144 PASSERES. — TURDID.E. 



The Woodthrusli of Wilson, {Turdus mustelinus, 

 Gm.,) a delightful songster, is a regular annual 

 visitor in the neighbourhood of Spanish Town, but 

 I have not seen it. 



MOCKING-BIRD.* 



" Nightingale,''' 



Mimus polyglottus. 



Turdus polyglottus^ Linn. — Aud. pi. 21. 

 Mimus polyglottus, BoiE. 



Orplieus polyglottus, Sw. 



One of the very commonest of birds in Jamaica, 

 bold and forward in his manners, inviting rather 

 than avoiding notice, of striking though not showy 

 colours, the Mocking-bird would be sure to attract 

 the attention of a stranger, even were he destitute 

 of those unrivalled powers of song that have com- 

 manded the praise of all auditors. The faculty 

 of imitating the voices of other birds, which has 

 given to this species its ordinary appellation, has 

 been ably described by "Wilson and others, as well 

 as the variety of notes, apparently original, which 

 it commands. The former has often caused me 

 no small disappointment ; hearing the voice of, as 

 I supposed, some new bird, or some that I was 

 in want of, I have found, after creeping cautiously 



* Length 10 inches, expanse 13, flexure 4^, tail 4^, rictus 1, tarsus 

 1 ^, middle toe 1. Intestine 8 inches, two minute, rudimentary caeca. 



