The wingspan is 23–27 mm. Tannish-peach ground colour, rose-red margin to the forewing, and on this wing a black dentate line beyond the middle, and black, elongate spots before the margin. In the male the costa is curved upwards beyond the apex of the cell. In ab. rosaria Butler (now full species Miltochrista rosaria), which is commoner in the east of the area of distribution than in the west, and is perhaps a distinct species, the ground colour is more yellow; and in ab. crogea Bignault the wings are quite pale yellow, the forewing being edged with bright yellow.


The moth flies from June to September depending on the location. Often occurs singly, in broadleaf and mixed forests, on moors, at road-side ditches, on umbellifers or scabious.
Egg oval, yellow. Larva grey, with blackish head, with long and dense hairs, hibernating, until June on lichens on walls and fences. The caterpillars feed on lichen. Pupa black-brown, abdomen with yellow incisions, in a cocoon densely intermixed with hairs.


The yellow-headed caracara (Milvago chimachima) is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is found in tropical and subtropical South America and the southern portion of Central America. Unlike the falcons in the same family, the caracara is not a fast-flying aerial hunter, but is rather sluggish and often obtains food by scavenging.


When Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot first described the yellow-headed caracara in 1816, he gave it the scientific name Polyborus chimachima, putting it in the same genus as the crested caracaras. In 1824, German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix created the genus Milvago for this species and the closely related chimango caracara.


The yellow-headed caracara is 41–46 cm (16–18 in) in length and weighs 325 g (11.5 oz) on average. Like many other birds of prey, the female is larger than the male, weighing 310–360 g (11–13 oz) against the male's 280–330 g (9.9–11.6 oz). Apart from the difference in size, there is no significant sexual dimorphism in this species. It is broad-winged and long-tailed, somewhat resembling a small Buteo. The adult has a buff head, with a black streak behind the eye, and buff underparts. The upper plumage is brown with distinctive pale patches on the flight feathers of the wings, and the tail is barred cream and brown. The head and underparts of immature birds have dense brown mottling.
The voice is a characteristic screamed schreee.


This is a bird of savanna, swamps and forest edges. Resident from Costa Rica south through Trinidad and Tobago to northern Argentina (the provinces of Misiones, Chaco, Formosa, Corrientes and Santa Fe), it is typically found from sea level to 1,800 m (5,900 ft), and occasionally to 2,600 m (8,500 ft) above mean sea level. In southern South America, it is replaced by a close relative, the chimango caracara, whose range overlaps with that of the yellow-headed caracara in southern Brazil, northern Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. A larger and stouter paleosubspecies, Milvago chimachima readei, occurred in Florida and possibly elsewhere some tens of thousand years ago, during the Late Pleistocene. According to the Peregrine Fund database, the yellow-headed caracara is expanding its range into Nicaragua.


The yellow-headed caracara is omnivorous, and will eat crabs, fish, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and other small animals, as well as carrion, dung and garbage. Birds (such as nestlings and young chickens) are rarely if ever taken, and this species will not elicit warning calls from mixed-species feeding flocks that cross its path even in open cerrado habitat. It will also remove and eat ticks from cattle and Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii), and is sometimes called the tickbird. It has been observed also to forage for small invertebrates in the fur of brown-throated three-toed sloths and capybaras. They feed not only on adult insects but also on pupae and larvae of Lepidoptera, Diptera and Orthoptera. In addition, at least younger birds are fond of certain fruits, such as those of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera), oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and pequi (Caryocar brasiliense). It lays from five to seven brown-marked buff eggs in a stick nest in a tree.
The yellow-headed caracara has benefited from forest clearing for cattle ranching. Its status in Trinidad has changed from rare to fairly common, and it was first seen on Tobago in 1987. It adapts readily to urban areas and, together with species such as the American black vulture (Coragyps atratus), it is among the most commonly seen bird of prey in Latin American cities. Consequently, this wide-ranging species has been assigned a risk level of Least Concern category on the IUCN Red List. In Panama City for example, as a result of the increased urban sprawl, yellow-headed caracara pairs are frequently seen along the rooftops in suburban neighborhoods.


The chimango caracara (Phalcoboenus chimango) is a species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is found in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay and south of Brazil. The chimango is found as far south as Tierra del Fuego and is a vagrant to the Islas Malvinas also known as Falkland Islands.


Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, high-altitude shrubland, temperate grassland, Patagonian steppe, and heavily degraded former forest. This bird is typically found at edges of water and near towns and fields, the latter especially if they are newly ploughed. It is the most common raptor in the Argentinean Patagonia and Chile.


This species is from 37 to 40 cm long. A typical chimango caracara has a mantle and back edged with cinnamon brown feathers and white. Neck, chest, abdomen and belly light brown. Head dark brown. It is the smallest variety of caracara. Wings have a dark brown stripe with white in the basal half of the primaries. The tail is light brown with a dark brown terminal band. Eyes are brown. Legs are yellow  in the male and light gray  in the female and hatchlings.


The red kite (Milvus milvus) is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region of Europe and northwest Africa, though it formerly also occurred in northern Iran. It is resident in the milder parts of its range in western Europe and northwest Africa, but birds from northeastern and Central Europe winter further south and west, reaching south to Turkey. Vagrants have reached north to Finland and south to Israel, Libya and Gambia.


The red kite was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Falco milvus. The word milvus was the Latin name for the bird. In 1799 the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède moved the species to the genus Milvus creating the tautonym.
Two subspecies are recognised:
M. m. milvus (Linnaeus, 1758) – Europe and northwest Africa to the Middle East
M. m. fasciicauda Hartert, 1914 – Cape Verde Islands
The subspecies M. m. fasciicauda is almost certainly extinct.
The genus Milvus contains two other species: the black kite (M. migrans) and the yellow-billed kite (M. aegyptius). The red kite has been known to successfully hybridize with the black kite in captivity where both species were kept together, and in the wild on the Cape Verde Islands and infrequently in other places. The red kites on the Cape Verde Islands are (or rather were) quite distinct in morphology, being somewhat intermediate with black kites. The question whether the Cape Verde kite should be considered a distinct species (Milvus fasciicauda) or a red kite subspecies has not been settled. A mitochondrial DNA study on museum specimens suggested that Cape Verde birds did not form a monophyletic lineage among or next to red kites. This interpretation is problematic: mtDNA analysis is susceptible to hybridization events, the evolutionary history of the Cape Verde population is not known, and the genetic relationship of red kites is confusing, with geographical proximity being no indicator of genetic relatedness and the overall genetic similarity high, perhaps indicating a relict species. Given the morphological distinctness of the Cape Verde birds and that the Cape Verde population was isolated from other populations of red kites, it cannot be conclusively resolved as to whether the Cape Verde population was not a distinct subspecies (as M. migrans fasciicauda) or even species that frequently absorbed stragglers from the migrating European populations into its gene pool. The Cape Verde population became effectively extinct since 2000, all surviving birds being hybrids with black kites.
The English word "kite" is from the Old English cyta which is of unknown origin. A kite is mentioned by Geoffrey Chaucer's in his Knight's Tale. The early fifteenth century Hengwrt manuscript contains the lines: "Ther cam a kyte, whil þt they were so wrothe That bar awey the boon bitwix hem bothe." The first recorded use of the word "kite" for a toy that is attached to a length of string and flown in the air dates from the seventeenth century.


Red kites are 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28 in) long with a 175–179 cm (69–70 in) wingspan; males weigh 800–1,200 g (28–42 oz), and females 1,000–1,300 g (35–46 oz). It is an elegant bird, soaring on long wings held at a dihedral, and long forked tail, twisting as it changes direction. The body, upper tail and wing coverts are rufous. The white primary flight feathers contrast with the black wing tips and dark secondaries. Apart from the weight difference, the sexes are similar, but juveniles have a buff breast and belly. Its call is a thin piping sound, similar to but less mewling than the common buzzard. There is a rare white leucistic form accounting for approximately 1% of hatchlings in the Welsh population, but this variation confers a disadvantage in the survival stakes.


Usually red kites first breed when they are two years old, although exceptionally they can successfully breed when they are only one year old. They are monogamous and the pair-bond in resident populations is probably maintained during the winter, particularly when the pair remain on their breeding territory. For migrant populations the fidelity to a particular nesting site means that the pair-bond is likely to be renewed each breeding season. The nest is normally placed in a fork of a large hardwood tree at a height of between 12 and 15 m (39 and 49 ft) above the ground. A pair will sometimes use a nest from the previous year and can occasionally occupy an old nest of the common buzzard. The nest is built by both sexes. The male brings dead twigs 30–50 cm (12–20 in) in length which are placed by the female. The nest is lined with grass and sometimes also with sheep's wool. Unlike the black kite, no greenery is added to the nest. Both sexes continue to add material to the nest during the incubation and nestling periods. Nests vary greatly in size and can become large when the same nest is occupied for several seasons.
The eggs are laid at three-day intervals. The clutch is usually between one and three eggs but four and even five eggs have occasionally been recorded. The eggs are non-glossy with a white ground and red-brown spots. The average size is 57 mm × 45 mm (2.2 in × 1.8 in) with a calculated weight of 63 g (2.2 oz). In Britain and central Europe, laying begins at the end of March but in the Mediterranean area laying begins in early March. The eggs are mainly incubated by the female, but the male will relieve her for short periods while she feeds. The male will also bring food for the female. Incubation starts as soon as the first egg is laid. Each egg hatches after 31 to 32 days but as they hatch asynchronously a clutch of three eggs requires 38 days of incubation. The chicks are cared for by both parents. The female broods them for the first 14 days while the male brings food to the nest which the female feeds to the chicks. Later both parents bring items of food which are placed in the nest to allow the chicks to feed themselves. The nestlings begin climbing onto branches around their nest from 45 days but they rarely fledge before 48–50 days and sometimes not until they are 60–70 days of age. The young spend a further 15–20 days in the neighbourhood of the nest being fed by their parents. Only a single brood is raised each year but if the eggs are lost the female will relay.
The maximum age recorded is 25 years and 8 months for a ringed bird in Germany. The longevity record for Britain and Ireland is 23 years and 10 months for a bird found dead in Wales in 2012.


