TUIIDID.K — TIIK TlIllUSlIErf. 51 



ness ill a domnstieatod state. Tlio iiiiii,i,'liiig of unmusical s(-iui(ls, like the 

 f'l'owinn' of clocks, iho (.'arklinj^ dI' lii'iis, or tlKs crt'iikini;- of ii whccllnuTow, 

 wliili! lliiiy adel to the variety, necessarily detracts .'Voui the beauty ot his 

 son;,'. 



Tiiu food of the ]\Ioekinj,'-15ird is (^hietly insects, their larva', worms, 

 spiders, etc., and in the winter of herries, in ^reat variety. They are said 

 to lie V(M'y fond of the gmpe, and to he very destructive to this iruit. Mr. 

 (f. C. Taylor (Ibis, 1802, ]>. ll'.H) mentions an instance that came to his 

 kuo\vledj,n', of a ])ersou living near St. Auj^ustiue, Florida, wlio .shot no less 

 than eleven hundred Mockiiig-Birds in a single season, and buried them at 

 tlie roots of his ;4rai)e-vines. 



Several successful attempts have been ma<le to imhice the Mocking-ljird 

 to rear their young in a state of conliuement, and it has been shown to be, 

 by proper management, i)erfectly practicable. 



In Te.vas and Florida the ^tloeking-Hird nests early in March, young hirds 

 appearing (varly in A]iril. In (leorgia and the Carolinas they are two weeks 

 later. In I'enn.sylvania they nest about the l(Jth of May, and in Xew York 

 and Xew England not until the second week of June. They select various 

 situations for tlie nest; solitary thorn-bushes, an almost impenetral)le thicket 

 of branililes, an orange-tree, or a holly-bush ajjpear to bj favorite localities. 

 They often build near the farm-houses, and the nest is rarely nu)re than seven 

 feet from the ground. The base of tlie nest is usually a rudely constructed 

 platform of coarse sticks, often armed with formidalile thorns surrounding 

 tlu! nest with a barricade. Tlie height is usually 5 inches, with a diameter of 

 <S. The cavity is 'A inches deep and o wide. Within tl e external barricade 

 is an inner nest constructed of soft line roots. 



The eggs, from four to six in nund)er, vary in length from .94 to 1.06 

 inclies, with a mean length of .9i). Their lireadth varies from .81 to .GO of 

 an inch, mean breadth .7.">. They also exhi1)it great variations in the combi- 

 nations of markings and tints. The ground color is usually light greenish- 

 blue, varying in the dejith of its .shade frf)m a very liglit tint to a distinct 

 blue, with a sliglit greenish tinge. The markings consist of yellowish-brown 

 and purjile, chocolate-brown, russet, and a very dark brown. 



Cksvs GALEOSCOPTES, ( '.ui.vxis. 



Oii/cusraptes, C.viiANis, Mus. Ilciii. I, l>Sr)(l, 82. {Ty\»- .\fi(iicictipu ciiroHnouiis, I..) 



Gkn. CuMi. ]5ill sliorlci- than the licail. riitlici- liroud at liase. Rictnl bri.stlc.'i inoiloratcly 

 (k'vi'loiH'il, rcaehin.!;: to llir iiostiils. Wiii,irs a little sliortL'i- than the tail, roundcil . iiccon- 

 duries well dovelopuj ; Ibiuth and lil'tli quills longest ; tliinl and sixth little shorter ; first 

 and ninth about equal, and about the leuirth of.^eoondaries ; first quill more than half the 

 se(;ond, about half the third. Tail pfradiiatcil ; lateral feather abi)ut .70 shorter than the 

 middle. Tarsi lonjrer than midtlle toe and claw by aliout an additional hall'-elaw ; scutel- 

 late anteriorly, more or less distinctly in diU'erent speeiiiiens ; seutellie about -seven. 



