bill, beats it against the earth, and flies to the nest to feed and receive the w arm 

 thanks of his devoted mate. 



When a fortnight has elapsed, the young brood demand all the care and 

 attention of the parents. No cat, no snake, no dreaded Hawk, is likely to visit 

 their habitation. Indeed the inmates of the next house have, by this time, become 

 quite attached to the lovsdy pair of Mocking pjirds and take i)leasure in con- 

 tributing to their safety. Dewberries from the fields, and man\- kinds of fruit 

 from the gardens, along with many insects, supply the young as well as the 

 parents with food. The brood is soon seen emerging from the nest, and in an- 

 other fortnight, being now able to fly with vigor, and to ])rovide for themselves, 

 they leave the pareht birds. 



The Mocking Bird remains in Louisiana the whole year. I have oI)served 

 with astonishment, that tow^ard the end of October, when those which had gone 

 to the Eastern states have returned, they are instantly known by the birds who 

 have stayed in the South, who attack them on all occasions. I have ascertained 

 this by observing the greater shyness exhibited by the strangers for w'eeks after 

 their arrival. This shyness, however, is shortly over, as well as the animosity 

 displayed by the resident birds, and during the winter there exists a great ap- 

 pearance of sociability among the united tribes. 



In the beginning of April, sometimes a fortnight earlier, the ^Mocking Birds 

 pair, and construct their nests. In some instances they are so careless as to place 

 the nest between the rails of a fence directly by the road. I have frequently 

 found it in such places, or in fields, as well as in briers, but always so easily dis- 

 coverable that any person desirous of procuring one might do so in a very short 

 time. It is coarsely constructed on the outside, being there composed of dried 

 sticks or briers, withered leaves of trees, and grasses mixed with wool. Inter- 

 nally it is finished with fibrous roots disposed in a circular form, but carelessly 

 arranged. The female lays from four to six eggs the first time, four or five 

 the next, and when there is a third Ijrood, which is sometimes the case, seldom 

 more than three, of wdiich I have rarely found more than two hatched. The eggs 

 are of a short oval form, light green, blotched and spotted with umber. The 

 voung of the last brood not l)eing able to support themselves until late in the sea- 

 son, when many of the berries and insects have become scarce, are stunted in 

 growth— a circumstance which has induced some persons to imagine the existence 

 in the Ignited States of two species of common Mocking Piird, a larger and a 

 smaller. This, however, as far as my observation goes, is not correct. The first 

 brood is frequently found in New Orleans as early as the middle of April. A- 

 little farther up the country they are out by the middle of ]May. The second 

 brood is hatched in July, and the third in the latter part of September. 



The nearer you approach to the seashore, the more plentiful do you find these 

 birds. They are naturally fond of loose sands, and of districts scantily furnished 

 with small trees, or patches of briers, and low bushes. 



During incubation, the female pays such precise attention to the position 



108 