The red kite's diet consists mainly of small mammals such as mice, voles, shrews, young hares and rabbits. It feeds on a wide variety of carrion including sheep carcasses and dead game birds. Live birds are also taken and occasionally reptiles and amphibians. Earthworms form an important part of the diet, especially in spring. In some parts of the United Kingdom, red kites are also deliberately fed in domestic gardens, explaining the presence of red kites in urban areas. Here, up to 5% of householders have provided supplementary food for red kites, with chicken the predominant meat provided.
As scavengers, red kites are particularly susceptible to poisoning. Illegal poison baits set for foxes or crows are indiscriminate and kill protected birds and other animals. There have also been a number of incidents of red kites and other raptors being targeted by wildlife criminals.
In the United Kingdom, there have been several unusual instances of red kites stealing food from people in a similar manner to gulls. One such occurrence took place in Marlow, Buckinghamshire (a town near a major reintroduction site for the species in the UK in the nearby village of Stokenchurch), in which Red Kites swooped down to steal sandwiches from people in one of the town's parks.


Red kites inhabit broadleaf woodlands, valleys and wetland edges, to 800 metres (2,600 ft). They are native to the western Palearctic, with the European population of 19,000–25,000 pairs encompassing 95% of its global breeding range. It breeds from Spain and Portugal east into central Europe and Ukraine, north to southern Sweden, Latvia and the UK, and south to southern Italy. There is a population in northern Morocco. Northern birds move south in winter, mostly staying in the west of the breeding range, but also to eastern Turkey, northern Tunisia and Algeria. The three largest populations (in Germany, France and Spain, which together hold more than 75% of the global population) declined between 1990 and 2000, and overall the species declined by almost 20% over the ten years. The main threats to red kites are poisoning, through illegal direct poisoning and indirect poisoning from pesticides, particularly in the wintering ranges in France and Spain, and changes in agricultural practices causing a reduction in food resources. Other threats include electrocution, hunting and trapping, deforestation, egg-collection (on a local scale) and possibly competition with the generally more successful black kite M. migrans.


German populations declined by 25%–30% between 1991 and 1997, but have remained stable since. The populations of the northern foothills of the Harz Mountains (the most densely populated part of its range) suffered an estimated 50% decline from 1991 to 2001. In Spain, the species showed an overall decline in breeding population of up to 43% for the period 1994 to 2001–02, and surveys of wintering birds in 2003–04 suggest a similarly large decline in core wintering areas. The Balearic Islands population has declined from 41 to 47 breeding pairs in 1993 to just 10 in 2003. In France, breeding populations have decreased in the northeast, but seem to be stable in southwest and central France and Corsica. Populations elsewhere are stable or undergoing increases. In Sweden, the species has increased from 30 to 50 pairs in the 1970s to 1,200 breeding pairs in 2003. In Switzerland, populations increased during the 1990s, and have stabilised. Red kites are decreasing in their strongholds of Spain, France and Germany, but are increasing in parts of northern Europe, such as Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom.


In the United Kingdom, red kites were ubiquitous scavengers that lived on carrion and rubbish. Shakespeare's King Lear describes his daughter Goneril as a detested kite, and he wrote "when the kite builds, look to your lesser linen" in reference to them stealing washing hung out to dry in the nesting season. In the mid-15th century, King James II of Scotland decreed that they should be "killed wherever possible", but they remained protected in England and Wales for the next 100 years as they kept the streets free of carrion and rotting food. Under Tudor "vermin laws" many creatures were seen as competitors for the produce of the countryside and bounties were paid by the parish for their carcasses.
By the 20th century, the breeding population was restricted to a handful of pairs in South Wales, but recently the Welsh population has been supplemented by re-introductions in England and Scotland. In 2004, from 375 occupied territories identified, at least 216 pairs were thought to have hatched eggs and 200 pairs reared at least 286 young. In 1989, six Swedish birds were released at a site in north Scotland and four Swedish and one Welsh bird in Buckinghamshire. Altogether, 93 birds of Swedish and Spanish origin were released at each of the sites. In the second stage of reintroduction in 1995 and 1996, further birds were brought from Germany to populate areas of Dumfries and Galloway. Between 2004 and 2006, 94 birds were brought from the Chilterns and introduced into the Derwent Valley in north East England. In Northern Ireland, 80 birds from wild stock in Wales were released between 2008 and 2010, and the first successful breeding was recorded in 2010. The reintroductions in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty have been a success. Between 1989 and 1993, 90 birds were released there and by 2002, 139 pairs were breeding. They can commonly be seen taking advantage of thermals from the M40 motorway. Another successful reintroduction has been in Northamptonshire, which has become a stronghold for the red kite. Thirty Spanish birds were introduced into Rockingham Forest near Corby in 2000, and by 2010, the RSPB estimated that over 200 chicks had been reared from the initial release. So successful has the reintroduction been that 30 chicks have been transported from Rockingham Forest for release in Cumbria. From the Chilterns they have spread as far east as Essex and can be seen over Harlow.  To the west they have recently (2021) spread along the M4 as far as the Cotswold Edge overlooking the Severn near Bristol.
A sighting of the first red kite in London for 150 years was reported in The Independent newspaper in January 2006 and in June of that year, the UK-based Northern Kites Project reported that kites had bred in the Derwent Valley in and around Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear for the first time since the re-introduction.
In 1999, the red kite was named 'Bird of the Century' by the British Trust for Ornithology. According to the Welsh Kite Trust, it has been voted "Wales's favourite bird".
In June 2010, the Forestry Commission North West England announced a three-year project to release 90 red kites in Grizedale Forest, Cumbria under a special licence issued by Natural England. The Grizedale programme was the ninth reintroduction of red kites into different regions of the UK and the final re-introduction phase in England.
The stated aims of the Grizedale project were:
To establish a viable population of red kites in Grizedale, South Cumbria by 2015.
To increase the rate of red kite expansion into North West England and link up with existing populations in Wales, Yorkshire, North East England and South West Scotland and so increase the chances of a continuous geographical range.
To develop community involvement and create educational opportunities arising from the project.
As of July 2011, non-breeding birds are regularly seen in all parts of Britain, and the number of breeding pairs is too large for the RSPB to continue to survey them on an annual basis.


Red kites were extinct in Ireland by the middle nineteenth century, due to persecution, poisoning and woodland clearance. In May 2007, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Dick Roche announced an agreement to bring at least 100 birds from Wales to restock the population as part of a 5-year programme in the Wicklow Mountains, similar to the earlier golden eagle reintroduction programme. On 19 July 2007, the first thirty red kites were released in County Wicklow. On 22 May 2010, 2 newly hatched red kite chicks were discovered in the Wicklow mountains, bringing the number of chicks hatched since reintroduction to 7.


Sweden is one location where the red kite seems to be increasing, with around 2,000 pairs in 2009, some of which are overwintering and some flying south to the Mediterranean for the winter. They return around March–April. The red kite is the landscape bird of Scania, and the coat of arms of the municipality of Tomelilla. The kite is often seen along the roadsides and roaming the open colourful wheat and rapeseed fields of Scania.


The following figures (mostly estimates) have been collated from various sources. They cover most of the countries in which red kites are believed to have bred.


One of the best places to see the red kite in Scandinavia is Scania in southern Sweden. It may be observed in one of its breeding locations such as the Kullaberg Nature Preserve near Mölle. In Switzerland, they are a common sight in all rural areas, excluding the Alps and its foothills.
Some of the best places to see them in the United Kingdom are Gigrin Farm near Rhayader, mid Wales, where hundreds are fed by the local farmer as a tourist attraction, a Red Kite Feeding Station at Llanddeusant in the Brecon Beacons, visited daily by over 50 birds, and the Bwlch Nant yr Arian forest visitor centre in Ceredigion where the rare leucistic variant can be seen. In the UK, the Oxfordshire part of the Chilterns has many red kites, especially near Henley-on-Thames and Watlington, where they were introduced on John Paul Getty's estate. Red Kites are also becoming common in Buckinghamshire, often being seen near Stokenchurch, where a population was released in the 1990s, and Flackwell Heath near High Wycombe. They can also be seen around Harewood near Leeds where they were re-introduced in 1999. In Ireland they can be best observed at Redcross, near Avoca, County Wicklow.


Cramp, Stanley;  et al., eds. (1980). "Milvus milvus Red Kite". Handbook of the Birds of Europe the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Volume II: Hawks to Bustards. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 36–44. ISBN 978-0-19-857505-4.


Mimosa aculeaticarpa is a species of woody shrub in the family Fabaceae. It is commonly known as the catclaw mimosa or the wait-a-minute bush, and is endemic to upland regions of Mexico and the Southwestern United States, particularly Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.


The catclaw mimosa is a straggling thicket forming shrub, usually growing to about one metre tall but occasionally double that height. The twigs are hairy and armed with backward pointing spines that easily catch in clothing. The alternate leaves are bi-pinnate with a varying number of small oblong leaflets. The flowers are white or pale pink, bunched together in globular heads. The fruits are flat pods up to four centimetres long, flattened between the seeds and splitting open when ripe. There are recurved prickles on the edges of the pods.


This species grows in upland areas of central and southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, western and central Texas and northern Mexico.


This species occurs as scattered individual plants in oak, oak-pine, and evergreen woodlands, pinyon-juniper woodland and mixed with other shrubs in grassland and shrub-steppe communities. It grows on mesas, rocky slopes and gravel deposits. It is commonly found growing in chaparral and is spreading into desert and semi arid areas. This may be because the seed pods are eaten by cattle and the seeds are deposited in the dung, giving them a rich environment for germination. The plant is fire tolerant and sprouts readily after bushfires. In upland areas of west Texas, the redberry juniper (Juniperus pinchotii) acts as a nurse plant for the seedlings.  They benefit from the shade and leaf litter associated with the juniper which seems to provide a favourable microclimate for the establishment of the seedlings.


