The Western Mockingbird 
Taken in Los Angeles County Photo by the Author 
A PEACHY POSE 
cipline the family cat. If Tabby is docile or wise, she takes to cover 
forthwith; but if she pauses to “sass back,” the Mockingbird rises glori¬ 
ously to the occasion. With mocking cries and jabs, whether of beak 
or claw, which are at least sufficient to make the fur fly, the winged fury 
returns again and again to the attack. I have seen a perfectly respectable 
family cat spitting and howling with vexation under these humiliating 
assaults, until the very orange trees shook with laughter. The game is 
being evened up for once. 
What the Mockingbirds eat is only a matter of curious interest— 
insects and wild fruits chiefly. If they required avocadoes or poached 
eggs on toast (eggs are ninety-five cents a dozen now, remember), we 
would furnish them cheerfully. It is surmised that if the range of the 
Mockingbird ran more strongly northward, some harm might be done 
to cherries, and the like; but as it is, there is absolutely no complaint in 
the citrus belt, and the good accomplished by this very domestic pur¬ 
veyor of bugs and grubs is quite considerable. Mistletoe berries are 
a staple article of diet wherever found, and the birds eat the yucca and 
cactus fruits of the desert, no less than the pepper berries of civilization. 
The distribution of the Mockingbird has been the subject of no little 
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