CENZONTLE: CHARACTERISTICS, HABITAT, REPRODUCTION, FEEDING - BIOLOGY - 2025

The cenzontle (Mimus polyglottos) is a bird that is part of the Mimidae family. The main characteristic of this species is its song, which is formed by a grouping of syllables and phrases. For its conformation, it takes sounds from the environment that surrounds it, from other birds and animals of different kinds.

Because of this, each nightingale, as it is also known, creates its own melody. Both the female and the male sing, but in this it is more noticeable and frequent. The melodies fulfill several functions, one being that of being part of the reproductive process. They are also used when these birds defend their territory.

Cenzontle. Source: Captain-tucker

--Mimus polyglottos orpheus.

Habitat and distribution

- Distribution

The cenzontle is distributed throughout North America, living in the United States, Mexico and Canada. In addition, it has been sighted in southeast Alaska and in Hawaii, where it was introduced in 1920. In the United States, it is abundant in the southern states, especially in Texas and southern Florida.

Regarding the range of reproduction, it covers from British Columbia to the marine provinces of Canada. Thus, it mates in almost all of the continental United States, including eastern Nebraska and northern California.

In Canada, it pairs south of Ontario and in the Atlantic provinces. As for Mexico, it breeds east of Oaxaca and in Veracruz.

The nightingale, as this species is also known, resides in its habitat throughout the year. However, during the winter, the birds that live in the north tend to move further south.

During the 19th century, the range of the cenzontle expanded northward. Thus, it currently occupies the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia. In the United States, she lives in Massachusetts, Arizona, New Mexico, along the California coast and from Connecticut to Oklahoma.

- Habitat

The Mimus polyglottos prefers forest edges and open areas. It can usually be found in shrubby deserts, open areas with scrub, and on farmland. In these habitats, it requires tall trees, from where it can defend its territory.

Likewise, it is found in riparian corridors, edges of forests and fields covered with vegetation, in particular where thorny plants abound. The range of this species is progressively expanding northward as food sources expand its range.

Also, you live in urban and suburban areas, such as residential areas, city parks, gardens, and on the roadsides. This bird has a high affinity to places where there is grass, with bushes that offer shade and a place to nest.

The cenzontles that are located in western regions prefer the chaparral and desert scrub. When foraging they fly into areas with short grass and avoid thick wooded areas to build their nest.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity of this species occurs when it reaches one year of birth. The cenzontle is generally monogamous. The pair remains together during the breeding season, and occasionally may do so for life. However, specialists have reported some cases of polygyny.

Before starting courtship, the male establishes a territory. Then, he tries to attract the female, using displays of flight and vocalizations, among other behaviors. Thus, you can chase him throughout the territory, while they sing.

Also, he can scamper the female through tree branches and through bushes, showing her potential nesting sites.

Another way to court the female is when the male performs a flight with a very particular pattern. In this one, it travels a few meters in the air and then drops like a parachute, displaying the patches of its wings. At the same time, he sings and hovers over the entire area, to show the female her territory.

The nest

Both parents are involved in the construction of the nest, which is between one and three meters above the ground. However, the male is the one who does most of the work, while the female perches on the branch of the tree where the nest is, to protect her partner from predators.

Externally, the nest is made up of twigs, while, internally, it is covered with leaves, grasses and moss. This is bulky, cup-shaped, and made from small twigs, dry leaves, stems, grass, and other organic materials. In the following video you can see the chicks of a moorish mother:

Nesting

Mating usually occurs during spring and early summer. After copulation, the female lays 2 to 6 eggs. These are blue-green in color and may have reddish or brown spots. The female is in charge of incubating them, however, when they hatch, the two parents feed and protect the young.

In recent research, it was shown that temperature and food availability affect parental incubation. In this sense, greater access to food provides the female with more time to take care of the nest.

However, the increase in environmental temperature reduces the time that the female spends incubation, thus increasing the energy cost of cooling the eggs that have been exposed to heat.

The babies

The eggs hatch after 11-14 days. In the first six days, the hatchlings open their eyes, groom themselves, and emit soft vocalizations.

The survival of the chicks is strongly threatened, since at that stage there are high levels of predation, more than in nesting. Because of this, the parents are more aggressive in protecting the young than in protecting the eggs.

Within seventeen days, the young begin to flap their wings, fly, bathe and leave the nest. On the other hand, the male is the one who teaches them to fly and feeds them, until around forty days of age.

Feeding

The northern nightingale, as this species is called, is an omnivorous bird. Their diet consists of earthworms, arthropods, small crustaceans, lizards, fruits, berries and seeds.

One of the main sources of nutrients is insects. Within this group there are beetles (Coleoptera), grasshoppers (Orthoptera), ants (Hymenoptera) and spiders (Araneae).

With regard to plant species, these include blackberries, dogwood, brambles, raspberries, figs and grapes. To drink water, it does so in the puddles at the edge of lakes and rivers and from the dewdrops that accumulate on the leaves of plants. In turn, some can take sap from the cuts that the trees have when they are pruned.

The cenzontle feeds on the ground or among vegetation. It can also fly from a perch, to capture its prey. While looking for its food, it usually spreads its wings, to show its white spots. Some specialists argue that this behavior may be associated with intimidation of prey or predators.

Behavior

The cenzontle is a solitary and territorial bird. During nesting, it aggressively defends its nest and the area around it from predators. If the threat persists, the bird voices a call to the cenzontles that are in the nearby territories, to unite in defense.

This species is fierce in attack, it can even attack larger species, such as the hawk, or mammals such as dogs and cats.

The Mimus polyglottos has diurnal habits and is partially migratory. The vast majority who live in the north, migrate south in the winter. As for those who live in the south, they are generally year-round residents.

To communicate, he uses his airshow and songs. The frequency of these is higher in late spring, before mating, while the lowest is in the non-breeding season.

According to research, the male with high levels of testosterone sings more. This allows you to find a partner more easily. In addition, the number of songs increased substantially as he built the nest. In contrast, the male sang fewer times during incubation and while caring for the young.

References

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4. Daniel Edelstein (2003). Do mockingbirds have their own specific song or are they mimicking other birds' songs? Recovered from baynature.org.
5. Neotropical Birds (2019). Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos). Recovered from neotropical.birds.cornell.edu.
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