Mimosa nuttallii, the Nuttall's sensitive-briar, catclaw brier, or sensitive brier, is an herbaceous perennial legume in the subfamily Mimosoideae native to the central United States. It has a trailing semi-woody vine covered with small recurved prickles that can be painful to bare skin.
The ribbed stems of this plant usually grow to 4 ft (1.2 m) or more and are branched. Plants rarely reach more than 1–2 ft (0.3–0.6 m) in height. The frond-like leaves are alternate with prickly stalks. The bipinnate leaf blades are divided into four to nine pairs of small segments, and these are again divided into 8–15 pairs of tiny leaflets. Leaflets are elliptic and glabrous with a prominent midrib.
Like a few other species of Mimosa (such as M. pudica), the leaves exhibit nyctinastic movement, folding up quickly when touched or disturbed. It is also said that the roots of M. nuttallii give off an acrid, garlic-like smell when disturbed. This may be an additional defense mechanism of the plant.
The tiny flowers occur in congested bunches. Before they open, they look much like small green bramble fruits. Each individual flower has five minute petals and eight to ten conspicuous stamens. When open, the pink-purple stamens form a globelike cluster at the tip of their leafless stalk. Yellow spores can often be seen highlighting the tips. The globes are about 0.5–0.75 in (13–19 mm) across. Flowers and fruits appear from May to September. The fruit of the catclaw brier is a long, slender, rounded pod that has a covering of dense prickles, typically about 1–3 in (25–76 mm) long.
Habitat includes disturbed areas of sandy or silty soils, roadsides, grasslands, prairies and forest margins. It is known to be very nutritious for livestock, who will seek it out. On rangeland, its absence can also be a good indicator of overgrazing.
Other common names for this plant include Nuttall's sensitive briar and shame-boy, a reference to the sensitive foliage that closes upon touch. Former synonyms include Schrankia nuttallii. The species name nuttallii is in honor of Thomas Nuttall, an English botanist who lived in the United States for many years.


Mimulus alatus, the sharpwing monkeyflower, is an herbaceous  eudicot perennial  that has no floral scent.    It is native to North America   and its blooming season is from June to September.  The flowering plant has green foliage and blue to violet flowers.   It has a short life span compared to most other plants and a rapid growth rate. Like other monkey-flowers of the genus Mimulus, M. alatus grows best in wet to moist conditions and has a bilabiate corolla, meaning it is two-lipped. The arrangement of the upper and lower lip petals suggests a monkey’s face.  The winged stems together with the monkey face give the plant its common name.


Mimulus alatus is a native species to eastern North America; its range stretches from Connecticut, down south to Florida and extends as far west as Nebraska and Texas.  It is most commonly found in central and lower Mississippi valley, and considered rare in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York and Ontario.


The sharp wing monkey-flower is a perennial that grows best under partial sun exposure and wet to moist conditions.  It has been found in a variety of wetland types such as edges of small rivers, swamps, shady stream banks, wet woods, marshes, wet meadows, ditches, springs, etc.   Full sun is tolerable but when it is grown in habitats that are too dry and sunny, the sharp wing monkey-flower remains small in size and becomes yellowish green.  During its season it can endure occasional flooding and foliar disease is infrequent.   It prefers a slightly acidic to neutral soil pH of 5.6-7.5 that contains plenty of organic matter.   Temperatures below -23 °F are not survivable.


Individuals of this species can range from 15 cm to 91 cm in height, depending on growth conditions.  Its root system consists of taproot and thick rhizomes.   The flowers are bisexual and bilaterally symmetrical,  and most commonly blue to violet.   It has erect, hollow, smooth, square (4-angled) stems that sometimes branch off.   There are also thin wings along the angles of the stem.
The glabrous opposite leaves in a decussate arrangement are noticeably toothed (dentate to serrate) and are up to 12 cm long and 5 cm wide.  They are ovate, lanceolate-ovate, or lanceolate, gradually narrowing to a sharp point at the apex.  At the base are narrowly winged petioles about 1.2 cm long.


Flowers occur individually and are 2.5 cm long.  Only a few flowers on the same plant are in bloom during the June to September season.   The two-lipped corolla is borne from 5 mm pedicels from the upper leaf axils.  At the center, or throat, of the corolla is a yellow region surrounded by a band of white; the yellow beard guides pollinators towards the flower.  The upper lip consists of a pair of lobes that fold backwards to the side and the lower lip has three rounded lobes that spread outward and serve as a welcoming platform for pollinating insects.  Unlike the stems and leaves, the flowers are not glabrous as they have fine white hairs on the surface of the corolla.   The 1.7 cm long, tubular five-parted calyx has five teeth alongside its outer rim.  When the corolla falls off, the calyx surrounds a 1 cm capsule that contains many conspicuous black seeds.   Collected seeds have successfully germinated indoors.   At the base of the 1.5 cm corolla tube are four stamens – one short and one long pair.  There is a 6 mm long, bilocular, light green, oval shaped ovary.  White filaments are 6–7 mm long, with brownish 1.3 mm anthers.  There is a white glabrous style of 7 mm long and two flattened stigmas.


Bumblebees (such as the Bombus pensylvanicus) are attracted to the nectar of the flowers and are the primary pollinators.  Leaves of the plant are eaten by the caterpillars of the moth Elaphria chalcedonia.   Butterflies and birds are also visitors to the sharp wing monkey-flower but there has been very little data collected for its floral-faunal relationships.


At first glance Mimulus alatus is often confused with Mimulus ringens, or the square-stemmed monkey-flower, because M. alatus occurs in several of the same habitats that M. ringens does.  However, close examination of the two monkey-flowers can help differentiate them.  M. ringens has sessile leaves (no petiole) and pedicels that are greater than 1.2 cm in length, whereas M. alatus have winged petioles and its pedicels are much shorter than 1.2 cm.   The flowers of M. ringens are borne on pedicels longer than its calyx and for M. alatus, it is the opposite – its pedicels are shorter than its calyx.  The leaves of M. ringens are weakly toothed  and stems unnoticeably winged.   Also, it is noted that M. ringens can tolerate wider ranges of habitat conditions whereas M. alatus is more conservative.


The northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is a mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Turdus polyglottos. The northern mockingbird is known for its mimicking ability, as reflected by the meaning of its scientific name, "many-tongued thrush". The northern mockingbird has gray to brown upper feathers and a paler belly. Its tail and wings have white patches which are visible in flight.
The northern mockingbird is an omnivore, eating both insects and fruits. It is often found in open areas and forest edges but forages in grassy land. The northern mockingbird breeds in southeastern Canada, the United States, northern Mexico, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and the Greater Antilles. It is replaced further south by its closest living relative, the tropical mockingbird. The Socorro mockingbird, an endangered species, is also closely related, contrary to previous opinion. The northern mockingbird is listed as of least concern according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The northern mockingbird is known for its intelligence. A 2009 study showed that the bird was able to recognize individual humans, particularly noting those who had previously been intruders or threats. Also birds recognize their breeding spots and return to areas in which they had greatest success in previous years. Urban birds are more likely to demonstrate this behavior.
The mockingbird is influential in United States culture, being the state bird of five states, appearing in book titles, songs and lullabies, and making other appearances in popular culture.


Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus first described this species in his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Turdus polyglottos. Its current genus name, Mimus is Latin for "mimic" and the specific polyglottos, is from Ancient Greek poluglottos, "harmonious", from polus, "many", and glossa, "tongue", representing its outstanding ability to mimic various sounds. The northern mockingbird is considered to be conspecific with the tropical mockingbird (Mimus gilvus).
This species is categorized as the northern mockingbird as the closest living relative to M. gilvus.


There are three recognized subspecies for the northern mockingbird. There have been proposed races from the Bahamas and Haiti placed under the orpheus section.
M. p. polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758): generally found in the eastern portion of North America ranging from Nova Scotia to Nebraska, to as far south as Texas and Florida.
M. p. leucopterus, the western mockingbird, (Vigors, 1839): generally found in the western portion of North America ranging from northwestern Nebraska and western Texas to the Pacific Coast, and south to Mexico (the Isthmus of Tehuantepec), and Socorro Island. It is larger than M. p. polyglottos and has a slightly shorter tail, upperparts are more buff and paler, underparts have a stronger buff pigment.
M. p. orpheus (Linnaeus, 1758) from the Bahamas to the Greater Antilles, also the Cayman and Virgin Islands. Similar to M. m. polyglottos except smaller, a paler shade of gray on its back, and underparts with practically little, if any buff at all.


The northern mockingbird is a medium-sized mimid that has long legs and tail. Males and females look alike. Its upper parts are colored gray, while its underparts have a white or whitish-gray color.
It has parallel wing bars on the half of the wings connected near the white patch giving it a distinctive appearance in flight. The black central rectrices and typical white lateral rectrices are also noticeable in flight. The iris is usually a light green-yellow or a yellow, but there have 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.
Northern mockingbirds measure from 20.5 to 28 cm (8.1 to 11.0 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).
The northern mockingbird's lifespan is observed to be up to 8 years, but captive birds can live up to 20 years.


The mockingbird's breeding range is from Maritime provinces of Canada westwards to British Columbia, practically the entire Continental United States south of the northern Plains states and Pacific northwest, the Greater Antilles, and the majority of Mexico to eastern Oaxaca and Veracruz. The mockingbird is generally a year-round resident of its range, but the birds that live in the northern portion of its range have been noted further south during the winter season. Sightings of the mockingbird have also been recorded in Hawaii (where it was introduced in the 1920s), southeastern Alaska, and three times as transatlantic vagrants in Britain, most recently in Exmouth, Devon, UK in February and March 2021. The mockingbird is thought to be at least partly migratory in the northern portions of its range, but the migratory behavior is not well understood.
In the 19th century, the range of the mockingbird expanded northward towards provinces such as Nova Scotia and Ontario and states such as Massachusetts, although the sightings were sporadic. Within the first five decades of the 20th century, regions that received an influx of mockingbirds were Maine, Vermont, Ohio, Iowa, and New York. In western states such as California, the population was restricted to the Lower Sonoran regions but by the 1970s the mockingbird was residential in most counties. Islands that saw introductions of the mockingbird include Bermuda (in which it failed), Barbados, St. Helena, Socorro Island, the Cayman Islands and Tahiti.
The mockingbird's habitat varies by location, but it prefers open areas with sparse vegetation. In the eastern regions, suburban and urban areas such as parks and gardens are frequent residential areas. It has an affinity for mowed lawns with shrubs within proximity for shade and nesting. In western regions, desert scrub and chaparral are among its preferred habitats. When foraging for food, it prefers short grass. This bird does not nest in densely forested areas, and generally resides in the same habitats year round.


