THE MOCKING-BIRD AS A MIMIC. 97 



others. The mocking-bird remains all the year round in some of the warmer 

 states ; but in the colder parts he is a summer visitor, and then goes away as 

 the swallows do. 



Like the nightingale, he is often caught in a trap, and sold for the sake 

 of his voice. But even when a captive, he is just as lively and as mischievous. 

 He imitates all the sounds in the house, and plays a trick upon everybody. 

 He whistles like the master, and the dog jumps up and thinks it is wanted. 

 Then he makes a pitiful squeak, and the hen clucking outside in the farmyard 

 is in a fright about her chickens, and fancies that one of them is hurt. Then 

 he sings like the canary, or the thrush, or the nightingale, and affords the 

 utmost delight to his listeners. As he sings he appears to be in a kind of 

 ecstasy, and flutters round the cage as if he were dancing to his own music. 



The dress worn by the mocking-bird is not very gay, and yet he is on 

 the whole rather handsome. The upper part of the head, neck, and back are 

 of a dark ash colour, and the wings and tail nearly black, the upper feathers 

 tipped with white, in the manner you see in the picture ; the lower part of the 

 body is a brownish white, and the legs and feet black and very strong. 



The food of the bird consists of berries of the red cedar and the myrtle 

 and the holly, and many others that are found in abundance in the thickets 

 and swamps. And he is very expert in catching winged insects, that abound 

 in the warmer districts even in the winter. 



He has a graceful way of moving about on the ground, and keeps 

 opening his wings and closing them as the butterfly does when she is basking 

 in the sun. His flight is performed by short jerks of the body and wings, 

 and each time the tail is twitched strongly. When he is travelling he goes 

 from tree to tree, or at most across a field, and never rises higher than the 

 top of the forest. His common note is rather a mournful one, and he utters it 

 as he flies. 



His courage is so great that not even the bird of prey likes to attack 

 him. But there is one kind of hawk that flies very low and very swiftly, and 

 sometimes carries him off with a sudden swoop. But if the hawk misses its 

 aim, the mocking-bird turns upon it with great fury, and calls all his friends 

 to his help. The hawk darts away so fast that none of them can overtake 

 him ; but the warning note has been uttered, and the birds are on their guard. 

 The enemy is very likely to go without his prey for that day at least. 



