150 ZOOLOGY— BIRDS. 



Mountain Mocker is by no means an appropriate one; for, so far as I am 

 aware, and, in this respect, the observations of Mr. Ridgway and others 

 correspond with my own, it never imitates the notes of others, but relies 

 upon its own musical ability, which is, indeed, of a quite high order. During 

 the vernal season, it is rarely seen in the broken mountainous districts, 

 where, however, when the family duties are completed, small parties of 

 from three to eight may often be met with, but shows a decided preference 

 at this time for the sage-brush plains, where, from the top of some low bush, 

 its beautiful, low, warbling song comes, often the only sound which breaks 

 the quiet of the desolate plain, and sounds perhaps the sweeter in contrast 

 to the otherwise painfully monotonous solitude. 



Its nest, a bulky and inartistic structure of coarse twigs, lined with 

 grasses and fine rootlets, is sometimes placed in a sage shrub ; but more often 

 the bird selects one of the higher bushes, which, armed with sharp, stiff 

 thorns, serves as an admirably secure platform for the clumsy nest, and affords 

 additional security from its winged and four-footed enemies. A nest, which 

 I examined near Foil Garland, was thus placed, and some eight inches above 

 it was a device, which, though it may have been the result of mere accident, 

 certainly seemed to me to bear in the method of its construction the evidences 

 of design, and, if the supposition be true, would argue for the designers no 

 small degree of intelligence. This was a platform of twigs, so placed as to 

 screen the setting bird from the rays of an almost tropical sun. The 

 material of which it was composed was precisely similiar to that used in the 

 construction of the nest, and it had been made at about the same time. 



The eggs are of a greenish-blue color, marked heavily with spots of dark 

 brown and lilac. I have found the young just from the nest as early as 

 June 20, and a nest found near Fort Wingate, N. Mex., July 14, by Dr. C. 

 Gr. Newberry, contained eggs, just ready to hatch. They probably rear 

 two broods in a season. In the tall, they become shy and suspicious, and, 

 though often seen as in Utah, in the neighborhood of settlements, evince 

 little of that familiarity so conspicuous in others of this family. 



