14 BY-WAVS AND BIRD-NOTES. 
region so little visited, comparatively speaking, 
by those who really desire to know all that is 
beautiful and interesting in our country. Per- 
haps it is because the places most frequented 
by the mocking-bird have not been sought by 
those deeply interested in bird-habits and 
history, that so little is known of the most 
striking traits of its character. Quite certain 
it is that no monograph exists which gives to 
the general reader any approximate idea of 
our great American singer. I must say just 
here that the mocking-bird’s song in captivity, 
strong and sweet as it is, and its voice from 
the cage, liquid, flexible, and pure, are not 
in the least comparable to what they are in the 
open-air freedom of a Southern grove. If you 
would hear these at their best, and they are 
truly worth going a long journey to hear, you 
must seek some secluded grove in Southern 
Alabama, Georgia, or Middle Florida about 
the last of March or the first of April, when 
spring is in its prime and the gulf breezes are 
flowing over all that semi-tropical region. 
It is a silly notion, without any foundation 
in fact, that the mocking-bird in its wild state 
is a mere mimic, without a song of its own. 
The truth is that all birds get their notes, as 
we get our language, by imitating what they 
hear. Very few of them, however, are suffi- 
ciently gifted mentally and vocally to be able 
to pass the limitation of immemorial heredity, 
or to feel any impulse toward any attainments 
of voice beyond what they catch as younglings 
from their parents. Hence, as a rule, the 
young bird is satisfied with the pipes and calls 
caught from its immediate ancestors. No 
doubt a lack of finely developed vocal organs 
