MOCKING BIRD. 
165 
south. The berries of the red cedar, myrtle, holly, Cassine 
shrub, many species of smilax, together with gum berries, 
gall berries, and a profusion of others with which the luxuriant 
swampy thickets of those regions abound, furnish them with 
a perpetual feast. Winged insects, also, of which they are 
very fond, and remarkably expert at catching, abound there 
even in winter, and are an additional inducement to residency. 
Though rather a shy bird in the northern states, here he 
appeared almost half domesticated, feeding on the cedars, and 
among the thickets of smilax that lined the roads, while I 
passed within a few feet ; playing around the planter’s door, 
and hopping along the shingles. During the month of 
February, I sometimes heard a solitary one singing ; but, on 
the 2d of March, in the neighbourhood of Savannah, numbers 
of them were heard on every hand, vieing in song with each 
other, and with the Brown Thrush, making the whole woods 
vocal. with their melody. Spring was at that time considerably 
advanced; and the thermometer ranging between 70 and 78 
degrees. On arriving at New York, on the 22d of the same 
month, I found many parts of the country still covered with 
snow, and the streets piled with ice to the height of two 
feet; while neither the Brown Thrush, nor Mocking Bird 
were observed, even in the lower parts of Pennsylvania, until 
the 20th of April. 
The precise time at which the Mocking Bird begins to build 
his nest, varies according to the latitude in which he resides. 
In the lower parts of Georgia, he commences building early 
in April ; but in Pennsylvania, rarely before the 10th of May; 
and in New York, and the states of New England, still later. 
There are particular situations to which he gives the pre- 
ference. A solitary thorn bush ; an almost impenetrable 
thicket ; an orange tree, cedar, or holly bush, are favourite 
spots, and frequently selected. It is no great objection with 
him that these happen, sometimes, to be near the farm, or 
mansion-house : always ready to defend, but never over 
anxious to conceal, his nest, he very often builds within a 