The northern mockingbird is an omnivore. The birds' diet consists of arthropods (such as spiders, grasshoppers, ants, beetles, and caterpillars), earthworms, berries, fruits, seeds, and occasionally small crustaceans and lizards. Mockingbirds can drink from puddles, river and lake edges, or dew and rain droplets that amass onto plants. Adult mockingbirds also have been seen drinking sap from the cuts on recently pruned trees. Its diet heavily consists of animal prey during the breeding season, but takes a drastic shift to fruits during the fall and winter. The drive for fruits amid winter has been noted for the geographic expansion of the mockingbird, and in particular, the fruit of Rosa multiflora, a favorite of the birds, is a possible link. Mockingbirds also eat garden fruits such as tomatoes, apples, and berries (like blackberries, raspberries, other bramble fruits, holly berries, mulberries, and dogwood), as well as grapes and figs.
These birds forage on the ground or in vegetation; they also fly down from a perch to capture food. While foraging, they frequently spread their wings in a peculiar two-step motion to display the white patches. There is disagreement among ornithologists over the purpose of this behavior, with hypotheses ranging from deceleration to intimidation of predators or prey.


Both the male and female of the species reach sexual maturity after one year of life. The breeding season occurs in the spring and early summer. The males arrive before the beginning of the season to establish their territories. They may demonstrate or contest the edges of a territory using a boundary dance in which males, typically on the ground, face each other and hop side to side, sometimes fighting, until one flies away. The males use a series of courtship displays to attract the females to their sites. They run around the area either to showcase their territory to the females or to pursue the females. The males also engage in flight to showcase their wings. They sing and call as they perform all of these displays. The species can remain monogamous for many years, but incidents of polygyny and bigamy have been reported to occur during a single bird's lifetime.
Both the male and female are involved in the nest building. The male does most of the work, while the female perches on the shrub or tree where the nest is being built to watch for predators. The nest is built approximately three to ten feet above the ground. The outer part of the nest is composed of twigs, while the inner part is lined with grasses, dead leaves, moss, or artificial fibers. The eggs are a light blue or greenish color and speckled with dots. The female lays three to five eggs, and she incubates them for nearly two weeks. Once the eggs are hatched, both the male and female will feed the chicks.
The birds aggressively defend their nests and surrounding areas against other birds and animals. When a predator is persistent, mockingbirds from neighboring territories may be summoned by distinct calls to join the defense. Other birds may gather to watch as the mockingbirds drive away the intruder. In addition to harassing domestic cats and dogs that they consider a threat, mockingbirds will at times target humans. The birds are bold, and will attack much larger birds, even hawks. One incident in Tulsa, Oklahoma involving a postal carrier resulted in the distribution of a warning letter to residents.
The northern mockingbird pairs hatch about two to four broods a year. In one breeding attempt, the northern mockingbird lays an average of four eggs. They are pale blue or greenish white with red or brown blotches, and measure about 25 by 18 millimetres (0.98 by 0.71 in).They hatch after about 11 to 14 days of incubation by the female. After about 10 to 15 days of life, the offspring become independent.


Northern mockingbirds are famous for their song repertoires. Studies have shown that males sing songs at the beginning of breeding season to attract females. Unmated males sing songs in more directions and sing more bouts than mated males. In addition, unmated males perform more flight displays than mated males. The mockingbirds usually nest several times during one breeding season. Depending on the stage of breeding and the mating status, a male mockingbird will vary his song production. The unmated male keeps close track of this change. He sings in one direction when he perceives a chance to lure a female from the nest of the mated male. Unmated males are also more likely to use elevated perches to make their songs audible farther away. Though the mockingbirds are socially monogamous, mated males have been known to sing to attract additional mates.
An observational study by Logan demonstrates that the female is continuously evaluating the quality of the male and his territory. The assessment is usually triggered by the arrival of a new male in a neighboring territory at the beginning of a new breeding season. In those cases, the mated female is constantly seen flying over both the original and the new male's territory, evaluating the qualities of both territories and exchanging calls with both males. The social mate displays aggressive behaviors towards the female, while the new male shows less aggression and sings softer songs. At the same time, both the mated male and the new male will fly over other territories to attract other females as well. Divorce, mate switching and extra-pair matings do occur in northern mockingbirds.


Northern mockingbirds adjust the sex ratio of their offspring according to the food availability and population density. Male offspring usually require more parental investment. There is therefore a bias for bearing the costlier sex at the beginning of a breeding season when the food is abundant. Local resource competition predicts that the parents have to share the resources with offspring that remain at the natal site after maturation. In passerine birds, like the northern mockingbird, females are more likely to disperse than males. Hence, it is adaptive to produce more dispersive sex than philopatric sex when the population density is high and the competition for local resources is intense. Since northern mockingbirds are abundant in urban environments, it is possible that the pollution and contamination in cities might affect sexual hormones and therefore play a role in offspring sex ratio.


Northern mockingbirds are socially monogamous. The two sexes look alike except that the male is slightly larger in size than the female. Mutual mate choice is exhibited in northern mockingbirds. Both males and females prefer mates that are more aggressive towards intruders, and so exhibit greater parental investment. However, males are more defensive of their nests than females. In a population where male breeding adults outnumber female breeding adults, females have more freedom in choosing their mates. In these cases, these female breeders have the option of changing mates within a breeding season if the first male does not provide a high level of parental care, which includes feeding and nest defense. High nesting success is associated with highly aggressive males attacking intruders in the territory, and so these males are preferred by females.


Northern mockingbirds are altricial, meaning that, when hatched, they are born relatively immobile and defenseless and therefore require nourishment for a certain duration from their parents. The young have a survival bottleneck at the nestling stage because there are higher levels of nestling predation than egg predation. The levels of belligerence exhibited by parents therefore increase once eggs hatch but there is no increase during the egg stage.
A recent study shows that both food availability and temperature affect the parental incubation of the eggs in northern mockingbirds. Increasing food availability provides the females with more time to care for the nest and perform self-maintenance. Increasing temperature, however, reduces the time the females spend at the nest and there is increased energy cost to cool the eggs. The incubation behavior is a trade-off among various environmental factors.
Mockingbird nests are also often parasitized by cowbirds. The parents are found to reject parasitic eggs at an intermediate rate. A recent study has shown that foreign eggs are more likely to be rejected from a nest later in the breeding season than from earlier in a breeding season. Early nesting hosts may not have learned the pattern and coloration of their first clutch yet, so are less likely to reject foreign eggs. There is also a seasonal threshold in terms of the overlap between the breeding seasons of the northern mockingbirds and their parasites. If the breeding season of the parasites starts later, there is less likelihood of parasitism. Hence, it pays the hosts to have relatively lower sensitivity to parasitic eggs.


Although many species of bird imitate the vocalizations of other birds, the northern mockingbird is the best known in North America for doing so. Among the species and vocalizations imitated are Carolina wren, northern cardinal, tufted titmouse, eastern towhee, house sparrow, wood thrush and eastern bluebird songs, calls of the northern flicker and great crested flycatcher, jeers and pumphandles of the blue jay, and alarm, chups, and chirrs of the American robin. It imitates not only birds, but also other animals such as cats, dogs, frogs, crickets and sounds from artificial items such as unoiled wheels and even car alarms. As convincing as these imitations may be to humans, they often fail to fool other birds, such as the Florida scrub-jay.
The northern mockingbird's mimicry is likely to serve as a form of sexual selection through which competition between males and female choice influence a bird's song repertoire size. A 2013 study attempted to determine model selection in vocal mimics, and the data suggested that mimicry in the mockingbird resulted from the bird being genetically predisposed to learning vocalizations with acoustic characteristics such as an enlarged auditory template.
Both male and female mockingbirds sing, with the latter being generally quieter and less vocal. Male commencement of singing is in late January to February and continues into the summer and the establishing of territory into the fall. Frequency in female singing is more sporadic, as it sings less often in the summer and fall, and only sings when the male is away from the territory. The mockingbird also possesses a large song repertoire that ranges from 43 to 203 song types and the size varies by region. Repertoire sizes ranged from 14 to 150 types in Texas, and two studies of mockingbirds in Florida rounded estimates to 134 and 200, approximately. It continually expands its repertoire during its life, though it pales in comparison to mimids such as the brown thrasher.
There are four recognized calls for the mockingbird: the nest relief call, hew call, chat or chatburst, and the begging call. The hew call is mainly used by both sexes for potential nest predators, conspecific chasing, and various interactions between mates. The differences between chats and chatbursts are frequency of use, as chats are year-round, and chatbursts occur in the fall. Another difference is that chatbursts appear to be used in territorial defense in the fall, and the chats are used by either sex when disturbed. The nest relief and begging calls are only used by the males.


The northern mockingbird is a species that is found in both urban and rural habitats. There are now more northern mockingbirds living in urban habitats than non-urban environments, so they are consequently known as an urban-positive species. Biologists have long questioned how northern mockingbirds adapt to a novel environment in cities, and whether they fall into the typical ecological traps that are common for urban-dwelling birds. A comparative study between an urban dwelling population and a rural dwelling one shows that the apparent survival is higher for individuals in the urban habitats. Lower food availability and travel costs may account for the higher mortality rate in rural habitats. Urban birds are more likely to return to the nest where they had successfully bred the previous year and avoid those where breeding success was low. One explanation for this phenomenon is that urban environments are more predictable than non-urban ones, as the site fidelity among urban birds prevents them from falling into ecological traps. Mockingbirds are also able to utilize artificial lighting in order to feed nestlings in urban areas such as residential neighborhoods into the night, in contrast to those that do not nest near those areas. The adaptation of the mockingbird in urban habitats has led it to become more susceptible to lead poisoning in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. populations.


This bird features in the title and central metaphor of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. In that novel, mockingbirds are portrayed as innocent and generous, and two of the major characters, Atticus Finch and Miss Maudie, say it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because "they don't do one thing for us but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us."
The song of the northern mockingbird inspired many American folk songs of the mid-19th century, such as "Listen to the Mocking Bird".
Thomas Jefferson had several pet mockingbirds, including a bird named "Dick".
In the fictional Neighborhood of Make-Believe on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, one of King Friday's "pets" is a wooden northern mockingbird on a stick, which he refers to by the scientific name Mimus polyglottos.


