TURDID^ — THE THRUSHES. 51 



ness ill a domesticated state. The mingling of unmusical sounds, like the 

 crowing of cocks, the cackling of hens, or the creaking of a wheelbarrow, 

 while they add to the variety, necessarily detracts Irom the beauty of his 

 song. 



The food of the Mocking-Bird is chiefly insects, their larvae, worms, 

 spiders, etc., and in the winter of berries, in great variety. They are said 

 to be very fond of the grape, and to be very destructive to this fruit. Mr. 

 G. C. Taylor (Ibis, 1862, p. 130) mentions an instance that came to his 

 knowledge, of a person living near St. Augustine, Florida, who shot no less 

 than eleven hundred Mocking-Birds in a single season, and buried them at 

 the roots of his grape-vines. 



Several successful attempts have been made to induce the Mocking-Bird 

 to rear their young in a state of confinement, and it has been shown to be, 

 by proper management, |)erfectly practicable. 



In Texas and Florida the Mocking-Bird nests early in March, young birds 

 appearing early in April. In Georgia and the Carolinas they are two weeks 

 later. In Pennsylvania they nest about the 10th of May, and in New York 

 and New England not until the second week of June. They select various 

 situations for the nest ; solitary thorn-bushes, an almost impenetrable thicket 

 of brambles, an orange-tree, or a holly-bush appear to be favorite localities. 

 They often build near the farm-houses, and the nest is rarely more than seven 

 feet from the ground. The base of the nest is usually a rudely constructed 

 platform of coarse sticks, often armed with formidable thorns surrounding 

 the nest with a barricade. The height is usually 5 inches, with a diameter of 

 8. The cavity is 3 inches deep and 5 wide. Within the external barricade 

 is an inner nest constructed of soft fine roots. 



The eggs, from four to six in number, vary in length from .94 to 1.06 

 inches, with a mean length of .99. Their breadth varies from .81 to .69 of 

 an inch, mean breadth .75. They also exhibit great variations in the combi- 

 nations of markings and tints. The ground color is usually light greenish- 

 blue, varying in the depth of its shade from a very light tint to a distinct 

 blue, with a slight greenish tinge. The markings consist of yellowish-brown 

 and purple, chocolate-brown, russet, and a very dark brown. 



Genus GALEOSCOPTES, Cabanis. 



Galeoscoptes, Cabanis, Mus. Hein. I, 1850, 82. (Tj'j^e Musdcapa carolinensis, L.) 



Gen. Char. Bill shorter than the head, rather broad at base. Rictal bristles moderately 

 developed, reaching to the nostrils. Wings a little shorter than the tail, rounded ; secon- 

 daries well developed ; fourth and fifth quills longest ; third and sixth little shorter ; first 

 and ninth about equal, and about the length of secondaries ; first quill more than half the 

 second, about half the third. Tail graduated ; lateral feather about .70 shorter than the 

 middle. Tarsi longer than middle toe and claw by about an additional half-claw ; scutel- 

 late anteriorly, more or less distinctly in different specimens ; scutelte about seven. 



