THE MOCKING BIRD. 69 



Now with his head bent upon one side, 

 and with an arch and shrewd expression 

 Hghting up his eye, he is seated almost mo- 

 tionless upon his perch, quietly gathering the 

 sounds which arise to his elevated position 

 from the street beneath. In an instant, he is 

 changed, "and such a change !" With out- 

 spread wings and flirted tail, he flits from side 

 to side and perch to perch, like an empas- 

 sioned but earnest troubadour, pouring forth 

 his whole soul in song. 



In a wild state, his notes, from the ten 

 thousand opportunities constantly offered, are 

 much finer than in a state of domestication. 

 There, where the wild hymns of the forest 

 choir are constantly ringing in his ears, he 

 has ample scope for his imitative powers. 

 The song which these produce is unsurpassed 

 except by his native notes, which are replete 

 with vigor, boldness, sweetness, energy, and 

 constant inimitable variations. In the forest, 

 like the leader of an orchestra, or some ac- 

 complished musician, he sits upon a lofty 

 twig, with the whole feathered race around, 

 pouring out their varied performances, as an 

 accompaniment to his song ; forming on the 

 whole, one of the grandest overtures which 

 the human mind is capable of appreciating. 

 These wild notes of his own are noted for 

 their expression and beauty, and consist of 

 short sentences of two, or three, or four sylla- 

 bles, which are mingled with imitations, and 

 given with such ardor as to fill the breast of 

 the listener with admiration. 



