THE MOCKINGBIRD 



Mockingbird Family — Mimidce 



Length: About 10 inches; an inch longer than the catbird 

 and an inch shorter than the thrasher; tail about 

 5 inches long. 



Male and Female: A long, slender, brownish-gray bird, with 

 grayish-white under parts; wings and tail dark 

 brown ; wings with two white bars and iiJiite patches 

 that are conspicuous in flight; middle tail-feathers 

 brown, outer feathers white, others partly ivhite. 

 The female frequently has less white than the male. 



Notes: A great variety. Some mockingbirds seem to possess 

 unlimited powers of mimicry; others have far less 

 ability to reproduce sounds. 



Song: A sweet, delightful melody, sung in pure liquid tones 

 and with ease and assurance, as though the birds 

 were conscious of their power. They are probably 

 the most famous songsters of America. Sidney 

 Lanier, Walt Whitman, and other poets have written 

 well-known poems in their praise, while Roosevelt 

 and many other prose-writers have added their en- 

 comiums. 



Habitat: Near the haunts of man, in gardens, parks, tree- 

 shaded streets, and groves. 



Kange: Southeastern United States chiefly from* eastern Ne- 

 braska, southern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and 

 Maryland, south to eastern Texas, southern Florida 

 and the Bahamas; occasional in New York and 

 Massachusetts, though a number of records have been 

 made near Boston; accidental in Wisconsin, Ontario, 

 Maine, and Nova Scotia; introduced into Bermuda. 



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