Descriptive List 309 



53. FAMILY MIMID/E. THRASHERS AND MOCKINGBIRDS 



An exclusively American group of birds, apparently allied to the wrens on the 

 one hand and the thrushes on the other. The species are all medium-sized birds 

 with comparatively short wings and long tails. None are brightly colored. They 

 compensate for this, however, by the possession of unusually fine voices, the mock- 

 ingbirds being among the most accomplished musical artists in the bird-world. 



KEY TO GENERA 



1. Wings and tail blotched with white. Mmius. 



1. Wings and tail without white. See 2. 



2. General color dark slate. DumdcUa. 



2. General color above cinnamon Ijrown. Toxosloma. 



Genus Minus (Boie) 



315. Mimus polyglottos polyglottos (Linn.). Mockingbird. 



Descriplion. — Upperparts plain gi'ay; iindcrparts soiled white; wings and tail blackish, with 

 a large patch on the wings and the ti)>s of the tail-feathers white. Extreme measurements of 

 55 Raleigh specimens: L,, 9.12-10.50; W., 3.8.5-4.60; T., 4.14-5.12. 



Range. — Southeastern United States. 



Range in North Carolina. — Resident in central and eastern portions, and occasional in the 

 mountains. 



The Mockingbird is resident throughout the year in that portion of the State 

 lying east of the mountains, becoming more abundant as one approaches the coast. 



It breeds from April to early July, inclusive, building its nest in almost any 

 convenient tree. The situations of two dozen nests of which we have records were 

 as follows: seven in mulberry trees, four in apple trees, three in cedars, two in 

 briars, one in a pine, one in a honeysuckle-\'ine, one in a jjlum tree covered with 

 honeysuckle, one in an oak, one in a rosebush, one in a thorn-bush, one in a sweet- 

 gum, and one in a grapevine. The eggs number from three to five. They are pale 

 greenish-blue, varying to a dull liuffy in ground-color, marked with spots and 

 blotches of various shades of brown. Size .95 x .70. 



The nests are constructed of sticks, moss, grass, rootlets, rags, "rabbit tobacco," 

 scraps of newspaper, and other available material, making a rather bulky and 

 untidy structure. It is usually built at a height of from four to twelve feet from 

 the ground. 



The Mockingbird is the most masterlj^ song bird of America. In addition to 

 its own song, it possesses the wonderful power of imitating the notes of other birds. 

 We have heard it reproduce the notes of the Brown-headed Nuthatch to perfection, 

 and have been misled by its copy of the Killdeer's cry. One bad feature it has is 

 keeping too late hours, as it wU frequently render its best musical performances 

 close by one's open window on a hot summer night, when one's chief need is 

 sleep. Most of us, however, are quite ready to forgive it for these disturbances. 



It is very pugnacious when its nest is apjiroached, and will fearlessly drive dogs 

 and cats from its neighborhood. 



While preeminently an insectivorous l^ird, like most of the larger insect-eaters, 

 it also consmnes many berries, such as frostgrapes in i,\'inter and mulberries in 



