General

Blue Mockingbird: This large thrush is slate blue with pale blue streaks on the crown, black mask and red eye. Native of Mexico and casual in winter in southeast Arizona and accidental in New Mexico, California, and Texas. A very secretive bird, skulks in dense underbrush while searching for insects and fallen fruit. Sexes are similar and juveniles are duller with brown on the wings and a darker eye.

Range and Habitat

Blue Mockingbird: Endemic to Mexico, widespread in South and Central America, but also resident in southern Texas, mainly on Rio Grande. Habitats include a variety of woodlands: humid forest, riparian thickets, scrub, pine-oak forests and second growth. Found at elevations ranging from lowlands to 10,000 feet.

Breeding and Nesting

Blue mockingbird: Not much is known about the breeding habits of the Blue Mockingbird. It is estimated that 2 blue eggs, sometimes with brown specks, are laid in a nest of twigs and roots, lined with grasses, built by both sexes and placed low in a bush or tree.

Foraging and Feeding

Blue Mockingbird: Eats mostly insects and fruits, which it gathers from the foliage or forest floor.

Vocalization

Blue Mockingbird: A rich and musical "wee-cheep", "wheep", or "chuk."

Similar Species

Blue Mockingbird: Red eye and larger size sets this bird apart from similarly colored native birds.