THE MOCKING BIKD 93 



gentle gales are freighted with the odor of orange blos- 

 soms, the song of the mocking bird, softened by the mellow 

 moonlight, floats to one's ears as a message of exquisite 

 loveliness, like the sound of a beloved voice from the silent 

 past. 



Besides his native song, the mocking bird has the won- 

 derful power of acquiring by practice the notes of many of 

 the feathered forms he is accustomed to hear. He imitates 

 the songs of the robin and wood thrush, the bluebird and 

 the wren. With wonderful distinctness he will give the 

 clear whistle of the cardinal grosbeak. In regions where 

 the little sparrow hawk is a common resident many mock- 

 ers can reproduce its cry so perfectly as to deceive the 

 most trained ear. Not all mocking birds have equal power 

 of imitation. The gift of mocking in different individuals 

 seems to vary quite as much as the range of their natural 

 song. An observer in South Carolina speaks of hearing 

 one mimic the notes of no less than thirty-two birds during 

 an interval of ten minutes. 



The nest of the mocking bird is variously situated, in 

 small trees, brush heaps, briers, in the corners of rail 

 fences, in the decayed trunks of trees, on stumps, in piles 

 of cord wood, and at times in vines growing about the 

 doors and verandas of our houses. Once I found a nest 

 between the wall and the stick-and-clay chimney of a 



