14 BY-WAYS AND BIRD-NO TES. 



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 



