MOCKING BIRD. 111 
calls of their mates, or dive, with precipitation, into the depth of 
thickets, at the scream of what they suppose to be the Sparrow Hawk. 
The Mocking Bird loses little of the-power and energy of his song 
by confinement. In his domesticated state, when he commences his 
, career of song, it is impc ssible to stand by uninterested. He whistles 
for the dog,— Cesar starts up, wags his tail, and runs to meet his 
master. He squeaks out like a hurt Chicken, — and the Hen hurries 
about with hanging wings, and bristled feathers, clucking to protect 
its injured brood. The barking of the dog, the mewing of the cat, 
the creaking of a passing wheelbarrow, follow, with great truth aud 
rapidity. He repeats the tune taught him by his master, though of 
considerable length, fully and faithfully. He runs over the quiverings 
of the Canary, and the clear whistlings of the Virginia Nightingale, 
or Red-Bird, with such superior execution and effect, that the morti- 
fied songsters feel their own inferiority, and become altogether silent; 
while he seems to triumph in their defeat by redoubling his exertions. 
This excessive fondness for variety, however, in the opinion of 
some, injures his song. THis elevated imitations of the Brown Thrush 
are frequently interrupted by the crowing of Cocks; and the warblings 
of the Blue-Bird, which he exquisitely manages, are mingled with the 
screaming of Swallows, or the cackling of Hens; amidst the simple 
melody of the Robin, we are suddenly surprised by the shrill reitera- 
tions of the Whip-poor-will; while the notes of the Killdeer, Blue 
Jay, Martin, Baltimore, and twenty others, succeed, with such impos- 
ing reality, that we look round for the originals, and discover, with 
astonishment, that the sole performer in this singular concert is the 
admirable bird now before us. During this exhibition of his powers, 
he spreads his wings, expands his tail, and throws himself around the 
cage in all the ecstasy of enthusiasm, seeming not only to sing, but 
to dance, keeping time to the measure of his own music. Both in his 
native and domesticated state, during the solemn stillness of night, 
as soon as the moon rises in silent majesty, he begins his delightful 
solo, and serenades us the livelong night with a full display of his 
vocal powers, making the whole neighborhood ring with his inimitable 
medley.* 
Were it not to seem invidious in the eyes of foreigners, 1 might, in 
this place, make a comparative statement between the powers of the 
Mocking Bird, and the only bird, I believe, in the world, worthy of 
being compared with him,—the European Nightingale. This, Aow- 
ever, I am unable to do from my own observation, having never 
myself heard the song of the latter; and, even if 1 had, perhaps 
* The hunters in the Southern States, when setting out upon an excursion by 
night, as soon as they hear the Mocking Bird begin to sing, know that the moon is 
rising. 
Reda anonymous author, speaking of the Mocking Birds in the island of 
Jamaica, and their practice of singing by moonlight, thus gravely philosophizes, and 
attempts to account for the habit.“ It is not certain,” says he, “whether they are 
kept so wakeful by the clearness of the light, or by any extraordinary attention and 
vigilance, at such times, for the protection of their nursery from the piratical as- 
saults of the Owl and the Night Hawk. It is possible that fear may operate upon 
them, much in the same manner as it has been observed to affect some cowardly 
persons, who whistle stoutly in a lonesome place, while their mind is agitated with 
the terror of thieves or yobgoblins.” — History of Jamaica, vol. ili. p. 854, quarto. 