The northern mockingbird is the state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas, and previously the state bird of South Carolina.


The chalk-browed mockingbird (Mimus saturninus) is a bird in the family mimidae. It is found in Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Suriname, and Uruguay.


The chalk-browed mockingbird has four subspecies, the nominate Mimus saturninus saturninus, M. s. arenaceus, M. s. frater, and M. s. modulator.


The chalk-browed mockingbird is 23.5 to 26 cm (9.3 to 10.2 in) long and weighs 55 to 73 g (1.9 to 2.6 oz). Males are slightly larger than females. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dark brown crown, a broad white supercilium, a blackish line through the eye, and white cheeks. Their upperparts are brownish with some darker streaks; the rump is buffier. Their wings are blackish and show two obscure bars when folded. The tail is also blackish; most feathers have white tips and the outermost have white edges. The underside of their body is white from the throat to the vent, though the breast has a gray tinge and the flanks are buffy with faint dark streaks. The juvenile is browner than the adult and has buffier underparts with dark streaks on the breast.
M. s. frater is browner than the nominate, including the rump that is not buffy like the nominate's. M. s. arenaceus is essentially the same as frater but has a larger bill. M. s. modulator has some blackish brown spotting on its crown and back, lacks the gray tinge on the breast, and the flanks are paler and often unstreaked.


The nominate subspecies of chalk-browed mockingbird is found in southern Suriname and adjoining Pará state in Brazil. M. s. arenaceus is found in eastern Brazil from Paraíba state south to eastern Bahia state. M. s. frater is found in central and eastern Bolivia and much of central Brazil. M. s. modulator is found from southeastern Bolivia and Paraguay into central Argentina and extreme southeastern Brazil.
The chalk-browed mockingbird inhabits open areas such as savanna, forest edge, open woodland, pastures with scattered trees, and urban and suburban gardens. It is generally a bird of the lowlands but reaches as high as about 2,500 m (8,200 ft) in northern Argentina.


The chalk-browed mockingbird is omnivorous; it feeds on fruits, seeds, berries, insects, and other small vertebrates. It occasionally predates eggs and nestlings of other birds. It forages mostly on the ground.


The chalk-browed mockingbird's breeding season spans September to January. The species is territorial and monogamous, though both related and unrelated helpers have been documented to aid in territory defense and in caring for young. The nest is a shallow cup made of twigs lined with finer material. It is typically placed in a low tree or dense shrub within 3 m (9.8 ft) of the ground, though sometimes higher. The clutch size is three or four. Nests are often parasitized by the
shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis).


The chalk-browed mockingbird's song is loud, a "varied series of notes, trills, [and] phrases". Its calls include a "sharp and penetrating 'tshrip'" and a "snorting sha-sha-sha". It often mimics other species including some raptors.


The IUCN has assessed the chalk-browed mockingbird as being of Least Concern. It has a large range (estimated at 10,600,000 km² (4,100,000 sq mi)), is very common throughout much of it, and the population is believed to be stable. It occurs in several protected areas. There are "[n]o perceived threats, although nesting losses due to cowbird parasitism are considerable."


Mirabilis jalapa, the marvel of Peru or four o'clock flower, is the most commonly grown ornamental species of Mirabilis plant, and is available in a range of colors. Mirabilis in Latin means wonderful and Jalapa (or Xalapa) is the state capital of Veracruz in México.  Mirabilis jalapa was cultivated by the Aztecs for medicinal and ornamental purposes.
The flowers usually open from late afternoon or at dusk (namely between 4 and 8 o'clock), giving rise to one of its common names. Flowers then produce a strong, sweet-smelling fragrance throughout the night, then close for good in the morning. New flowers open the following day.  It arrived in Europe in 1525. Today, it is common in many tropical regions and is also valued in Europe as a (not hardy) ornamental plant. It is the children's state flower of Connecticut under the name of Michaela Petit's Four O'Clocks.


The name of Mirabilis jalapa given by Carl Von Linne in 1753 is formed from the scientific Latin Mirabilis meaning "admirable" by allusion to the remarkable colors of its flowers and the specific name jalapa that would refer to its origin in the Jalapa in Guatemala. But the epithet of jalapa could also refer to the city of Xalapa (Jalapa) in Mexico from which came a former purgative drug, named jalap, taken from the tubers of the tuberous jalap.

Linnaeus refers to all species of Jalapa described by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort who in 1694 wrote:
"The Jalap, or Belle de Nuit is a kind of plant whose flower is a funnel-shaped flared pipe with a crenellated pavilion ... Father Plumier assured me that the Jalap, which is brought to us with the root of America, was a true species of Belle de nuit. We have also received the seed, which has produced in the Jardin Royal de Paris a plant quite like the common Belle de nuit; but this seed is more wrinkled, and the leaves of the plant are less smooth."


It is a perennial, herbaceous, bushy plant that reaches stature heights of mostly 1 meter, rarely up to 2 meters, in height. It may also be grown as an annual, especially in the temperate zone. The single-seeded fruits are spherical, wrinkled and black upon maturity, having started out greenish-yellow. The stems are thick, full, quadrangular with many ramifications and rooting at the nodes. The posture is often prostrate.
A curious aspect of M. jalapa is that flowers with different colors grow simultaneously on the same plant. Additionally, an individual flower can be splashed with different colors. Flower patterns are referred to as sectors (whole sections of flower), flakes (stripes of varying length), and spots. A single flower can be plain yellow, red, magenta, pink, or white, or have a combination of sectors, flakes, and spots. Furthermore, different combinations of flowers and patterns can occur on different flowers of the same plant.
Usually, the flowers are yellow, pink and white, but a different combination of flowers growing on the same single four o’clock plant can be found. Another interesting point is a color-changing phenomenon. For example, in the yellow variety, as the plant matures, it can display flowers that gradually change to a dark pink colour. Similarly, white flowers can change to light violet. Despite their appearance, the flowers are not formed from petals – rather they are a pigmented modification of the calyx. Similarly, the 'calyx' is an involucre of bracts. The flowers are funnel-shaped and pentalobed, they have no cup (replaced by bracteal leaves) but are made of a corolla.
The inflorescences contain three to seven unpopped flowers. Earning the name "four o'clock flower", the fragrant flowers open in the late afternoon or early evening, and also in overcast weather, and exhale a scent reminiscent of the tobacco flower, and attract moths for pollination. The anthesis lasts from 16 to 20 hours and thus remains visible part of the day. The flowers are pollinated by long-tongued moths of the family Sphingidae, such as the sphinx moths or hawk moths and other nocturnal pollinators attracted by the fragrance.


The plant does best in full sun. Often in the sun the leaves wither, then return vigorously in the evening, when temperatures start to fall and the sun sets. It cannot stand the cold as the aerial part, with the first frosts, deteriorates and can die, but the underground part that can return to vegetate in spring remains vital. The plant will self-seed, often spreading rapidly if left unchecked in a garden. Some gardeners recommend that the seeds should be soaked before planting, but this is not totally necessary. In North America, the plant perennializes in warm, coastal environments, particularly in USDA zones 7–10. The plant is easy to grow, as long as it is sunny or partially shaded. Under these conditions, it grows very quickly.
It grows preferably in light soil, rich in humus and well draining, it is neutral side acidity (pH). Pot cultivation is always possible with a mixture of 80% soil and 20% garden soil and a very deep container with the tubers being put at a depth of 10 cm. It is usually sown from mid-February to May. The seeds germinate rapidly at a temperature of 18 °C.


Mirabilis jalapa is native to the dry tropical regions of North, Central and South America: Mexico, Guatemala, Chile and Peru. This plant has been introduced for ornamental purposes and has become naturalized throughout tropical, subtropical and temperate regions of the world. It is currently present in many countries in Asia, Africa, United States, Middle East and Europe. In Réunion, Mirabilis jalapa was initially an ornamental species; however it became naturalized on the west coast, between 400 and 700  m altitude, and on the south coast between 0 and 700 m. It occurs in a ruderal debris area, and is relatively common in weedy sugarcane fields on the west and south coasts. Its high seed production and rapid growth allow it to cover up to 30% to 50% in cane plots. In cooler subtropical and temperate regions, it will die back with the first frosts or as the weather starts to cool down (especially after it fully matures and finished self-seeding), regrowing in the following spring from the tuberous roots.


Around 1900, Carl Correns used Mirabilis as a model organism for his studies on cytoplasmic inheritance.  He used the plant's variegated leaves to prove that certain factors outside the nucleus affected phenotype in a way not explained by Mendel's theories. Correns proposed that leaf colour in Mirabilis was passed on via a uni-parental mode of inheritance.
Also when plants with dark-pink flowers are crossed with white-flowered plants, light-pink-flowered offspring are produced. This is seen as an exception to Mendel's Law of Dominance because in this case, the dark-pink and white genes seem to be of equal strength, so neither completely dominates the other. The phenomenon is known as incomplete dominance. However the Mendelian principle of uniformity in the F₁-generation and the principle of segregation in the F₂-generation of genes do apply, which confirms the importance of Mendel's discoveries.


Eight betaxanthins (indicaxanthin, vulgaxanthin-I, miraxanthin-I, II, III, IV, V and VI) can be isolated from M. jalapa flowers.
Rotenoids (mirabijalone A, B, C and D, 9-O-methyl-4-hydroxyboeravinone B, boeravinone C and boeravinone F, and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-methylisoquinoline-7,8-diol) can be isolated from the roots.
A fatty acid (8-hydroxyoctadeca-cis-11,14-dienoic acid) is found as a minor component in the seed oil.
Analysis of the methanolic extract of the aerial parts yields β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, ursolic acid, oleanolic acid and brassicasterol.
Bioassay-guided fractionation of an organic extract of the cell mass from a manipulated plant cell culture of M. jalapa led to the isolation and subsequent identification of an isoflavone, a roteinoid and a dehydrorotenoid. Two of these compounds are responsible for the antimicrobial activity against Candida albicans.
Bioassay-guided fractionation of the methanolic extract of M. jalapa also led to the isolation of an active polyphenolic amide: N-trans-feruloyl 4′-O-methyldopamine. This compound shows moderate activity as an efflux pump inhibitor against multidrug-resistant  Staphylococcus aureus.


