238 MOCKING-BIRD. 



And he, who quaffs the midnight cup, 

 Looks out to see the purpling morn. 

 Oh! ever in the merry spring, 

 Sweet mimic, let me hear thee sing! 



For the cage, those birds raised from 

 the nest are the best adapted; since they 

 are accustomed to the sight of man from 

 the first, and are never so wild as those 

 which are trapped from the woods, though 

 the latter are the best songsters. The 

 young are generally sold in our streets at 

 from two to five dollars each, the pur- 

 chaser running the risk of the sex of the 

 bird. This, however, can be obviated by 

 observing the following rule. 



The young male Mocking-bird, must 

 always be chosen by the breadth and 

 purity of the white marks on their wing- 

 feathers. These, in the male, are spread 

 over the whole nine primaries, or outer 

 wing-feathers, down to and frequently a 

 considerable distance below what is term- 

 ed their coverts, which are generally of a 

 dusky white, tipped with pale greyish- 



