THE MOCKIXG-BIRn. 181' 



admirable sonjj: rises pre-emiueut over eveiy competitor. The ear can listen to his music 

 alone, to which that of all the others seems a mere accompaniment. Neither is his strain 

 altogether imitative. His own nati\e notes, which are easily distinguishable b}- such as 

 are well acquainted with those of our various song birds, are bold and full, and varied 

 seemingly beyond all limits. They consist of short expressions of two, three, or at the 

 most five or six syllables, generally interspersed with imitations, and all of them uttered 

 with great emphasis and rapidity, and continued, with undiminished ardour-, for half an 

 hour, or an horn-, at a time ; liis expanded wings and tail, glistening with white, and the 

 buoyant gaiety of his action, arresting the eye, as his song ii-resistibly does the ear. He 

 sweeps round with enthusiastic ecstasy ; he mounts and descends as his song swells or 

 dies away ; and as my friend Mr. Bartram has beautifully expressed it, ' He bomids aloft 

 with the celerity of an arrow, as if to recover or recall his very soul, expu'cd in the last 

 elevated strain.' * "While thus exertinghim.self, a bystander destitute of sight, woidd suppose 

 that the whole feathered tribe had assembled together, on a trial of skill ; each striving to 

 produce his utmost effect ; so perfect are his imitations. He many times deceives the 

 sjjortsman, and sends him in search of bii'ds that perhaps are not within miles of him, 

 but whose notes he exactly imitates : even bii'ds themselves are frequently imposed on by 

 this admirable mimic, and are decoyed by the fancied calls of their mates, or dive with 

 precipitation into the dejDth of thickets, at the scream of what they suppose to be the 

 sparrow-hawk." 



The exact period at which the mocking-bii'd begins to build its nest depends on the 

 latitude in which it may happen to be found ; for while iu the lower parts of Georgia it 

 commences early ui April, those in New York, and in the states of New England, do not 

 begin till the middle of May. This bird displays great discretion in selecting a place for 

 its nest, giving a decided preference to a solitary thorn-bush, an almost impenetrable 

 thicket, an orange-tree, a cedar or holly-bush ; and if any of these cannot be obtained 

 but within a small distance of a house, it does not hesitate to buUd there, not luifre- 

 quently choosing an apple or a jjcar-tree. The nests vary a little with different birds, 

 according to the nature of the materials which may be within reach. A very complete 

 one is described by Wilson as consisting, first, of a quantity of diy twigs and sticks, then 

 withered tops of weeds of the preceding year, intermixed with fine straws, ha}', pieces of 

 wool and tow, lined with a thick layer of fine fibrous roots, of a light bro\\Ti colour. 



The eggs of the mocking-bird are four and sometimes five in number, and are of a 

 cinereous blue, marked with large jjatches of brown. The female usually produces two 

 broods in a season, and if robbed of her eggs, she will even biiild and lay a thii-d time. 

 She is, however, jealous of her nest, and very apt to forsake it if she be disturbed. Some 

 bird-dealers assert that the parents will actually destroy the eggs, and poison the young, 

 if either the one or the other have been touched. Of tins the proof has yet to be pro- 

 duced. During the period of incubation, neither animal nor man can approach the 

 nest without being attacked, and cats are soon made to seek refuge in a speedy retreat. 

 But its special vengeance is directed against the black snake, whose approach is no 

 sooner discovered, than the male darts upon it with the rapidity of an arrow, and 

 dexterously eluding its bite, strikes it incessantly and violently on the head, where it is 

 very vulnerable. The snake soon becomes sensible of its danger, and seeks to escape ; 

 but the mocking-bird is only encouraged to redouble its exertions, and, unless its 

 antagonist be of great magnitude, it often succeeds in destroying it. As the strength of 

 the snake begins to flag, the mocking-bird seizes it and lifts it up partly from the 

 ground, beating it Avith its wings ; and when the work is completed, it retiu'ns to the 

 nest and pours forth a song in token of victory. 



" The native notes of the mocking-bird," according to Wilson, " have considerable 



* Travels, p. 32, Intiod. 



