MOCKING-BIRD. 231 



Now, with his head bent upon one side, 

 and an arch and shrewd expression light- 

 ing up his eye, he is seated almost mo- 

 tionless upon his perch, quietly gathering 

 the sounds which arise to his elevated 

 position from the street beneath. In an 

 instant he is changed, "and such a 

 change !" With outspread wings ^ and 

 flirted tail, he flits from side to side and 

 perch to perch, like an empassioned but 

 earnest troubadour, pouring forth Kis 

 whole soul in song. 



In a wild state, his notes, from the ten 

 thousand opportunities constantly offered, 

 are much finer than in a state of domesti- 

 cation. There, where the wild hymns of 

 the forest choir are constantly ringing in 

 his ears, he has ample scope for his imita- 

 tive powers. The song which these pro- 

 duce is unsurpassed except by his native 

 notes, which are replete with vigour, 

 boldness, sweetness, energy and constant 

 and inimitable variation. In the forest, 

 like the leader of an orchestra, or some 



