116 OUR SOUTHERN BIRDS 



his territory. They may build nests and hunt 

 for food as they please, but let a Tanager or a 

 Catbird begin a song from a quiet treetop and 

 his superior in music is down upon him at once. 

 The Cardinal, however, is able to dispute his 

 domain, so that both are frequently heard sing- 

 ing together on May mornings. 



In color and size the Mocking Bird resembles 

 the Catbird, but is quite distinctly marked with 

 a white crescent on each wing and two white 

 feathers in the tail, so that in flight there is a 

 sort of broken halo round him. Perhaps his 

 characteristic motions distinguish him even more 

 readily. In mid-song he springs into the air 

 from time to time as if unable to contain him- 

 self; he must even w^ake up in the night to sing 

 again, trilling, warbling, whistling, and fluttering 

 excitedly under the April moon. Another pecu- 

 liarity is his way of lifting and half opening his 

 wings occasionally while walking or picking up 

 his dinner on the ground, spreading his white 

 crescents as though to catch the sun. 



It is not fully correct to speak of this group 

 of related singers, the Mocking Bird, the Cat- 

 bird, and the Thrasher, as migratory, since all 

 three often winter in the Gulf States, and as far 

 north as the Ohio valley are sometimes resident 

 where found. 



The nest of the Mocking Bird is built of sticks 



