THRASHERS, MOCKINGBIRDS, ETC. 473 



Washington, uncommon P. R., less numerous in winter. Cambridge, 

 rare S. R., Mch. to Nov. 



Nest, of coarse twigs, weed stalks, etc., lined with rootlets, cotton, etc., 

 in thickets, orange trees, etc. Eggs, 4-6, pale greenish blue or bluish white, 

 sometimes with a brownish tinge, rather heavily spotted and blotched, 

 chiefly at the larger end, with cinnamon- or rufous-brown, TOO x '72. Date, 

 Gainesville, Fla., Apl. 1; Raleigh, N. C., May 9. 



The Mockingbird might be called our national song bird; his 

 remarkable vocal powers have made him famous the world over, while 

 our more retiring Thrushes are scarcely to be found mentioned outside 

 the literature of ornithology. He is a good citizen, and courting rather 

 than shunning public life, shows an evident interest in the affairs of 

 the day. He lives in our gardens, parks, and squares, and even in the 

 streets of the town, and is always alert and on the qui vive; a self- 

 appointed guardian, whose sharp alarm-note is passed from bird to 

 bird like the signals of watchmen. 



In Florida, Mockingbirds begin to sing in February, and by March 

 1 the air rings with music. The heat of midday is insufficient to quell 

 their ardor, and on moonlight nights many birds sing throughout the 

 night. It is customary to consider the Mockingbird a musician possessed 

 of marvelous technique, but with comparatively little depth of feel- 

 ing. He is said to create intense admiration without reaching the 

 soul. But listen to him when the world is hushed, when the air is heavy 

 with the rich fragrance of orange blossoms and the dewy leaves glisten 

 in the moonlight, and if his song does not thrill you then confess your- 

 self deaf to Nature's voices. 



It must not be supposed that every Mockingbird is a mocker; there 

 is much variation in their imitative gifts. Mr. L. M. Loomis tells 

 me of a Mockingbird he once heard singing in South Carolina which 

 imitated the notes of no less* than thirty-two different species of 

 birds found in the same locality, and this during ten minutes' contin- 

 uous singing! This was a phenomenal performance, one I have never 

 heard approached, for in my experience many Mockingbirds have no 

 notes besides their own, and good mockers are exceptional. 



1902. DANIELS, J. W., Wilson Bull., 68-71 (nesting). 



704. Dumetella carolinensis (Linn.}. CATBIRD. Ads. Crown and 

 tail black; under tail-coverts chestnut, sometimes spotted with slaty, and 

 rarely largely slaty; rest of the plumage slaty gray. L., 8'94; W., 3'54; T., 

 3-65; B., '60. 



Range. E. N. Am. Breeds mainly in Transition and Austral zones 

 from cen. B. C., cen. Alberta, cen. Sask., s. Man., cen. Ont., s. Que., and 

 N. S. s. to ne. Ore., n. Utah, ne. N. M., e. Tex., and n. Fla.; resident in 

 Bermuda; winters from s. States to the Bahamas and Cuba and through 

 Mex. to Panama; casual in winter n. to the Middle States. 



Washington, abundant S. R., Apl. 24 Oct. 11; occasionally winters. 

 Ossining, common S. R., Apl. 28-Oct. 25. Cambridge, abundant S. R., May 

 6-Oct. 1; occasional in winter. N. Ohio, common S. R., Apl. 21-Oct. 5. 

 Glen Ellyn, common S. R., Apl. 29-Oct. 6. SE. Minn., common S. R., Apl. 

 30-Oct. 6. 



Nest, of twigs, grasses, and leaves, lined with rootlets, in thickets or 



