

Mockingbirds 687 



they differ in the lengthened and more or less decurved bill, short concave wings, 

 longer, much more graduated, and broader tail, and tarsi which are strongly 

 scutellated in front. They have, however, much the same habits as the true 

 Thrushes, being mainly insectivorous, but also feeding on various soft fruits 

 and as a rule preferring shrubbery to high open woodland and usually keeping 

 nearer the ground, some being decidedly terrestrial, as indicated by their large, 

 strong feet. This family, which is not a large one, is confined entirely to the 

 New World, being most abundant in the warmer parts of the hemisphere, with 

 only about a dozen of the seventy forms inhabiting North America. Although 

 none is possessed of bright plumage, the colors being principally plain hues of 

 brown, gray, or plumbeous, they make up by the wonderfully attractive quality 

 of their songs, the Mockingbird, for instance, enjoying a national reputation 

 as the equal if not indeed the superior of the Nightingale. Dr. Shufeldt puts 

 it strongly when he says that his "faith in the powers of the Mockingbird is so 

 firm that I believe were he successfully introduced into those countries where 

 the Nightingale flourishes, that princely performer might some day wince as 

 he was obliged to listen to his own most powerful strains poured forth with all 

 their native purity by this king of feathered mockers." 



The True Mockingbirds (Mimus], of which over twenty forms are recognized, 

 have the bill about half the length of the head, slightly decurved and notched 

 at the tip, while the wings are pointed and shorter than the tail, which is long 

 and rounded and composed of rather narrow feathers. Quite generally spread 

 over South and Central America and the West Indies, the only species entering 

 the United States is the Mockingbird par excellence (M. polyglottus], which, 

 with a single western subspecies, spreads entirely across the continent, though 

 becoming rare north of the 38th parallel. In the northern portion of their range 

 they are mainly summer visitors, only an occasional individual spending the 

 winter; but in the south they are permanent residents, frequenting the borders 

 of woods, prairie thickets, and the bushy edges of swamps, as well as parks, 

 gardens, and city squares. Some years ago I found them very abundant and 

 quite at home in the willow and poplar thickets along the San Juan River in 

 southwestern Colorado and northern New Mexico. Active, alert, and watchful, 

 though not ordinarily shy, they are the embodiment of grace and quiet beauty, 

 by preference coming into the presence of man to rear their young. They make 

 a bulky, conspicuous nest of twigs, weed stalks, moss, etc., lined with rootlets 

 and finer grass, placing it near the ground in thickets, hedges, climbing roses, 

 low trees, the corners of rail fences, and like situations. The eggs, four or five 

 in number, are pale greenish blue, spotted and blotched with reddish brown. 

 In the south two broods are usually reared, farther north but one. 



The musical and above all the imitative ability of the Mockingbird has been 

 so well set forth by Dr. Shufeldt that we venture to quote from his interesting 

 account: "For thorough appreciation, one should catch him upon a dewy 

 morning just as the sun rises and he flits to the top of some low tree to pour 

 forth his medley of carols in soul-felt welcoming. This may be in some quarter 

 of the sunny south, perhaps near the manor-house of some broad plantation, 



