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MOCKING BIRD. 



MiMUS POLYGLOTTUS. 



Char. Above, ashy gray, darker on wings and tail ; wings with two 

 white bars ; outer tail-feathers white ; beneath, white, tinged with gray on 

 the breast ; bill and feet black. Length 9 to ii inches. 



Nest. In a thicket or bunch of low bushes ; composed of twigs, roots, 

 grass, etc. 



Eggs. 4-6 ; greenish blue to pale buff, marked with reddish brown ; 

 0.95 X 0.70. 



This unrivalled Orpheus of the forest and natural wonder of 

 America inhabits the whole continent, from the State of Rhode 

 Island to the larger isles of the West Indies ; and continuing 

 through the equatorial regions, is found in the southern hemi- 

 sphere as far as Brazil. Nor is it at all confined to the Eastern 

 or Atlantic States. It also exists in the wild territory of Ar- 

 kansas more than a thousand miles from the mouth of Red 

 River ; and I have since seen it in the scanty forests of Upper 

 California. It breeds at the distant western sources of the 

 Platte, near the base of the Rocky Mountains, as well as in 

 Texas ; and Mr. Bullock saw it in the table-land of Mexico. 

 The Mocking Bird rears its young, and consequently displays 

 its wonderful powers, in all the intermediate regions of its 

 residence in the United States to the peninsula of Florida. It 

 appears, in short, permanently to inhabit the milder regions of 



