318 BULLETIN 195, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



15 feet beyond the female. As he sped past her, the female crouched a little and 

 began to quiver her wings. She continued in this as the male, singing excitedly 

 and with tail and wings half spread, advanced toward her with dancing steps. 

 As he neared her his excitement grew but his approach was stately and un- 

 hurried. As he came near he seemed to be floating along just over the ground 

 and he rose gradually and settled upon her back. All this time he had been pour- 

 ing forth impassioned melody. The act lasted several seconds and was accom- 

 panied by much fluttering of wings. 



Nesting. — The western mockingbird will build its nest in almost any 

 of the many varieties of bushes, small trees, or tangles of vines found 

 within its habitat, including such western plants as sagebushes, 

 pricklypear cactus, or the different chollas. Dense shrubbery or the 

 thickly leaved branches of trees are preferred. The nest may be 

 placed anywhere from 1 foot to 40 feet above ground, though most of 

 them are 6 feet up or less. George F. Simmons (1925) says that, in 

 Texas, the nests are sometimes placed in a hollow in the top of a 

 "cedar fence post, in brush piles, on stumps, or in corners of rail 

 fences." F. W. Braund has sent me the data for seven nests in his 

 collection; one was in a vine in an open field, three were in bushes, 

 and three were in chollas ; the heights varied from 3 to 5 feet above 

 ground. The foundation of the nest is made of coarse and fine twigs, 

 often thorny, mixed with coarse grasses and weed stems; sometimes 

 bits of rags or cotton, string, paper, or other trash are added. The 

 lining usually consists of fine grasses, but sometimes fine rootlets, 

 horsehair, or plant down is used. 



Eggs. — The eggs of this western race are indistinguishable in every 

 way from those of the eastern mockingbird, showing the same range 

 of beautiful variations. The measurements of 50 eggs in the United 

 States National Museum average 24.6 by 18.6 millimeters; the eggs 

 showing the four extremes measure 27.4 by 19.8, 21.8 by 17.8, and 

 23.4 by 17.3 millimeters. 



Young. — The period of incubation is said to be 10 to 14 days; 

 probably the latter figure is approximately correct. The young are 

 said to remain in the nest 9 to 12 days ; perhaps nearly 2 weeks would 

 be the normal time, if the young are not disturbed. Probably in- 

 cubation is shared by both sexes, but the literature seems to be very 

 silent on this point and on the care and development of the young. 

 Two broods are regularly raised in a season, and rarely three. 



As to the care and feeding of the young, Mrs. Wheelock (1904) gives 

 us the only account I can find ; she writes : 



Both male and female Mockers flit through the green like silent shadows 

 hunting insects under the leaves, earthworms on the ground, or berries in the 

 garden. These are all swallowed first and delivered to the infant Mockers by 

 regurgitation for the first few days, or until the babies' eyes open. After that, 

 the number of earthworms, butterfiies, etc. devoured by those nestlings rivals 

 the story of the young robins who in 12 hours ate 40 percent more than their 

 own weight. There seems to be no limit to their appetite and scarcely any to 



