The Western Mockingbird 
much Mockingbird. His song, save when set on fire by the passion 
of springtime, may be characterized as a bit too noisy, and his behavior 
is, on occasion, anything but gentlemanly. This morning a glorious 
Meadowlark lighted on the tipmost branch of one of our live oak trees, 
breasted the sunshine and began to gurgle ecstatic reminiscences of 
springtime. There was music in his heart and magic in his throat, 
and for all he played with the soft pedal on, the face of the listener cleared 
and 'his herte gan swell.’ Then, all at once, a jealous Mockingbird 
levelled a glance of hate at the gifted visitor and bade him begone. 
Suiting the action to the word, he drove the Lark off, pained and crest¬ 
fallen. A gentle Mourning Dove had, meanwhile, taken refuge in the 
center of the tree, or perhaps she had come to listen to the cooling lark 
song. Anyhow, her the vixenish Mockingbird sought out and drove 
forth with scurrilous reproach. A pair of California Woodpeckers, 
however, stood their ground when attacked, and gave as good as they 
got both in abuse and blows. But the Mocker does not shine always 
as a gentleman! (There were seven Mockingbirds in the yard at the 
time, and it may be that some stirring of the parental, protective instinct 
moved the passion of the ugly Mocker).” 
When the young birds are hatched out, the Mockingbirds become 
the most jealous and aggressive of guardians. Not content with per¬ 
secuting all other birds and driving cats out of bounds, they quarrel 
with their most intimate human friends, no matter of how long standing. 
The ordinary note of apprisal, choop or tsook, comes out like the crack 
of a whip, beyond imitation, the most intense and upbraiding sound 
of which a California bird is capable. If the danger is very real, the 
birds fall back on an ancestral Thrasher cry, choory —sometimes piteously 
prolonged, choooory —and this is moving enough, but they spoil it all 
by floods of those mocking yada cries, which arouse only resentment. 
Once a pair of Mockers built in the live oak tree hard beside my 
study door. All went well enough until the youngsters were leaving 
the nest (because I pretended not to know); but when they were a-wing, 
or at least a-crawl, instead of feeding their babies with diligence, or 
spiriting them away to what they might consider safer quarters, this 
precious pair spent most of their time scolding members of my family, 
or berating my guests. I was invariably set upon the moment I stepped 
out of the study. If the attack could be delivered from behind, the 
bird swooped down suddenly, and when almost touching my head ex¬ 
ploded in a volley of yadas, which were fairly insulting. All of our move¬ 
ments in the hinder portion of our yard were dogged and protested for 
a week or more, and until the joke nearly wore our patience threadbare. 
It is the greatest sport of all, though, to see the Mockingbird dis- 
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