Galápagos Mockingbird

Like all of the mockingbirds found in the Galápagos, this species is long-tailed and relatively long-legged, with a long, slim, decurved beak. The Galapagos mockingbird has a whitish stripe behind its eye, blackish-brown lores and ear-patch, and a broad white collar. The crown is dark brown, and the upperparts are greyish-brown with darker brown streaks. The flight-feathers are dark brown with two white wing-bars. It is whitish below, with a few brownish streaks on the breast and flanks. Its iris is yellowish, and the bill and legs are black.

The Galápagos mockingbird is the most widespread of the mockingbird species found in the Galápagos; it is found on most of the major (and many of the minor) islands of the archipelago.

Like the other mockingbirds found on the islands, the Galápagos mockingbird is an omnivore; it eats everything from seeds and invertebrates to eggs, baby turtles and Galápagos sea lion placentas. Research suggests that the species may be an effective distributor of invasive plant species across the islands; it eats more fruit than did several tested species of Darwin's finches, but seeds that pass through its digestive tract generally remain viable.