Notes on a Massachusetts Mockingbird. — The notes on the Mocking- 

 bird, pubHshed in a recent issue of ' The Auk,' recall to mind some pleasant 

 and interesting observations I made on this species in eastern Massachu- 

 setts a fe\v years since. In looking over my notebooks I find under date 

 of June 5, 1908: "An unusual bird visitor seen today. While working 

 In the field my attention was attracted by the (supposed) note of the 

 ■Crested Flycatcher. I was somewhat surprised to hear it, as this fly- 

 catcher is found here only in a few restricted localities. This being outside 

 of the locaUties where usually found, I hastened to investigate and found 

 that these notes, and a varied collection of others also, came from a Mock- 

 ingbird. By good fortune he proved to be very approachable, affording 

 a fine chance to see and watch him. 



" He was for the most part singing all the time; a pause of a few minutes 

 now and then, during which time he fed more persistently than when 

 singing, although his time when in song, was not entirely devoted to that, 

 but he was frequently changing his perch in order to catch some insect, 

 but making no noticeable pause in song. Much the same style and 

 manner as the Red-eyed Vireo in this respect. I do not know what the 

 powers of mimicry may be for the average mocker but I should think 

 that this one was more than ordinarily skilled in that difficvdt art. 



" A multitude of call-notes and songs of the commoner birds, and some 

 that I hear but infrequently, he ran ova- apparently as easily as the pianist 

 plays the scale, and with perfect imitation. In many cases not even an 

 acute and practised ear could detect a variation from the genuine. He 

 seemed to be especially well skilled in the performance of the song or calls 

 of the Crested Flycatcher, giving that pecuhar inflection one notes in the 

 whistle of this particularly interesting species. Again, without any 

 apparent pause, he would be " whipping-poor-will " with spiteful accent 

 or trifling the amicable " cheer-up " of the robin. The squall of the Blue 

 Jay and also the Jay's more musical bell like note, were rendered with 

 correct expression. The mew of the Catbird and the clicker of the King- 

 .bird, the laughing call of the Flicker, and the Downy Woodpeckers metallic 

 note, all these came in easier and quicker time than I can write. And so 

 on throughout a long list of some twenty to thirty species. 



" To me, untamfliar with the mocker before, this was a rare treat. 

 What his own individual song might have been I can only guess, but 

 perhaps a rolling, lyrical song like that of the Brown Thrasher, which came 

 in occasionally as an interlude in his long roll of imitations. No doubt, 

 also, there may have been notes of several southern birds that we here 

 in the north would not recognize, because of unfamiliarity with them; for 

 his song was ever full and varied, shifting from one to another without 

 any warning or apparent aim." 



The following list, are species certainly recognized in his imitations: 



1. 



Blue Jay (two notes). 



IB. 



Indigo Bird. 



2. 



Whip-poor-will. 



17. 



White-bellied Swallow. 



3. 



Kingbird. 



18. 



Scarlet Tanager. 



4. 



Crested Flycatcher. 



19. 



Red-eyed Vireo. 



5. 



Chebec. 



20. 



Yellow-throated Vireo. 



6. 



Phoebe. 



21. 



Summer Yellowbird. 



7. 



Wood Pewee. 



22. 



Maryland YeUowthroat. 



8. 



Red-winged Blackbird. 



23. 



Chickadee. 



9. 



Meadowlark (Zee-ee-p note). 



24. 



White-breasted Nuthatch 



10. 



Baltimore Oriole. 



25. 



Catbird. 



11. 



Downy Woodpecker. 



26. 



Brown Thrasher. 



12. 



Flicker. 



27. 



Wood Thrush. 



13. 



Enghsh Sparrow. 



28. 



Robin. 



14. 



Vesper Sparrow. 



29. 



Bluebird. 



15. 



Song Sparrow. 







Besides the above there may have been, as I have previously stated, 

 two or three southern bird notes that I am unfamihar with. The twenty- 

 nine named were clearly enunciated and readily identified. 



This bird remained in the looaUty for nearly a week and was enjoyed 

 by several persons interested in bird study. — S. Waldo Bailey, Newbury- 

 port, Mass. ^fy^.-^H-Vllh l^lffl- 3 yX '37J- 



