Stats

Lifespan

10-18 yrs

Size

Small

Diet

Omnivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate shrubland

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

This slate-colored songbird inhabits dense thickets across North America. It mimics the sounds of other birds, frogs, and even mechanical noises to defend territory.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small clutch of speckled eggs is incubated in a cup nest, turned and kept warm by the parent.
2. 2.
   hatchling

   A pink, blind hatchling is fed by its parents in the nest, gaping its bill at every visit.
3. 3.
   juvenile

   A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to fly and to forage close to its parents.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown with adult plumage and song.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →
• Watch on YouTube →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Mimidae

Genus

Dumetella

Species

Dumetella carolinensis