The flowers are used in food colouring. The leaves may be eaten cooked as well, but only as an emergency food.
An edible crimson dye is obtained from the flowers to color cakes and jellies.
In herbal medicine, parts of the plant may be used as a diuretic, purgative, and for vulnerary (wound healing) purposes. The root is believed to be an aphrodisiac as well as having diuretic and purgative properties. It is also used in the treatment of dropsy.
The leaves are used to reduce inflammation. A decoction of them (by mashing and boiling) is used to treat abscesses. Leaf juice may be used to treat wounds. The bulbous roots of the flower have a laxative effect.
Powdered, the seed of some varieties is used as a cosmetic and a dye. The seeds are considered poisonous.
The plant has a potential for the bioremediation of soils polluted with moderate concentrations of heavy metals such as cadmium.
In Brazil, the Indian Kayapo sniff the powder of dried flowers to cure headaches and use the root decoction to wash wounds and treat skin conditions such as leprosy. In Peru, juice extracted from flowers is used for herpes lesions and earache. The juice extracted from the root is used to treat earache, diarrhea, dysentery, syphilis and liver infections. In Mexico, decoctions of the whole plant are used for dysentery, infected wounds, and bee and scorpion stings.
Flower extract can be used as a natural pH indicator in acid–base titration. This was found and demonstrated to be both economical and accurate by Shishir et al 2008.
Some uses of long standing, reviewed by Shishir et al 2008, indicate M. jalapa is an ancient introduction to the Himalayan region.


In Greece it is called "Nychtolouloudo" (Νυχτολούλουδο) meaning “night flower” and "Deilina" (Δειλινά) meaning “sunsets”.
In Maldives it is called "asurumaa"، meaning flower blooming at "Asr" - the third daily and obligatory prayer of Muslims performed between 3:00 to 4:00pm in Maldives, thus supporting the claim of 4 o'clock flower.
In Bangladesh it is called sandhyamalati (Bengali: সন্ধ্যামালতী), meaning "evening flower".
In Pakistan it is called gul adnan (Urdu: گل عدنان) or gul-e-abbas (Urdu: گل عباس).
In West Bengal it is called sandhyamoni     (Bengali: সন্ধ্যামণি), meaning "evening gem ".
In Sri Lanka it is called hendirikka (Sinhala: හෙන්දිරික්කා).
In Karnataka it is called sanje mallige (Kannada: ಸಂಜೆ ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ).
In Tamil Nadu it is called andhi mandhaarai (Tamil: அந்தி மந்தாரை).
In Thailand it is called bānyĕn (Thai: บานเย็น), meaning "evening blossom".
In Andhra Pradesh it is called "chandrakantha"(Telugu: చంద్రకాంత), meaning "moon light". Signifying it's bloom with moon rise.
In Bulgaria it is called noshtna krasavica (Bulgarian: нощна красавица), which means "night beauty", "night belle".
In Germany it is called Wunderblume, which means "flower of miracle".
In Kerala it is called naalumani poovu (Malayalam: നാലുമണിപ്പൂ, പതിറ്റടിമുല്ല, which means "four o'clock flower"
In Maharashtra it is called gulabakshi (Marathi: गुलबक्षी).
In Assam it is called godhuli gopal  (Assamese: গধূলিগোপাল), godhuli meaning "evening".
In Maithili it is called sanjhaa phool as it blooms in evening.
In Odisha it is called rangani (Odia: ରଂଗଣୀ).
In Punjabi it is called sham di sohnap, which means "evening beauty".
In Indonesia it is called bunga pukul empat.
In Malaysia it is called seroja
In China it is called the "shower flower" (Chinese: 洗澡花; pinyin: xǐzǎo huā) or "rice boiling flower" (simplified Chinese: 煮饭花; traditional Chinese: 煮飯花; pinyin: zhǔfàn huā) because it is in bloom at the time of these activities.
In Hong Kong it is known as "purple jasmine" (Chinese: 紫茉莉; pinyin: zǐ mòlì).
The Turkish name is akşam sefası, which means "evening pleasure".
In the Netherlands and in France the name of the plant is nachtschone and belle de nuit respectively meaning "beauty of the night".
In Italy it is called bella di notte, which means "beautiful during night".
In Iran it is called laleh abbasi (Persian: لاله عباسی).
In Japan it is called oshiroi-bana (Japanese: オシロイバナ), as the white, powdery endosperm inside of mature seeds looks like oshiroi, the powder foundation used by geishas.
In Israel it is named lilanit rav-gonit (Hebrew: לילנית רב-גונית), and more commonly called malkat halayla (Hebrew: מלכת הלילה), meaning "queen of the night".
In Namibia it is called vieruurtjie ("four o'clock") as it starts to open at 16:00 until the morning.
In Poland it is called dziwaczek, meaning "a little weirdo, a little oddity" that denotes its flowering time.
In Slovenia it is called nočna frajlica, meaning "night missy".
In Croatia and Serbia it is called noćurak (Serbian: ноћурак).
In Romania it is called frumoasa nopții, meaning "the beauty of the night", or also noptiță.
In the Philippines it is called prinsesa ng gabi, meaning "princess of the night" or sometimes alas quatro, "at four o'clock".
In Chile it is called putita, meaning "little hooker", because she is prettiest when her flowers come out at night.
In Mexico  and Cuba it is called maravilla, meaning "marvel".
In Malta it is called ħummejr.
In Russia it is called zor'ka (Russian: зорька), meaning "dawning".
In Syria it is called alshab alzarif (Arabic: الشاب الظريف).
In Ukraine it is called nichna krasunya (Ukrainian: нічна красуня), meaning "night beauty".
In Colombia it is called Don Diego de noche, meaning "Mr. Diego of night".
In Lebanon it is called shab el layl (Arabic: شاب الليل), meaning "young man of the night".
In Uttarakhand it is called "गुल बांक" Gul baank


Mirabilis laevis, the desert wishbone-bush, is a recently redefined species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family. Distribution is in the Southwestern United States and northwest Mexico.


Mirabilis laevis now includes the common California chaparral plant known as wishbone bush (formerly Mirabilis californica), and several very similar relatives previously classified as separate species and now as varieties.


Mirabilis laevis var. crassifolia is found in California chaparral and woodlands habitats in California and Baja California, including Cedros Island (namesake for synonym M. c. (A. Gray) var. cedrosensis (Standl.) J.F. Macbr.).  The plant is also found in the Southern California Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada foothills, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, the White Mountains, and the Inyo Mountains.
Mirabilis laevis var. retrorsa is found in the White and Inyo Mountains, Nevada, and Oregon, east to Utah, and south to Arizona and northwest Mexico.
Mirabilis laevis var. villosa has a similar distribution to Mirabilis laevis var. retrorsa.


Mirabilis nyctaginea is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family known by several common names, including wild four o'clock, heartleaf four o'clock, and heartleaf umbrella wort.
Four-o'-clock is native to the central section of North America, and it occurs elsewhere as an introduced species, including parts of Europe. Its exact native range is obscure, and it is often weedy throughout its range, spreading into disturbed habitat easily.
Four-o'-clock is a hairy to hairless perennial herb growing erect to over a meter in maximum height. The leaves are oppositely arranged mainly on the lower two thirds of the plant below the upper forkings of the stem. Each thin green leaf has an oval or heart-shaped blade up to 10 centimeters long. The flowers occur in leaf axils on the upper branches. A cluster of 3 to 5 flowers blooms in a bell-shaped involucre of five partly fused bracts. Each five-lobed, funnel-shaped flower is about a centimeter wide and magenta or pink to nearly white in color. The flowers open for only a few hours and drop, leaving the shaggy-haired developing fruits in the drying, papery cup of bracts. The root is a thick, fleshy taproot.
Four-o'-clock is host to the larvae (caterpillars) of several micromoths: Embola ionis is a stem borer, Neoheliodines cliffordi and N. nyctaginella are leaf skeletonizers, and Aetole tripunctella is a leaf miner.


Mirabilis nyctaginea was called Kactáhkata in the Skiri Pawnee language. "Its root, yellow and sweet, was used to treat coughs. Also used in powdered form as a remedy for sore mouth in babies and in tea form by women after childbirth to reduce abdominal swelling."


Miscanthus sinensis, the eulalia or Chinese silver grass, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, native to eastern Asia throughout most of China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea.


It is an herbaceous perennial grass, growing to 0.8–2 m (3–7 ft) tall, rarely 4 m (13 ft), forming dense clumps from an underground rhizome. The leaves are 18–75 cm (7–30 in) tall and 0.3–2 cm broad. The flowers are purplish, held above the foliage. This plant is the preferred structure for the nesting of some species of paper wasps, such as Ropalidia fasciata.


The Latin specific epithet sinensis means "from China", though the plant is found elsewhere in eastern Asia.


M. sinensis f. glaber Honda
M. sinensis var. gracillimus Hitchc.
M. sinensis var. variegatus Beal
M. sinensis var. zebrinus Beal


It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate climates around the world.
It has become an invasive species in parts of North America.  However, it is possible to reduce the likelihood of escape or hybridization with extant wild M. sinensis populations with breeding and proper management.


Several cultivars have been selected, including 'Strictus' with narrow growth habit, 'Variegata' with white margins, and ‘Zebrinus’ (sometimes incorrectly rendered as 'Zebrina') with horizontal yellow and green stripes across the leaves. Those marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
'Border Bandit'
'Cosmopolitan' agm
'Dronning Ingrid'
'Ferner Osten' agm
'Flamingo' agm
'Gewitterwolke' agm
'Ghana' agm
'Gold und Silber' agm
'Gracillimus'
'Grosse Fontäne' agm
'Kaskade' agm
'Kleine Fontäne' agm
'Kleine Silberspinne' agm
'Malepartus'
'Morning Light' agm
'Septemberrot' agm
'Silberfeder' agm
'Strictus' agm
'Undine' agm
'Variegatus'
'Zebrinus' agm


M. sinensis is a candidate for bioenergy production due to its high yield, even in high stress environments, easy propagation, effective nutrient cycling, and high genetic variation.


Eulalia japonica Trin.
Saccharum japonicum Thunb.


