Birds Observed at Goosada, Alabama 

 N.C.Brown 



4. Mimu3 polyglottus, (L.) Boie. Mockinq-bied. — Abundant resi- 

 dent. I heard the first song February 25, — a week after the birds began 

 to sing in Montgomery. Two weeks later I observed several pairs desul- 

 torily at work on their nests, but, with the exception of a single comple- 

 ment found on the 12th of April, discovered no eggs until about April 21. 



After a brief sojourn at Coosada, I came to regard this bird with intense 

 dislike, on account of its extreme quarrelsomeness. Those in the imme- 

 diate vicinity of my lodgings were almost constantly employed in driving 

 other birds from the neighborhood. Upon one occasion, a Kobin sitting 

 quietly in a tree over my head was so fiercely attacked by a Mocking-bird 

 that he fell almost lifeless at my feet. A friend rescued him from further 

 injury, and after the bird revived gave him his liberty ; he had scarcely 

 flown a dozen yards, however, before he was again savagely set upon by a 

 Mocking-bird, and escaped only through his greater power of wing. 



VOL. m. 12 



BuU.N.0.0. 3,Oot.,X87li. P.IQQ 



^^^^^.r?^ Bayotr Sara, La. A 

 15-19 C,W.Beci:Ji4xQ. ' 



3. Mimus polyglottus (/,.) Mockingbird. — Very abundant, 



both in the town about gardens and yards, and in the country. Frequent- 

 ing open ground exclusively. Four sets of eggs were taken ; two perfectly 

 fresh, and two about half incubated. Mr. Wederstraudt called my atten- 

 tion to a curious foraging habit of this bird. We noticed one hopping 

 along the ground in an open grassy place, pausing at every three or four 

 hops to exterd and close its wings. It repeated this several times until a 

 grasshopper was flushed, when the bird immediately "reached" for it, and 

 having captured it, made oflf to a neighboring bush to eat it. Mr. Weder- 

 straudt says that he has observed this interesting performance many times. 



BnU. N. O. O. 7, JtUy, 1882 . P. ISO 



Birds of Houston, Texas, and Vicin- 

 ity - H.Nehrliaif 



5. Mimui3 polyglottus, Boie. Mockingbird. — A very abundant 

 resident. Only a few remain to winter, in protected localities ; the ma- 

 jority migrate further south. They arrive from their winter quarters 

 early in March and are by the end of that month again common. Nest- 

 building commences usually in the middle of April. Many are killed by 

 farmers and gardeners on account of their fondness for ripe figs and grapes. 

 Besides insects, they feed eagerly on the berries of the poke {Phytolacca 

 decandra), the elder {Sambucus canadensis), and the Mexican mulberry 

 {Callicarfa americana). In winter the berries of the myrtle-holly (Ore- 

 ophila myrtifolia) and those of the mistletoe {Phoradendron flavescens) 

 are their principal food. 



BuaN.O.Q, 'ZtJan. 1882. p. 



