214 CASSELLS BOOK OF BIRDS. 



superiority over their European cousins that has been claimed for them, still we are fully prepared to 

 acknowledge that their vocal powers are eminently fascinating and remarkable. 



THE MIMIC THRUSH. 



The Mimic Thrush, or Mocking Bird {Mimus polyglottus), as the most celebrated species 

 has been called, is nine and a half inches long and thirteen and a half broad ; the plumage on the 

 upper part of the body is dark grey, shaded with brown upon the brow and side of the head ; the 

 under side is brownish white ; the quills and wing-covers are brownish black, and the feet dark brown. 

 The female is browner and darker than her mate, and the white in the tail less pure. Both sexes are 

 alike in size. 



The United States of North America must be regarded as the native land of this interesting 

 bird, and from thence, as autumn approaches, it wanders forth to visit the surrounding countries. 

 (The Mocking Birds of Louisiana, however, form an exception to this rule, as, owing to the mildness 

 of the climate, they often remain there throughout the entire year.) This delightful songster generally 

 frequents plantations, gardens, and brushwood, and not only lives but breeds in the immediate vicinity 

 of man ; it also prefers sandy plains, the banks of rivers, and the neighbourhood of the sea-coast. 

 On the ground its movements resemble those of the True Thrush, but its flight is undulating, and 

 rarely sustained for any great distance, as the Mocking Bird from time to time takes rest upon a 

 tree before proceeding on its way ; moreover, as it flies, the tail is alternately expanded and closed. 

 As regards the wonderful powers of song that have rendered this species so famous, we cannot 

 do better than quote the words of Wilson : — " The intelligence he displays in listening and 

 laying up lessons from almost every species of the feathered creation within his hearing is really 

 surprising, and marks the peculiarity of his genius. To his other endowments we may add that of a 

 voice full, strong, and musical, and capable of every modulation, from the clear mellow tones of the 

 Wood Thrush to the savage scream of the Bald Eagle. While in measure and accent he faithfully 

 follows his originals, in force and sweetness of expression he greatly improves upon them. In his 

 native groves, mounted on the top of a tall bush, or half-grown tree, in the dawn of dewy morning, 

 when the woods are already vocal with a multitude of warblers, his admirable song rises pre-eminent 

 over every competitor. The ear can listen to his music alone, to which that of all others seems a 

 mere accompaniment. Neither is his strain altogether imitative. His own native notes, which are 

 easily distinguishable by such as are well acquainted with those of our various song birds, are bold, 

 full, and varied, seemingly beyond all limits. They consist of short expressions of two, three, or at 

 most five or six syllables, generally interspersed with imitations, all of them uttered with great 

 emphasis and rapidity, and continued with undiminished ardour for half an hour or an hour at a time. 

 His expanded wings and tail, glistening with white, and the buoyant gaiety of his action, arrest the 

 eye as his song most irresistibly does the ear ; sometimes he sweeps round with enthusiastic ecstasy, 

 mounting and descending as his song swells or dies away, and, as my friend Mr. Bartram has 

 beautifully expressed it, ' He bounds aloft with the celerity of an arrow, as if to recover or recall 

 'his very soul expired in the last elevated strain.' 



" While thus exerting himself, a bystander destitute of sight would suppose that the whole 

 feathered tribe had assembled together on a trial of skill, each striving to produce his utmost effect, so 

 perfect are his imitations. He many times deceives the sportsman, and sends him in search of birds 

 that perhaps are not within miles of him, but whose notes he exactly imitates ; even birds themselves 

 are frequently imposed on by this admirable mimic, and are decoyed by the fancied calls of their 

 mates ; or dive with precipitation into the depth of thickets, at a scream of what they suppose to be 

 the Sparrow Hawk." 