Paper wasps typically have long and slender bodies with trailing hind legs. The color of their body is generally brownish. Specifically, M. flavitarsis is divided into five races based on coloration.


M. flavitarsis is found in the western United States and Canada, ranging from southern California to British Columbia. Typically, the wasps build nests in riparian forests at elevations of 1500 to 2700 meters. At lower elevations, the nests are located in deciduous and hard evergreens, and at higher elevations in conifers. Nests are typically found within 50 meters of rivers.
M. flavitarsis is also known to nest in the built environment, particularly in protected spaces such as wall voids, the underside of eves, etc.


Adults will begin to emerge about 60 days after eggs have been laid. Egg, larvae, and pupae stages each take around 20 days to complete development. Early emerging daughters help to construct the natal nest by building it larger and strengthening the stem from which it hangs. They also help to fan the brood to keep it cool and defend the nest against predators. After the adults are 10–15 days old, they begin to forage for fiber, arthropods, and nectar. A queen continues to forage through this stage but will leave the nest more rarely as adults emerge. If queens do leave the nest, it is typically only for construction materials for the nest.


M. flavitarsis wasps also locate prey by smell. In one study, holes were made in a leaf and placed near a plant that had holes made in its leaves twelve days prior. Once caterpillar larvae were placed on the leaf, the time for the wasp to locate the larvae was recorded. It was found that M. flavitarsis are more likely to approach the freshly damaged leaf, which release mechanical odors that serve as cues for the wasps. In studies, these wasps are more likely to approach a leaf based on olfactory cues, rather than visual cues. This shows that presented olfactory stimuli are processed before the wasp processes visual stimuli.


Typically, female M. flavitarsis will remain with its nest for the duration of their life. On the other hand, males remain on the natal nest for only a few days. Following departure from the colony, they spend the rest of their lives attempting to attract a mate.


Birds such as flickers, acorn woodpeckers, Mexican jays, and flycatchers are typical predators of M. flavitarsis. In addition to birds, ants will often try to invade the wasp nests. The wasps fight back by attempting to drive and throw the ants off the nest. They will also rub their abdomen on nest surfaces to deter ants from approaching. One final predator of M. flavitarsis is the praying mantis, which will eat perching males during mating season.


Mitchella repens (partridge berry, or squaw vine (no longer used)) is the best known plant in the genus Mitchella.
It is a creeping prostrate herbaceous woody shrub occurring in North America belonging to the madder family (Rubiaceae).


Mitchella repens is one of the many species first described by Carl Linnaeus. Its species name is the Latin adjective repens, which means "creeping". Common names for Mitchella repens include partridge berry (or partridgeberry), squaw berry (no longer used), two-eyed berry, running fox, and Noon kie oo nah yeah (in the Mohawk language).


Partridge berry is an evergreen plant growing as a non-climbing vine, no taller than 6 cm tall with creeping stems 15 to 30 cm long.  The evergreen, dark green, shiny leaves are ovate to cordate in shape. The leaves have a pale yellow midrib. The petioles are short, and the leaves are paired oppositely on the stems. Adventitious roots may grow at the nodes; and rooting stems may branch and root repeatedly, producing loose spreading mats.
The small, trumpet-shaped, axillary flowers are produced in pairs, and each flower pair arises from one common calyx which is covered with fine hairs. Each flower has four white petals, one pistil, and four stamens. Partridge Berry is a distylous taxon.  The plants have flowers with either long pistils and short stamens (long-styled flowers, called pins) or short pistils and long stamens (short-styled flowers, called thrums).  The two style morphs are genetically determined, so the pollen from one morph does not fertilize the other morph, resulting in a form of heteromorphic self-incompatibility.
The ovaries of the twin flowers fuse together, so that there are two flowers for each berry. The two bright red spots on each berry are vestiges of this process.  The fruit ripens between July and October, and may persist through the winter. The fruit is a drupe containing up to eight seeds. The fruits are never abundant. They may be part of the diets of several birds, such as ruffed grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, northern bobwhite, and wild turkey. They are also consumed by foxes, white-footed mice, and skunks. The foliage is occasionally consumed by White-tailed deer.
The common reproduction is vegetative, with plants forming spreading colonies.


The species is dispersed throughout eastern North America, from south Eastern Canada south to Florida and Texas, and to Guatemala. It is found growing in dry or moist woods, along stream banks and on sandy slopes.


Mitchella repens is cultivated for its ornamental red berries and shiny, bright green foliage.  It is grown as a creeping ground cover in shady locations. It is rarely propagated for garden use by way of seeds but cuttings are easy. The plants have been widely collected for Christmas decorations, and over collecting has impacted some local populations negatively. First Nations women made a tea from the leaves and berries that was consumed during childbirth. The plants are sometimes grown in terrariums. The scarlet berries are edible but rather tasteless, with a faint flavour of wintergreen, resembling cranberries (to which they are not closely related). Vaccinium vitis-idaea may be referred to by the same common name, "Newfoundland Partridgeberry" or "lingonberry" but is a different species.


The northern tufted flycatcher or simply tufted flycatcher (Mitrephanes phaeocercus) is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family.  It breeds in highlands from northwestern Mexico to northwestern Ecuador. The olive flycatcher (Mitrephanes olivaceus) of Peru and Bolivia is now considered a separate species.
It is a common inhabitant of mature mountain forest and tall second growth, especially at edges and clearings with trees. It breeds from 700–3000 m altitude, but is most abundant from 1200–2150 m. The female builds a saucer nest of moss, liverworts and lichens 4–27 m high on a branch or vine, usually concealed among ferns, bromeliads and other epiphytes. The female incubates the two brown-blotched white eggs for 15–16 days to hatching,
The northern tufted flycatcher is 12 cm long and weighs 8.5 g. The upperparts are olive-green, including the pointed crest.  The tail and wings are blackish, and the latter have two buff wing bars and buff edging to the secondary feathers. The breast is ochre-orange, shading to bright yellow on the belly. Sexes are similar, but young birds have brownish upperparts with buff fringing, orange wing bars and paler underparts.
The northern tufted flycatcher is usually seen in pairs, hunting flying insects from an open perch like a pewee. It often returns to the same perch and vibrates its tail as it lands.
This species has a rapid weet weet weet weet call.  Its dawn song is a very fast high  bip-bip-bip-dididiup-bip-bip-bibibiseer.
Although this species is not migratory, it is very rare vagrant to the United States, the first record being from Big Bend National Park, Texas in November 1991. It has also been observed in Arizona.


Mocis latipes, the small mocis moth or striped grass looper, is a species of moth of the family Erebidae. It is found from North America (from southern Ontario and Quebec to Florida, west to Arizona, north to Minnesota and south through Central to South America.
The wingspan is 33–43 millimetres (1.3–1.7 in). The forewings are yellowish brown variably shaded with darker brown. Females are more yellowish to reddish than the males. The hindwings are yellowish brown with dark brown shading and two faint lines. Adults are on wing from June to October.
The larvae feed on various grasses, including rice and corn. They have also been recorded feeding on beans and turnip.


Modiola is a monotypic genus of plants in the mallow family containing the single species Modiola caroliniana, which is known by several common names including bristly-fruited mallow, Carolina bristlemallow, babosilla, and redflower mallow. It is a creeping perennial which is probably native to South America but which is widely naturalized throughout the tropical and warmer temperate world.


Moehringia macrophylla, commonly known as the largeleaf sandwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to parts of eastern and western North America, where it can be found in moist, shady habitat types, such as mountain forests. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing erect to about 18 centimeters in maximum height. The lance-shaped leaves are up to 5 centimeters long and oppositely arranged about the stem. The inflorescence is a cyme of 2 to 5 flowers, each with 5 pointed green sepals and 5 rounded white petals. The fruit is a toothed black capsule.


Moehringia trinervia, commonly known as apetalous sandwort or three-nerved sandwort, is a herbaceous plant of the family Caryophyllaceae. A native of Eurasia, it has been introduced into North America.


Three-nerved sandwort is a small, slender, slightly pubescent annual growing 10 – 40 cm tall. The leaves are 6 – 25 mm long with three conspicuous longitudinal veins, although some leaves may have up to five veins. The flowers measure approximately 6 mm in diameter, with each bearing ten stamens and three styles. The petals are much longer than the three-veined sepals. The flowering period is April until July.


The plant is widely distributed in Britain and much of mainland Europe, although it is absent from the Hebrides,  Mull, Orkney, and Shetland. It favours fertile, well-drained soils in old lowland deciduous woodland and hedgerows, occurring up to 425 m. In Britain, it is considered an ancient woodland indicator in southern England, East Anglia, and Carmarthen. However, three-nerved sandwort may also be found in secondary woodland and can recolonize relatively rapidly after habitat disturbance.
A Polish study in the Niepołomice Forest found that three-nerved sandwort accumulated high amounts of heavy metals from pollutive industrial emissions in its tissues, especially of cadmium. The conclusion was that a high level of heavy metal ions in three-nerved sandwort reflects levels of heavy metal pollutants in the soil and atmosphere, so that this plant may serve as a useful bioindicator of environmental pollution with such metals.


Mohavea confertiflora, the ghost flower, is a plant of the family Plantaginaceae. It is a native of the Southwestern United States, southern California, and three states of northwest Mexico.
It is found growing in the arid conditions of the Mojave Desert and the Sonoran Desert (including Colorado Desert), below 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in elevation. It also grows in those deserts' sky islands habitats.


Mohavea confertiflora flowers March to April. This flower, which does not produce nectar, has adapted a morphology resembling the flower Mentzelia involucrata, which often grows in the same habitat. Mentzelia involucrata produces nectar to attract female bees of the genus Xeralictus.
In areas where their ranges overlap, Mohavea confertifolia attracts the same pollinators to its flowers through floral mimicry: Mohavea flowers contain marks that resemble female Xeralictus; these marks operate as a sign stimulus to the male bee, which enters the flower and in doing so pollinates the Mohavea.


Mollugo verticillata, the green carpetweed (also known as Indian chickweed), is a rapidly spreading annual plant from tropical America. In eastern North America, it is a common weed growing in disturbed areas. It forms a prostrate circular mat that can quickly climb over nearby plants and obstacles. The species has been reported from every state in the United States except Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah, as well as from British Columbia, Manitoba. Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.  Although considered an invasive weed, M. verticillata is also known to be edible. Archaeological evidence has shown that  M. verticillata has been in North America for about 3000 years. Sometimes also referred to as "Indian chickweed", in China this plant is referred to as zhong leng su mi cao.


