The Story
This Tropical Mockingbird (Mimus gilvus) was at Ukuku Rural Lodge in Juntas, Tolima, Colombia when I photographed it. It is monogamous, but cooperative breeding has been recorded, with young from an earlier brood helping. Both sexes build the nest of coarse twigs, placed low in a shrub or tree. The female does most of the incubation, which lasts 13 to 15 days. It is common and conspicuous through nearly all of its range. Juntas is a rural district of Ibagué in the Combeima Canyon, a buffer zone of Los Nevados National Natural Park where more than 300 bird species have been recorded.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400. IUCN lists the Tropical Mockingbird as Least Concern, with an increasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Tropical Mockingbird (Mimus gilvus) belongs to the family Mimidae (Mockingbirds and Thrashers) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List