170 
MOCKING BIRD. 
become altogether silent ; while he seems to triumph in their 
defeat by redoubling his exertions. 
This excessive fondness for variety, however, in the opinion | 
of some, injures his song. His elevated imitations of the 
Brown Thrush are frequently interrupted by the crowing of 
cocks ; and the warblings of the Blue Bird, which he exqui- 
sitely manages, are mingled with the screaming of swallows, j 
or the cackling of hens ; amidst the simple melody of the 
Robin, we are suddenly surprised by the shrill reiterations of 
the Whip-poor-will; while the notes of the Killdeer, Blue 
Jay, Martin, Baltimore, and twenty others, succeed, with such 
imposing reality, that we look round for the originals, and 
discover, with astonishment, that the sole performer in this 
singular concert is the admirable bird now before us. During 
this exhibition of his powers, he spreads his wings, expands |j 
his tail, and throws himself around the cage in all the ecstasy of 
enthusiasm, seeming not only to sing, but to dance, keeping j 
time to the measure of his own music. Both in his native 
and domesticated state, during the solemn stillness of night, as j 
soon as the moon rises in silent majesty, he begins his delight- 
ful solo ; and serenades us the livelong night with a full display 
of his vocal powers, making the whole neighbourhood ring 
with his inimitable medley.* 
Were it not to seem invidious in the eyes of foreigners, I 
* The hunters in the southern states, when setting out upon an excursion by- 
night, as soon as they hear the Mocking Bird begin to sing, know that the 
moon is rising. 
A certain anonymous author, speaking of the Mocking Birds in the island 
of Jamaica, and their practice of singing by moonlight, thus gravely philoso- 
phizes, and attempts to account for the habit. “ It is not certain,” says he, 
“ whether they are kept so wakeful by the clearness of the light, or by any 
extraordinary attention and vigilance, at such times, for the protection of their ! 
nursery from the piratical assaults of the Owl and the Night Hawk. It is 
possible that fear may operate upon them, much in the same manner as it 
has been observed to affect some cowardly persons, who whistle stoutly in a 
lonesome place, while their mind is agitated with the terror of thieves or 
hobgoblins. ” — History of Jamaica, vol. iii. p. 894, quarto. 
