Mockingbirds!

I seem to be lucky enough to document a Mockingbird handling different prey items every year, and this year I continued my luck by capturing a third prey item! My first year in the Galápagos, we stumbled upon a Mockingbird bashing a caterpillar on the ground.

Last year, we came upon a mockingbird bashing a small rodent on the ground. This was a very intriguing behaviour, so we did some looking into it. The results will soon be published at the Wilson Journal of Ornithology, so keep an eye out for Gotanda, Sharpe, and De Léon 2015!

Last year, we also saw a Mockingbird doing the same thing to a gecko

This year, I spotted a Mockingbird with a grasshopper. It took me a while to be able to identify what it was pecking at and picking up and hitting on the ground. All I could spot was a long, black object in the birds mouth. Unlike previous years, the Mockingbird decided to take its prey into an area covered in brush, so getting a clear photo was difficult.

Hopefully my streak of being able to photograph Mockingbirds with various prey items will continue!