THE MOCKING BIRD. 



Some bright morning this 

 month, you may hear a Robin's 

 song from a large tree near by. 

 A Red Bird answers him and 

 then the Oriole chimes in. I can 

 see you looking around to find 

 the birds that sing so sweetly. 

 All this time a gay bird sits 

 among the green leaves and 

 laughs at you as you try to find 

 three birds when only one is 

 there. 



It is the Mocking Bird or 

 Mocker, and it is he who has 

 been fooling you with his song. 

 Nature has given him lots of 

 music and gifted him with the 

 power of imitating the songs of 

 other birds and sounds of other 

 animals. 



He is certainly the sweetest of 

 our song birds. The English 

 Nightingale alone is his rival. 

 I think, however, if our Mocker 

 could hear the Nightingale's 

 song, he could learn it. 



The Mocking Bird is another 

 of our Thrushes. By this time 

 you have surely made up your 

 minds that the Thrushes are 

 sweet singers. 



The Mocker seems to take 

 delight in fooling people. One 

 gentleman while sitting on his 

 porch heard what he thought to 

 be a young bird in distress. He 

 went in the direction of the 

 sound and soon heard the same 

 cry behind him. He turned and 

 went back toward the porch, 

 when he heard it in another 

 direction. Soon he found out 

 that Mr. Mocking Bird had been 

 fooling him, and was flying 

 about from shrub to shrub 

 making that sound. 



His nest is carelessly made 

 of almost anything he can find. 

 The small, bluish-green eggs 

 are much like the Catbird's eggs. 



Little Mocking Birds look 

 very much like the young of 

 other Thrushes, and do not 

 become Mockers like their par- 

 ents, until they are full grown. 



Which one of the other 

 Thrushes that you have seen in 

 Bieds does the Mocking Bird 

 resemble ? 



He is the only Thrush that 

 sings while on the wing. All 

 of the others sing only while 

 perching. 



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