174 MOCKINGBIRD. 
former is a petulant, whining, nasal tchay, to me one of 
the most disagreeable sounds in Nature, and so unlike 
the bird’s song that he seems possessed of a dual person- 
ality. The Catbird’s song, from a musical standpoint, is 
excelled by that of few of our birds. His voice is full 
and rich, his execution and phrasing are faultless; but 
the effect of his song, sweet and varied as it is, is marred 
by the singer’s too evident consciousness. 
The Catbird’s relative, the Mockingbird, is an abun- 
dant inhabitant of the southern United States from Vir- 
Mockingbira,  ginia to California, and ranges south- 
Mimus polyglottes. ward into Mexico. In the Eastern 
Plate LXVI. States it is not common north of south- 
ern Illinois and Virginia, but in summer it is found in 
smal] numbers as far north as Massachusetts, where a few 
pairs breed each season. It is exceedingly domestic in 
its habits, and in the South there are few suitable gar- 
dens, either in the town or country, which are not inhab- 
ited by a pair of Mockingbirds. 
The power of mimicry for which this bird is cele- 
brated has, I think, been unduly exaggerated, and the 
fact that its usual song contains several notes resembling 
those of other species doubtless in part accounts for its 
much overrated ability as a mimic. It is unnecessary, 
however, for the Mockingbird to borrow the notes of other 
birds, for his own song places him in the front rank of 
our songsters. It is delivered with a spirit and animation 
which add greatly to its attractiveness. The Mocking- 
bird does not sing between mouthfuls, as do the Vireos, 
or quietly from a perch, like the Towhee or Thrasher; 
he frequently changes his position, hopping from place 
to place, making short flights, bounding into the air, and 
displaying the white markings of his wings and tail, as 
though it were impossible for him to give expression to | 
his emotion through the medium of voice alone. During 