Carpetweed has narrow, whorled leaves, 3-8 at each node.  At maturity the plant may lose its characteristic basal rosette formation. Leaves are approximately 1–3 cm in length and possess an obovate shape. Leaf apex may vary from rounded to acute. The plant will grow and sprawl across the soil due to its habit of prostrate growth and form mats. The flowers are usually in clusters of 2-5, blooming from July through September. Flowers are white or greenish white with tiny 5–15 mm stalks. Flowers quickly turn into fruit that is egg shaped and 1.5–4 mm in length. The dehiscent capsule opens at maturity. The seeds are 0.5 mm long and are red to rusty brown in coloration.


Advances in molecular genetic sequencing has improved understandings of the taxonomic relationship in the family Molluginaceae which had previously not been as inclusive. Genera from Molluginaceae had previously been placed under Aizoaceae, Nyctaginaceae, and Phytolaccaceae before recent studies. The genus Mollugo L. currently comprises about 35 species of annual herbs. Several sub taxa species of M. verticillata have been reported due to its varying morphological nature however they are not thoroughly documented. Mollugo verticillata has many accepted synonyms including: Mollugo dichotoma, Mollugo diffusa, Mollugo costata, Pharnaceum arenarium, and Pharnaceum verticellatum to name a few. It is also referred to as alfombra in Spanish, and mollugine in French. Other closely related sister taxa include Mollugo floriana, Mollugo flavescens, Mollugo snodgrassii, Mollugo crockeri, and Mollugo enneandra.


The wide range of M. verticillata is apparent across North America, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America, Eurasia and Africa. There is agreement among some studies that the carpetweed origin is from the New World tropics and it spread into more temperate zones afterwards. Overall the place of origin has been attributed to the tropics or subtropics of the northern and southern hemispheres. Commonly found in warm and/or wet environments across North America.


Along with Glinus (Molluginaceae), Mollugo are edible plants that have historically been utilized as vegetables or for medicinal benefits. The family Molluginaceae has been studied for its therapeutic characteristics due to the production of triterpenes saponins and flavonoids. One study suggested that ethanolic extracts of M. verticillata could be a potential immunomodulator. The chemical makeup in members of the family Molluginaceae in general has anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties.


Carbon dating has dated seeds of M. verticillata found in Icehouse Bottom Tennessee back to 1170- 140 B.C. Other seeds found in Troyville, Louisiana were dated back to 500 A.D. It is unsure exactly when or how M. verticillata spread into temperate North America. European movements were not the cause of this migration because carbon dating reveals that the plant was in the Little Tennessee river valley 3000 years ago. Despite little apparent  food value, indigenous peoples may have had uses of M. verticillata that are unclear today. Carpetweed, also referred to as "Indian chickweed", was utilized as a potherb by the indigenous peoples of Southern Appalachia.


Carpetweed is considered to be globally secure. It is also credited as an invasive weed by USDA.gov. IUCN RedList states that the taxon has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List. Other accounts cite the weed as being native to the Continental US, Caribbean territories, Mexico and introduced to Canada. It can be found in disturbed habitats such as fields, parking lots and gardens.


The bronzed cowbird (once known as the red-eyed cowbird, Molothrus aeneus) is a small icterid.
They breed from the U.S. states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana south through Central America to Panama. They tend to be found in farmland, brush, and feedlots. Outside the breeding season, they are found in very open habitats, and roost in thick woods. These birds forage in open areas, often near cattle in pastures. Their diet mostly consists of seeds and insects, along with snails during breeding season for a calcium source.
There are three subspecies:
M. a. loyei  Parkes & Blake, 1965 is found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
M. a. assimilis  (Nelson, 1900) is found in southwestern Mexico.
M. a. aeneus  (Wagler, 1829), the nominate subspecies, is found in South Texas and from eastern Mexico to central Panama
The bronze-brown cowbird, which is restricted to the Caribbean coast of Colombia, was formerly considered to be an isolated population of this species.
The male bronzed cowbird is 20 cm (7.9 in) long and weighs 68 g (2.4 oz), with green-bronze, gloss-black plumage. His eyes are red in breeding season and brown otherwise. The female is 18.5 cm (7.3 in) long and weighs 56 g (2.0 oz). She is a dull black with a brown underbelly, and has brown eyes. Young birds have coloring similar to the females, with the exception of grey feather fringes.
Like all cowbirds, this bird is an obligate brood parasite; it lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. The young cowbird is fed by the host parents at the expense of their own young. Hosts include Prevost's ground-sparrows and white-naped brush finches. They develop rapidly, leaving the nest after 10–12 days.


The brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) is a small, obligate brood parasitic icterid native to temperate and subtropical North America. It is a permanent resident in the southern parts of its range; northern birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico in winter, returning to their summer habitat around March or April.


The brown-headed cowbird was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1775 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in the Carolinas. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-colored plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle, which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name, but in 1783, Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Oriolus ater in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The brown-headed cowbird is now placed in the genus Molothrus that was introduced by  English naturalist William John Swainson in 1832 with the brown-headed cowbird as the type species. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek mōlos meaning "struggle" or "battle" with thrōskō meaning "to sire" or "to impregnate". The specific name ater is Latin for "dull black". The English name "cowbird", first recorded in 1839, refers to this species often being seen near cattle.
Three subspecies are recognised:
M. a. artemisiae Grinnell, 1909 – interior west Canada and west USA
M. a. obscurus (Gmelin, JF, 1789) – coastal Alaska, Canada, USA, and northwest Mexico
M. a. ater (Boddaert, 1783) – southeast Canada, east and central USA, and northeast Mexico


The brown-headed cowbird is typical for an icterid in general shape, but is distinguished by its finch-like head and beak and  smaller size. The adult male is iridescent black in color with a brown head. The adult female is slightly smaller and is dull grey with a pale throat and very fine streaking on the underparts. Their total length is 16–22 cm (6.3–8.7 in) and the average wingspan is 36 cm (14 in). Body mass can range from 30–60 g (1.1–2.1 oz), with females averaging 38.8 g (1.37 oz) against the males' average of 49 g (1.7 oz).


The species lives in open or semiopen country, and often travels in flocks, sometimes mixed with red-winged blackbirds (particularly in spring) and bobolinks (particularly in fall), as well as common grackles or European starlings. These birds forage on the ground, often following grazing animals such as horses and cattle to catch insects stirred up by the larger animals. They mainly eat seeds and insects.
Before European settlement,  brown-headed cowbirds followed bison herds across the prairies. Their population expanded with the clearing of forested areas and the introduction of new grazing animals by settlers across North America. They are now commonly seen at suburban birdfeeders.
In 2012 Brown-headed cowbirds positive for West Nile Virus were found in Northwest Riverside County, CA


The brown-headed cowbird is an obligate brood parasite; it lays its eggs in the nests of other small passerines (perching birds), particularly those that build cup-like nests. The brown-headed cowbird eggs have been documented in nests of at least 220 host species, including hummingbirds and raptors. More than 140 different species of birds are known to have raised young cowbirds. The young cowbird is fed by the host parents at the expense of their own young. Brown-headed cowbird females can lay up to 36 eggs in a season.


Some host species, such as the house finch, feed their young a vegetarian diet. This is unsuitable for young brown-headed cowbirds, meaning few survive to fledge.Accepting a cowbird egg and rearing a cowbird chick can be costly to a host species. In the American redstart, nests parasitized by cowbirds were found to have a higher rate of predation, likely due in part to the loud begging calls by the cowbird nestling, but also partly explained by the fact that nests likely to be parasitized are also more likely to be preyed upon.
Unlike the common cuckoo, the brown-headed cowbird is not divided into gentes whose eggs imitate those of a particular host. Host species sometimes notice the cowbird egg, with different hosts reacting to the egg in different ways. Some, like the blue-grey gnatcatcher, abandon their nest, losing their own eggs as well. Others, like the American yellow warbler, bury the foreign egg under nest material, where it perishes. The brown thrasher physically ejects the egg from the nest. Experiments with grey catbirds, a known cowbird host, have shown that this species rejects cowbird eggs more than 95% of the time. For this species, the cost of accepting cowbird eggs (i.e. the loss of their own eggs or nestlings through starvation or the actions of the nestling cowbird) was far higher than the cost of rejecting those eggs (i.e. where the host might conceivably eject its own egg accidentally). Brown-headed cowbird nestlings are also sometimes expelled from the nest.  Nestlings of host species can also alter their behavior in response to the presence of a cowbird nestling.


Song sparrow nestlings in parasitized nests alter their vocalizations in frequency and amplitude so that they resemble the cowbird nestling, and these nestlings tend to be fed equally often as nestlings in unparasitized nests.
Brown-headed cowbirds seem to periodically check on their eggs and young after they have deposited them. Removal of the parasitic egg may trigger a retaliatory reaction termed "mafia behavior". According to one study  the cowbird returned to ransack the nests of a range of host species 56% of the time when their egg was removed. In addition, the cowbird also destroyed nests in a type of "farming behavior" to force the hosts to build new ones. The cowbirds then laid their eggs in the new nests 85% of the time.
Young cowbirds are not exposed to species-typical visual and auditory information like other birds. Despite this, they are able to develop species-typical singing, social, and breeding behaviors. Cowbird brains are wired to respond to the vocalizations of other cowbirds, allowing young to find and join flocks of their own species. These vocalizations are consistent across all cowbird populations, and serve as a sort of species-recognition password. If a young cowbird is not exposed to these "password" vocalizations by a certain age, it will mistakenly imprint on the host species.


With the expansion of its range and its parasitic behavior, the brown-headed cowbird is often regarded as a pest. People sometimes engage in cowbird control programs, with the intention of protecting species negatively impacted by the cowbirds' brood parasitism. A study of nests of Bell's vireo highlighted a potential limitation of these control programs, demonstrating that removal of cowbirds from a site may create an unintended consequence of increasing cowbird productivity on that site, because with fewer cowbirds, fewer parasitized nests are deserted, resulting in greater nest success for cowbirds.