THE MOCKING BIRD 



HAT the nightingale is to southern Europe the 

 mocking bird is to the Southern States, the 

 most wonderful song bird of the country and the universal 

 favorite of the people. His reputation as a musician is 

 world wide. Whoever hears his song is deeply impressed, 

 and wherever the story of the birds is told, the power of 

 the mocking bird 's voice is recalled. He is one of the first 

 in the spring to sing; indeed, I have heard him near the 

 northern border of his range, singing with great force on a 

 clear February morning when ice covered the trees as a 

 garment. 



In those States which border on the Gulf of Mexico the 

 mocking birds are in full song by March first. In that 

 ^mi-tropical climate they abound, and in many sections 

 are the most abundant species. I have sometimes thought 



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