
*