72 THE MOCKING BIRD. 



tomed to the sight of man from the first, and 

 are never so wild as old birds trapped from 

 the woods, though the latter are the best 

 songsters. Few adult birds, when trapped, 

 will survive confinement. Trapping old 

 birds is a most cruel practice, and should be 

 discountenanced for many reasons : — The 

 most important, that thus causing the death 

 of many old birds, gradually diminishes their 

 number, and if persevered in, will effectually 

 extinguish the species, as they never breed 

 in confinement. 



It would be far preferable to wait until the 

 young could be taken from the nest, and 

 allow the parent birds to go unmolested, thus 

 securing their orchestra-like progeny. 



The young are generally sold in our streets 

 at from two to five dollars each, the pur- 

 chaser running the risk of the sex of the 

 bird. This, however, can be obviated by 

 observing the following rule. 



The young male mocking bird, must^ 

 always be chosen by the breadth and purity 

 of the white marks on their wing feathers. 

 These, in the male, are spread over the whole 

 nine primaries, or outer wing feathers, down 

 to, and frequently a considerable distance 

 below, what is termed their coverts, which 

 are generally of a dusky white, tipped with 

 pale grayish brown. This white mark ex- 

 tends regularly on both sides of the feathers, 

 down to the place before mentioned, forming 

 an almost regular curve. 



In the female, this white is less distinct, 



4 



