298 KNOWING BIRDS THROUGH STORIES 



spicuous white spot under each wing, and from observing 

 him I have concluded that this maneuver is an attempt to 

 frighten an insect into making a move. Many insects are 

 so colored that so long as they do not move, they are hard 

 for even a bird to see. But among insects there are a 

 great many foolish individuals which, even though they 

 may know the law of the woods, <r When in doubt sit tight 

 and keep still/' never seem to be able to remember it when 

 danger approaches. My mocker seldom has to throw up 

 his wings many times before some grasshopper is foolish 

 enough to move and then he is sure to disappear down the 

 mocking bird's throat or be carried away to feed the fledg- 

 lings. 



The mocking bird does not confine his song to the 

 mating season. During the hot days of August, when he 

 is tired out from taking care of two or three broods of 

 young, he is usually quiet, but no sooner has he molted 

 and the first cool days of fall have come than he again 

 begins his singing. His fall song is not so rollicking nor 

 so continuous as his spring song, and he seldom sings at 

 night in the fall; but for all that I think his fall song is 

 the sweeter. 



The mocking bird migrates little if at all. In the winter 

 he feeds largely on weed seeds and wild berries, but does 

 not sing until the opening of spring. One has no trouble 

 in recognizing the mocking bird even though its most com- 

 mon song closely resembles that of the brown thrasher or 

 some of our other best song birds. The bird resembles the 

 thrushes closely in shape, except for its long tail, and it 

 is nearly their size, but none of the thrushes resemble it 

 closely in color. The catbird, the brown thresher, and the 

 yellow-billed cuckoo are all similar to the mocking bird 



