798 



THRUSH. 



the mountain rocks ; the eggs are of a paler tint in 

 the ground than those of most of the thrushes ; they 

 are sometimes so obscurely marked as to appear en- 

 tirely white, and at other times they have obscure 

 dusky mottlings. Its song is remarkably loud and 

 clear, and therefore it is sought after ; but it is deli- 

 cate in confinement, and is rather fastidious in the 

 delivery of its song. 



Those which have been enumerated are the prin- 

 cipal thrushes of Europe ; but there are many other 

 birds which have been called thrushes, among which 

 the dippers, the porters, and in other parts of the 

 world the ant-eaters, have been included. America 

 is, as one might readily infer from its woods, its waters, 

 and its great abundance of insects and other small 

 animals, a very favourable country for thrushes. Our 

 limits will admit of a notice of one or two of the 

 leading ones only. 



MOCKING THRUSH (T. polt/glottns}. This, as its 

 name implies, is a bird of many tongues, and from 

 the readiness with which it acquires and uses them, 

 it is one of the most remarkable of the feathered race. 

 It is found both in North America and in the West 

 Indies, and it is a migrant ; but it has less and less of 

 the migratory habit in proportion as it inhabits regions 

 farther to the south. Indeed, it is only in the most 

 northerly part of its range, and during winters of more 

 than usual severity, that it wholly leaves the same 

 locality at any season of the year. The berries of the 

 cedars (junipers) and other evergreens which grow 

 so luxuriantly in the swamps of the southern parts of 

 the American states, together with the berries of 

 man}' of the bushes, both evergreen and deciduous, 

 which cover the less humid wastes with one con- 

 tinuous brush of underwood for many miles, furnish 

 these birds with an ample supply of food even in the 

 most severe weather, so that covering up by the snow 

 is the only thing which can completely shut up the 

 stores from the bird ; and in the close evergreens, on 

 the swamps especially, this can but rarely happen. 

 Accordingly, the song of this bird begins in the 

 southern states as early as February, even in the 

 warmest winters ; though it is much later in the 

 northern states, not before April, or even May, in 

 places very far north. 



The nesting time, of course, varies as much, though 

 the nest is not begun, even in the south, before the 

 first of April ; and in the north, it is four or six 

 months later. A close and solitary bush or thicket 

 is preferred to any portion of the continuous wood, 

 and the bird does not hesitate to build in the close 

 vicinity of human habitations, if the best place for 

 its nest should happen to be there. This nest is 

 constructed with a good deal of care, always of vege- 

 table matters, and those matters vary of course with 

 the localities, as is the case in the nests of all birds 

 which nestle over a wide range of country. The 

 eggs are rarely more than four, and the brood are 

 hatched in two weeks, so that there is time for a 

 second brood over nearly the whole range of latitude 

 in which the bird is to be found ; and, as is pretty 

 generally the case with birds which have two broods 

 in close succession, the destruction of the second, if 

 it should occur, is followed by the production of a 

 third. The defence of the nest cannot be stated in 

 any words but those of Wilson : " During the period 

 of incubation, neither cat, dog, animal, or man can 

 approach the nest without being attacked. The cats, 

 in particular, are persecuted whenever they make 



their appearance, till they are obliged to retreat ; but 

 the whole of his vengeance is most particularly di- 

 rected against that mortal enemy of his eggs and 

 young, the black snake. Whenever the insidious 

 approaches of the reptile are discovered, the male 

 darts upon it with the rapidity of an arrow, dexte- 

 rously avoiding its bite, and striking it violently and 

 incessantly about the head, where it is very vul- 

 nerable. The snake even becomes sensible of its 

 danger, and seeks to escape ; but the intrepid de- 

 fender of his young redoubles his exertions, and, 

 unless his antagonist be of great magnitude, often 

 succeeds in destroying him. All its pretended powers 

 of fascination avail it nothing against the vengeance 

 of this noble bird. As the snake's strength begins 

 to flag, the mocking bird seizes and lifts it up partly 

 from the ground, beating it with his wings ; and 

 when the business is completed, he returns to the 

 repository of his young, mounts the summit of the 

 bush, and pours out a torrent of song in token of 

 victory." 



This gallant and successful defence of the nest 

 against foes which destroy so very many birds, and 

 birds of apparently far greater powers than the 

 mocking bird, would be a recommendation, though 

 the bird had no other. But the air, the action, and 

 the music of the bird, all tend powerfully to recom- 

 mend it " The ease, elegance, and rapidity of his 

 movements, the animation of his eye, and the intelli- 

 gence he displays in listening and laying up lessons 

 from almost every other species of the feathered 

 creation within his hearing, are really surprising, and 

 mark the peculiarity of his genius. To those quali- 

 ties we may add that of a voice full, strong, and 

 musical, and capable of almost every modulation, 

 from the clear mellow tones of the wood thrush to 

 the savage scream of the bold eagle. In measure 

 and accent he faithfully follows his originals in 

 force and sweetness of expression he greatly improves 

 upon them. In his native groves, mounted on the 

 top of a tall bush or half-grown tree, in the dawn of 

 a dewy morning, while the woods are already vocal 

 with a multitude of warblers, his admirable song 

 rises pre-eminent over every competitor. The ear 

 can listen to his music alone, to which that of all the 

 others seems a mere accompaniment. Neither is 

 this strain altogether imitative. His own native 

 notes, which are easily distinguishable by such as are 

 well acquainted with those of our various song birds, 

 are bold and full, and varied seemingly beyond all 

 limits. They consist of short expressions of two, three, 

 or, at the most, five or six syllables, generally inter- 

 spersed with imitations, and all of them uttered with 

 great emphasis and rapidity, and continued, with un- 

 diminished ardour, for half an hour or an hour at a 

 time. His expanded wings and tail glistening with 

 white, and the buoyant gaiety of his action, arresting 

 the eye, as his song irresistibly does the ear, he 

 sweeps round with enthusiastic ecstacy he mounts 

 and descends as his song swells or dies away and, 

 as my friend Mr. Bertram expresses it, he bounds 

 aloft with the celerity of an arrow, as if to recover or 

 recal his very soul, expired in the last elevated strain." 

 While thus exerting himself, a bystander destitute of 

 sight would suppose that the whole feathered race 

 had assembled together on a trial of skill, each 

 striving to produce his utmost effect, so perfect are 

 the imitations. He many times deceives the sports- 

 man, and sends him in search of birds which are not 



