MOCKING BIRD. 113 
foreign country, he is declared, by the best judges in that country, to 
be fully equal to the song of their sweetest bird in its whole compass ? 
The supposed degradation of his song by the introduction of extra- 
neons sounds and unexpected imitations, is, in fact, one of the chief 
excellences of this bird; as these changes give a perpetual novelty 
to his strain, keep attention constantly awake, and impress every 
hearer with a deeper interest in what is to follow. In short, if we 
believe in the truth of that mathematical axiom, that the whole is 
greater than a part, all that is excellent or delightful, amusing or 
striking, in the music of birds, must belong to that admirable songster, 
whose vocal powers are equal to the whole compass of their whole 
strains. 
The native notes of the Mocking Bird have a considerable resem- 
blance to those of the Brown Thrush, but may easily be distinguished 
by their greater rapidity, sweetness, energy of expression, and variety. 
Both, however, have, in many parts of the United States, particularly 
in those to the south, obtained the name of Mocking Bird; the first, or 
Brown Thrush, from its inferiority of song, being called the French, 
and the other the English Mocking Bird,—a mode of expression 
probably originating in the prejudices of our forefathers, with whom 
every thing French was inferior to every thing English.* 
The Mocking Bird is frequently taken in trap-cages, and, by proper 
management, may be made sufficiently tame tosing. ‘The upper parts 
of the cage (which ought to be of wood) should be kept covered, 
until the bird becomes a little more reconciled to confinement. If 
placed in a wire cage, uncovered, he will soon destroy himself in at- 
tempting to getout. These birds, however, by proper treatment, may 
be brought to sing perhaps superior to those raised by hand, and cost 
less trouble. The opinion which the naturalists of Europe entertain of 
the great difficulty of raising the Mocking Bird, and that not one in 
ten survives, is very incorrect. A person called on me a few days ago, 
with twenty-nine of these birds, old and young, which he had carried 
about the fields with him for several days, for the convenience of feed- 
ing them while engaged intrapping others. He had carried them thirty 
miles, and intended carrying them ninety-six miles farther, viz., to New 
York, and told me that he did not expect to lose one out of ten of 
them. Cleanliness, and regularity in feeding, are the two principal 
things to be attended to; and these rarely fail to succeed. 
The eagerness with which the nest of the Mocking Bird is sought 
after in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, has rendered this bird ‘ex- 
tremely scarce for an extent of several miles round the city. In the 
country round Wilmington and Newcastle, they are very numerous, 
from whence they are frequently brought here for sale. The usual 
price of a singing bird is from seven to fifteen, and even twenty dollars. 
I have known fifty dollars paid for a remarkably fine singer, and one 
instance where one hundred dollars were refused for a still more extra- 
ordinary one. : 
* The observations of Mr. Barrington, in the paper above referred to, make this 
Epenien still more probable. “Some Nightingales,” says he, “are so vastly 
inferior, that the bird-catchers will not keep them, branding them with the name of 
Frenchmen.” 283. . 
10* 
