194 NATURAL HISTORY READER. 



THE MOCKING-BIRD. 



1, Among the many novelties which the discovery ol 

 this part of the western continent first brought into notice 

 we may reckon that of the mocking-bird, which is not only 

 peculiar to the new world, but inhabits a very considerable 

 extent of both North and South America, having been 

 traced from the States of New England to Brazil, and also 

 among many of the adjacent islands. These birds are, 

 however, much more numerous in those States south than 

 in those north of the river Delaware, being generally mi- 

 gratory in the latter, and resident in the former. A warm 

 climate, and low country, not far from the sea, seem most 

 congenial to their nature ; accordingly, we find the species 

 less numerous to the west than east of the great range of 

 the Alleghany, in the same parallels of latitude. The ber- 

 ries of the red cedar, myrtle, holly, cassine shrub, many 

 species of smilax, together with gum-berries, gall-berries, 

 and a profusion of others with which the luxuriant swampy 

 thickets of those regions abound, furnish them with a per- 

 petual feast. Winged insects, also, of which they arc very 

 fond, and remarkably expert at catching, abound there 

 even in winter, and are" an additional inducement to resi- 

 dency. Though rather a shy bird in the Northern States, 

 in the South he appeared almost half domesticated, feeding 

 on the cedars and among the thickets of smila.x that lined 

 the roads, while I passed within a few feet ; playing around 

 the planters door, and hopping along the shingles. 



2. The precise time at which the mocking-bird begins 

 to build his nest varies according to the latitude in which 

 he resides. There are particular situations to which he 

 gives the preference. A solitary thorn-bush, an almost im- 

 penetrable thicket, an orange-tree, cedar- or holly-bush, 

 are favorite spots, and frequently selected. It is no great 



