1 72 MOCKING BIRD. 



attended to than others is, that it sings in the night ; " and 

 if we believe, with Shakespeare, that — 



The nightingale, if she should sing by day 

 When every goose is cackling, would be thought 

 No better a musician than a wren, 



what must we think of that bird who, in the glare of day, 

 when a multitude of songsters are straining their throats in 

 melody, overpowers all competition, and, by the superiority 

 of his voice, expression, and action, not only attracts every 

 ear, but frequently strikes dumb his mortified rivals ; when 

 the silence of night, as well as the bustle of day, bear witness 

 to his melody; and when, even in captivity, in a foreign 

 country, he is declared, by the best judges in that country, 

 to be fully equal to the song of their sweetest bird in its whole 

 compass? The supposed degradation of his song by the 

 introduction of extraneous sounds and unexpected imitations, 

 is, in fact, one of the chief excellences of this bird ; as these 

 changes give a perpetual novelty to his strain, keep attention 

 constantly awake, and impress every hearer with a deeper 

 interest in what is to follow. In short, if we believe in the 

 truth of that mathematical axiom, that the whole is greater 

 than a part, all that is excellent or delightful, amusing or 

 striking, in the music of birds, must belong to that admirable 

 songster whose vocal powers are equal to the whole compass 

 of their whole strains. 



The native notes of the mocking bird have a considerable 

 resemblance to those of the brown thrush, but may easily be 

 distinguished, by their greater rapidity, sweetness, energy of 

 expression, and variety. Both, however, have, in many parts 

 of the United States, particularly in those to the south, ob- 

 tained the name of mocking bird ; the first, or brown thrush, 

 from its inferiority of song, being called the French, and 

 the other the English mocking bird, — a mode of expression 

 probably originating in the prejudices of our forefathers, 



