ONTARIO 



" Softly ths evening came. The sun from the western horizon 

 Like a magician extended his golden wand o'er the landscape; 



Then from a neighboring thicket, the Mockingbird, wildest of singers, 



Swinging aloft on a willow spra\- that hung o'er the water, 



Shook from his little throat such floods ot delicious music, 



That the whole air and the woods and the waves seemed silent to listen. 



Plaintive at first were the tones and sad ; then soaring to madness 



Seemed they to follow or guide the revel of frenzied Bacchantes. 



Single notes were then heard in sorrowful, low lamentation; 



Till, having gathered them all, he flung them abroad in derision. 



As when after a storm, a gust of wind through the tree tops 



Shakes down the rattling rain in a crystal shower on the branches." 



In the Southern States the Mockingbird is a constant resi- 

 dent. Occasional!}' a pair come farther north and spend the sum- 

 mer, but as soon as the young are able for the journey they 

 again retire to the south. In the " Birds of Long Island," Mr. 

 Giraiid mentions it as an occasional summer resident there, and 

 speaks of a pair having spent a summer near the beach at Egg 

 Harbor. " The male," he sa}s, " became thepetof the residents, 

 to whom it also seemed much attached, and, as if in return 

 for the attention the}^ paid to his wants, he poured forth his 

 charming melody, which on calm, bright nights, blending with 

 the subdued voice of the ocean, rendered the scene enchanting 

 beyond the powers of description." 



In Ontario the Mockingbird is best known as a cage bird, 

 numbers being occasionally brought from the south in captivity, 

 and when exposed for sale are readily bought up b}^ those who 

 are fond of feathered pets. Even in confinement it seems to 

 retain all its natural power and energ}' as a songster, and being 

 of a sociable, familiar disposition, soon gets attached to those 

 who are in the habit of attending to its wants. Among Ameri- 

 can birds it has been justly styled the " Prince of Musicians." 

 Indeed, with the exception of the British Sky-lark, whose grand 

 soaring flight adds greatly to the effect of its music, I know of 

 no bird in any country possessed of such a wonderful compass 

 of voice. Often while exercising its powers of mimicr}', it will 

 give so correct an imitation of the notes of other birds that the 

 most retiring species will come from their haunts expecting to 



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