Description
Northern Mockingbirds are medium-sized mimids that have long legs and tails, with abridged and arched wings. The Mockingbirds' color is either a gray with a grayish-brown tint for its upperparts, while its underparts have a white or whitish-gray color. It has parallel wing bars on its adjacent half of the wings conntected with its white patch that has a distinguished appearance in flight. The black central retrices and typical white lateral retrices also are noticeable in flight. The iris is usually a light green-yellow or a yellow, but has been instances of an orange color. The bill is black with a brownish black appearance at the base. The juvenile appearance is marked by its streaks on its back, distinguished spots and streaks on its chest, and a gray or grayish-green iris.
Mockingbirds measure from 20.5 to 28 cm (8.1 to 11 in) including a tail almost as long as its body. The wingspan can range from 31–38 cm (12–15 in) and body mass is from 40–58 g (1.4–2.0 oz). Males tend to be slightly larger than females. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in), the tail is 10 to 13.4 cm (3.9 to 5.3 in), the culmen is 1.6 to 1.9 cm (0.63 to 0.75 in) and the tarsus is 2.9 to 3.4 cm (1.1 to 1.3 in).
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