NATURAL HISTORY. 261 



A beautiful King Charles' dog of my acquaintance was 

 accustomed to search for thrush's and blackbird's nests, and 

 bite out the bottom of them, so that the eggs rolled quietly 

 into his mouth, he having discovered that when he tried to 

 take them from the mouth of the nest, he invariably broke 

 them. The eggs are five in number, of a bluish-green colour, 

 profusely spotted with brown. 



ORPHEUS. (Gr. proper name of a famous musician.) 



Polyglottus (Gr. IToAwf, many 



a, a tongue), the Mocking-Bird. 



The MOCKING-BIRD or POLYGLOT THRUSH is a native of 

 most parts of America. This wonderful bird stands pre- 

 eminent in powers of song. Not only are its natural notes 

 bold and spirited, but it has the faculty of imitating with 

 deceptive fidelity every sound it hears. To its flexible organs, 

 the harsh setting of a saw, the song of a nightingale, the 

 creaking of a wheel, the whistled tune of a passer-by, the full 

 and mellow notes of the thrush, the barking of a dog, the 

 crowing of a cock, and the savage scream of the bald eagle, 

 are each equally easy of execution, and follow one another 



