The Mockingbird near Boston. — In 'The Auk' for October, 1909, I 

 recorded the breeding of a pair of Mockingbirds {Mimus polyglotios) in 

 West Roxbury, Mass., last year. I have recently learned that a pair of 

 these birds bred at Roslindale, about a mile and a half from this locality, 

 in the spring of 1902. My informant is Mrs. Seriah Stevens of Roslindale, 

 who published an account of the nesting in 'Zion's Herald,' a Boston 

 Methodist weekly, for March 3, 1909. Mrs. Stevens assures me that the 

 account there given is entirely true except as to the location of the nest, 

 which was not on her own grounds, as stated for literary purposes, but 

 elsewhere in the neighborhood. Four young were hatched, but when they 

 were about half grown the mother bird was found dead near the nest. The 

 male, however, brought up the brood and launched them from the nest. 

 The father bird and two of the young were seen together near their old 

 home as late as August of that year, but then disappeared and have not 

 been seen there since. The male bird was the one recorded by me in 'The 

 Auk' for July, 1902 (Vol. XIX, p. 292), as having been observed by me on 

 March 23 of that year, and this is the reported unsuccessful nesting referred 

 to in my note of last October. 



In this connection I wish to report that the male which bred near my 

 house last year remained in the neighborhood all the autumn and winter 

 and began singing March 21 of this year, the exact anniversary of the 

 beginning of his song the year before. He sang finely and imitated the 

 notes of many birds not due to arrive here for a month or two later. In 

 fact, he introduced imitations which I had not heard from him last year, 

 exhibiting what seemed a remarkable memory for bird-notes. He sang 

 every morning near the house for four weelcs, but his mate never arrived 

 and after April 19 he gave it up. I saw him once or twice afterwards and 

 heard of him a few other times, but since about the middle of May he 

 seems to have disappeared entirely. Another Mockingbird was seen in 

 the Arnold Arboretum, about two miles and a half away, in winter and 

 early spring by several observers. He sang freely in April but not very 

 well and seemed not to imitate the notes of other birds. He was believed 

 to be a young bird and very possibly was one of the brood raised by my 

 pair. This bird also disappeared without having found a mate. All 

 this goes to support the view held by Mr. Brewster (Birds of the Cam- 

 bridge Region, pp. 62-64), that birds breeding bevond their normal 

 range are unlikely to found permanent colonies of regular summer residents. 

 — Fbancis H. Allen, West Roxbury, Mass. 



Aflk 37.00^1910 p. i;/^o-^6/. 



