Gammon, D. E., & Tovsky, A. C. (2021). A cross-sectional field study of fall song in Northern Mockingbirds Mimus polyglottos. Journal of Ornithology, 162(2), 461-468.
There are several reasons why the current article can be considered a reliable source for my project. First of all, the Journal of Ornithology is one of the most influential journals in the field of ornithology. It was first published in 1853 and still exists today as the official journal of the German Ornithologists’ Society (Springer, n.d.). Moreover, it is ranked as the 5th most important journal in the field by Google Scholar (n.d.). Secondly, the article presents a thorough methodology part where the data collection and analysis are explained in detail. Although the sample size of 37 mockingbirds is not representative enough to draw more general conclusions, it is still reliable enough to make conclusions concerning the behavior of Mimus polyglottos.
Singing is one of the important parts of Northern Mockingbirds’ existence in nature and same species groups. For this reason, understanding how the mimicry and, therefore, the prevalence of stereotypy in the songs of these birds is related to the age and the communication of one’s reproductive activity is very important. Thus, the current article would be useful for my research and project.
Peltier, S. K., Wilson, C. M., & Godard, R. D. (2019). Wing-flashing by northern mockingbirds while foraging and in response to a predator model. Northeastern Naturalist, 26(2), 251-260.
Although not as influential as the Journal of Ornithology, Northeastern Naturalist is still a reliable source of information. It has been published since the year 2000 and currently has the Web of Science impact factor (the index that reflects how often the journal’s articles are cited) of 0.538 (SCI Journal, n.d.). Moreover, similarly to the previous article, Peltier et al. also thoroughly explain the methods of data collection and analysis.
The current article examines another frequently observable pattern of behavior that Mimus polyglottos exhibit, which is wing-flashing. In this regard, the authors conduct a profound literature review that seeks to explain the antecedents of this practice and present their own investigation results.
References
Google Scholar. (n.d.). Top publications. Web.
SCI Journal. (n.d.). SCI Journal impact factor database: Northeastern Naturalist. Web.
Springer. (n.d.). Journal of Ornithology. Web.