THRASHERS, MOCKINGBIRDS, ETC. 
473 
Washington, uncommon P. R., less numerous in winter. Cambridge, 
rare S. R., Mch. to Nov. 
Nest, of coarse twigs, weed stalks, etc., lined with rootlets, cotton, etc., 
in thickets, orange trees, etc. Eggs, 4-6, pale greenish blue or bluish white, 
sometimes with a brownish tinge, rather heavily spotted and blotched, 
chiefly at the larger end, with cinnamon- or rufous-brown, 1*00 x *72. Date, 
Gainesville, Fla., Apl. 1; Raleigh, N. C., May 9. 
The Mockingbird might be called our national song bird; his 
remarkable vocal powers have made him famous the world over, while 
our more retiring Thrushes are scarcely to be found mentioned outside 
the literature of ornithology. He is a good citizen, and courting rather 
than shunning public life, shows an evident interest in the affairs of 
the day. He lives in our gardens, parks, and squares, and even in the 
streets of the town, and is always alert and on the qui vive; a self- 
appointed guardian, whose sharp alarm-note is passed from bird to 
bird like the signals of watchmen. 
In Florida, Mockingbirds begin to sing in February, and by March 
1 the air rings with music. The heat of midday is insufficient to quell 
their ardor, and on moonlight nights many birds sing throughout the 
night. It is customary to consider the Mockingbird a musician possessed 
of marvelous technique, but with comparatively little depth of feel- 
ing. He is said to create intense admiration without reaching the 
soul. But listen to him when the world is hushed, when the air is heavy 
with the rich fragrance of orange blossoms and the dewy leaves glisten 
in the moonlight, and if his song does not thrill you then confess your- 
self deaf to Nature’s voices. 
It must not be supposed that every Mockingbird is a mocker; there 
is much variation in their imitative gifts. Mr. L. M. Loomis tells 
me of a Mockingbird he once heard singing in South Carolina which 
imitated the notes of no less than thirty-two different species of 
birds found in the same locality, and this during ten minutes’ contin- 
uous singing! This was a phenomenal performance, one I have never 
heard approached, for in my experience many Mockingbirds have no 
notes besides their own, and good mockers are exceptional. 
1902. Daniels, J. W., Wilson Bull., 68-71 (nesting). 
704. Dumetella carolinensis {Linn.). Catbird. Ads . — Crown and 
tail black; under tail-coverts chestnut, sometimes spotted with slaty, and 
rarely largely slaty; rest of the plumage slaty gray. L., 8*94; W., 3*54; T., 
3*65; B., *60. 
Range. — E. N. Am. Breeds mainly in Transition and Austral zones 
from cen. B. C., cen. Alberta, cen. Sask., s. Man., cen. Ont., s. Que., and 
N. S. s. to ne. Ore., n. Utah, ne. N. M., e. Tex., and n. Fla.; resident in 
Bermuda; winters from s. States to the Bahamas and Cuba and through 
Mex. to Panama; casual in winter n. to the Middle States. 
Washington, abundant S. R., Apl. 24-Oct. 11; occasionally winters. 
Ossining, common S. R., Apl. 28-Oct. 25. Cambridge, abundant S. R., May 
6-Oct. 1; occasional in winter. N. Ohio, common S. R., Apl. 21-Oct. 5. 
Glen Ellyn, common S. R., Apl. 29-Oct. 6. SE. Minn., common S. R., Apl. 
30-Oct. 6. 
Nest, of twigs, grasses, and leaves, lined with rootlets, in thickets or 
