156 
OMNIVOROUS BIRDS, 
The beautiful Baltimore bird is only one of the tribe of 
true Icteri, which, except the present and following spe- 
cies, remain within the tropical regions, or only migrate 
to short distances in the rainy season. Ours wing their 
way even into Canada, and breed in every intermediate 
region to the table land of Mexico. A yellow Brazilian 
species of the section of this genus called Cassicus , ac- 
cording to Waterton, inhabits also Demerara, where, like 
our bird, he familiarly weaves his pendulous nest near the 
planter’s house, suspending it from the drooping branches 
of trees, and so low that it may be readily looked into even 
by the incurious. Omnivorous like the Starling, it feeds 
equally on insects, fruits, and seeds. It is called the 
Mocking-bird, and for hours together, in gratitude as it 
were for protection, he serenades the inhabitants with 
his imitative notes. His own song, though short, is sweet 
and melodious. But hearing perhaps the yelping of 
the Toucan, he drops his native strain to imitate it, or 
place it in ridicule by contrast. Again, he gives the 
cackling cries of the Woodpecker, the bleating of the 
sheep; — an interval of his own melody, then probably 
a puppy dog, or a Guinea fowl, receives his usual atten- 
tion ; and the whole of this mimickry is accompanied by 
antic gestures, indicative of the sport and company which 
these vagaries afford him. Hence we see that the mim- 
icking talent of the Stare is inherent in this branch of the 
gregarious family, and our own Baltimore, in a humbler 
style, is no less delighted with the notes of his neighbour- 
ing feathered songsters. 
There is nothing more remarkable in the whole instinct 
of our Golden Robin than the ingenuity displayed in the 
fabrication of its nest, which is, in fact, a pendulous, cy- 
lindric pouch of 5 to 7 inches in depth, usually suspended 
from near the extremities of the high, drooping branches of 
