176 OUR WINTER BIRDS 



Mockingbird 



All that has been said of the pioneering habits of 

 the Carolina Wren applies also to the Mockingbird. 

 We associate this famous songster with magnolia, 

 yellow jessamine and palms, but it lives as far north 

 as Massachusetts, where a few venturesome indi- 

 viduals spend the entire year, for, like the Carolina 

 Wren, the Mockingbird is not truly migratory. 



The only bird with which we may confuse the 

 Mockingbird Is the Shrike, but the resemblance is 

 only superficial and when one is familiar with both, 

 there is small possibility of mistaking one for the 

 other. The Mockingbird is more slender and has 

 a much longer tail; there are no black markings 

 about its head and when it flies the white markings 

 in its wings are more conspicuous, while if one is 

 near enough, the rather long, slender bill of the 

 Mo/ckingbird can not be mistaken for the stout 

 hooked weapon of the Shrike. 



I recall a Mockingbird which one November ap- 

 peared near the Museum of Natural History in New 

 York City. Its fare consisted mainly of the berries 

 of a Virginia creeper which covered some rocks in 

 the museum grounds. This was before the day of 

 the Starlings, which now make such short work of 



