winter. The mocking bird was observed upon its arrival, 

 and from its exclusive percli upon an outward branch of a 

 balm-o-Gilead, it surveyed its fellows and surroundings with 

 apparent interest. It allowed a hairy wood-pecker to finish 

 its meal before going to the suet which it ate very sparingly. 

 Then flew to an orchard, where it was seen to peck rav- 

 enously at frozen apples. Immediately a fresh apple cut in 

 halves was tied flat upon a branch of the tree to which it first 

 came, and although it returned in the late afternoon and 

 inspected the situation, it did not indulge. The following 

 morning when the family arose at seven, it was just finishing 

 the last half apple, picking out the soft part and leaving the 

 skin like a cup, with the core in the center. Now that its 

 diet was establish, fresh apples in quantity were furnished, 

 which were devoured after like manner, for it came several 

 times daily, and ate greedily. Its disposition did not seem 

 to improve with acquaintance, for regularly it fought every 

 bird from the tree before meals. It was never seen to visit 

 the tray, where there was always a supply of grain and 

 crumbs, nor did it again take suet; its likes and dislikes were 

 very pronounced, so it stuck fast to its fruit diet, and usually 

 to the one tree, but did go on to the ground a few times, after 

 the snow went. 



Its fame soon spread abroad, and open house was kept 

 during the remainder of its stay, for fully fifty persons, most 

 of them skeptical, came from various places to see if it was 

 really true. It became quite accustomed to admiration and 

 would sit in the sun and preen its feathers before an aud- 

 ience of six or eight on a porch not twenty feet away. Several 

 snap-shots were taken, but through inexperience and a very 

 small camera, the pictures were not altogether satisfactory, 

 although in them the bird was clearly visable. Its song was 

 first heard on February 28, and its low musical warble inter- 

 spered with a loud jay or caw, was an interesting revelation 

 to those who had never heard its notes. With the exception 

 of being absent for a few days on two occasions it remained 

 at the home of its adoption until March 11, when it disap- 

 peared only to be discovered in the orchard of a neighbor on 

 March 24, where it remained until about May 1. In late 

 March and April its beautiful notes were heard very often, 

 and a noticeable characteristic was its effusion of song during 

 the warm spring rains. One of its most interesting exhi- 

 bitions was given on an April morning, when several mem- 

 bers of the Ball Bird Club were in pursuit, hoping for a 

 song, and soon after locating it in the orchard, its com- 

 panion, a song sparrow, rose to a post quite near and poured 



57 



