THE MOCKINGBIRD. 253 



Swallow, White-breasted Nuthatch, Wood Pewee, Baltimore Oriole, Parrot, 

 Canary, and Rooster; besides these, numerous "baby calls" not quite clear. 

 Among his many bird-store reminiscences I made sure at one time that the 

 monkeys were quarreling in their cage. His torrent of borrowed songs was 

 continually changing, like a kaleidoscope. I timed him once, and the tune was 

 changed eighty-seven times in seven minutes. Of these I was able to recognize 

 only fifty-eight as they flew that of the Robin appearing twenty-two times. 



The bird not only sings for hours at a time during the day, but often well 

 into the night, or, in the mating season, practically all night. According to Nehr- 

 ling, the daylight hours are largely occupied with imitations and renditions of 

 other masters, while during the night the song is almost entirely original, 

 exhibiting the full compass of a poet's emotions, but oftenest tender and sub- 

 lime. Maurice Thompson has given us unrivalled descriptions of what he is 

 pleased to call the "dropping song," an ecstacy of the nuptial season, during 

 which the male descends step by step an aerial staircase, measured off by the 

 periods of his own passion during a perfect tempest of song. 



Mockingbirds are very domestic in their tastes, in the double sense of 

 being both fond of their own home and of the haunts of men. With slight 

 encouragement they will nest in nearby shrubbery, or even in clinging vines or 

 upon the porch rails of a house. Their presence is a benediction to a farm- 

 yard, both for the excellent music they discourse, and for the spirited defense 

 which the male makes against Hawks and other intruders. 



The occurrence of the Mockingbird in Ohio is quite irregular. It has 

 been recorded as a transient in the northern part of the state, but its appearance 

 anywhere in the northern two-thirds is matter of surprise. Rev. W. F. Hen- 

 ninger reports it as very rare in the region of the lower Scioto. Messrs. Arrick 

 and Morris of McConnelsville reported a little colony of them breeding near 

 that place in the summer of 1896. During January of this year the same gen- 

 tlemen sent me a specimen which had been taken on the 25th of that month 

 from a federated troop of winter birds of the usual sorts. There was two 

 inches of snow upon the ground at the time, but the Mocker was in excellent 

 condition. 



