386 BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 



the Eskimo regard this bird as an enemy, and accuse it of telling 

 the reindeer when a man is in pursuit. It is also said to tell the 

 deer whether or not the man is a good shot. Kumlien adds that he 

 has seen an Eskimo waste his last charge in trying to kill one of 

 these birds, when a herd of deer was close by. 



, Family TROGLODYTID.^. Weens, Thrashers, etc. 

 Subfamily MIMIN.^. Thrashers. 

 Genus MIMUS Boie. 

 MIMUS POLYGLOTTOS (Linn.). 



294. Mockingbird. (703) 



Wings considerably shorter than tail; above, ashy-gray; below, whitish; 

 wings and tail, blackish, the former with two white wing-bars and large white 

 spot at base of primaries, latter with one to three outer feathers more or less 

 white. Length, 9-10; wing, about 4; tail, about 5. 



Hab. — United States, south into Mexico. Rare from New Jersey, the 

 valley of the Ohio, Colorado and California northward. 



Nest, in bushes and low trees, composed of twigs, leaves, grass, etc., put 

 together in a slovenly manner. 



Eggs, four to six, bluish-green, heavily marked with several shades of 

 brown. 



Among birds, as among men, individuals differ greatly in natural 

 ability, some being much more highly endowed than others, and 

 their gifts are also varied. Some, representing the architects of the 

 community, excel in building their homes, which have not only all 

 the necessary requirements for the comfort and safety of the inmates, 

 but exhibit a skill and taste in their construction, and in the selec- 

 tion and arrangement of the materials, which never fail to excite our 

 admiration. One of the most complete nests which has come under 

 my observation is that built by the Summer Yellow-bird. It is 

 often placed in the fork of a lilac bush near a hoiise, and is not only 

 luxuriously comfortable, but so well put together that it stands the 

 blasts of winter. It is in good shape in the following spring, but the 

 birds do not use it a second season, and are seen tugging pieces out 

 of the old to help to build the new. Another interesting specimen 

 of bird architecture is the curious, pensile, purse-like nest of the 

 Baltimore Oriole, which is quite a familiar object, swaying at the 

 end of a slender twig of a drooping elm, while in the solitudes of a 



