THE MOCKING BIRD. 



THE AMERICAN MOCKING-BIRD. This unrivalled 

 songster, though he may not possess the melodious 

 sweetness of the nightingale and lark, or the beau- 

 tiful pipe of the blackbird, yet in himself he unites 

 all the excellences to a greater extent than any 

 other living bird. Who, on passing through the 

 streets of any large city on a bright night in June, 

 has not heard the shrill scream of the eagle, the 

 mourning note of the turtle-dove, the delicate 

 warble of the blue-bird, the cackling of the domes- 

 tic hen, followed by the quarrelling of a dozen or 

 more grimalkins, each seeming to vie with the other 

 as to the quantity of noise ; then the cry of the 

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