OF NEW ENGLAND. 45 



(a). 9-10 inches long ; slate-color. Beneath, orange-brown. 

 Band across the breast, black. Under tail-coverts, white. 9 

 duller. 



(6). The eggs of this species measure about 1/15 X '80 

 of an inch, and are greenish blue, darkly spotted. 



(c). Its habits are presumabty much like those of our 

 Robin. 



(d). "From this bird it may be readily distinguished by 

 the difference of its notes, which are louder, sharper, and de- 

 livered with greater rapidity." Dr. Cooper "describes the 

 song as consisting of five or six notes in a minor key, and in 

 a scale regularly descending." 



II. MIMUS i 



(A) POLYG;OTTUS. Mocking Bird. 



(A very rare, or almost accidental summer-visitor to south- 

 ern New England.) 



(a). 9-10 inches long. Above, rather light ashy gray. 

 Beneath, white. Wings, and tail dark, with conspicuous white 

 patches. 



(6). The nest is built near the ground, often in a conspic- 

 uous situation. Audubon describes it as " coarsely construct- 

 ed on the outside, being there composed of dried sticks of 

 briars, withered leaves of trees, and grasses, mixed with wool. 

 Internally it is finished with fibrous roots disposed in a circu- 

 lar form, but carelessly arranged." An egg before me measures 

 I'OO X '75 of an inch, and is of a very light dull blue, rather 

 coarsely spotted with lilac and rather faint purplish or reddish 

 umber. 



(c). So many Mocking Birds have recently been captured 

 in New England and Massachusetts itself, that they cannot 

 longer be well considered escaped cage-birds. They must 

 therefore be ranked here as very rare summer-residents. Since, 

 however, their presence is almost exceptional, since their hab- 

 its are much like those of the common Cat-bird, since their 

 powers of mimicry and song are well-known, and finally, 

 since I am personally unacquainted with their natural mode of 



