fcREAT CAROLINA OR MOCKING WREN. 433 
is answered by its mate, sometimes in the same note, 
at others in a different call. In most cases it will be 
remarked, that the phrases of our songster are uttered in 
3s ; by this means, it will generally be practicable to 
distinguish its performance from that of other birds, and 
particularly from the Cardinal Grosbeak, whose expres- 
sions it often closely imitates both in power and delivery. 
I shall never, I believe, forget the soothing satisfaction 
and amusement I derived from this little constant and 
unwearied minstrel, my sole vocal companion through 
many weary miles of a vast, desolate, and otherwise 
cheerless wilderness. Yet with all his readiness to amuse 
by his Protean song, the epitome of all he had ever 
heard, or recollected, he was still studious of conceal- 
ment, keeping busily engaged near the ground, or in 
low thickets in quest of his food : and when he mounted 
a log or brush pile, which he had just examined, his 
color, so similar to the fallen leaves and wintry livery of 
nature, often prevented me from gaining a glimpse of this 
wonderful and interesting mimic. 
Like the preceding species, he has restless activity, 
and a love for prying into the darkest corners after his 
prey, and is particularly attached to the vicinity of 
rivers and wet places, when not surrounded by gloomy 
shade. His quick and capricious motions, antic jerks, 
and elevated tail, resemble the actions of the House 
Wren. Eager and lively in his contracted flight, 
before shifting he quickly throws himself forward so as 
nearly to touch his perch previous to springing from his 
legs. In Tuscaloosa and other towns in Alabama, he 
appeared frequently upon the tops of the barns and out- 
houses, delivering with energy his varied and desultory 
lay. At Tallahassee, in West Florida, I observed one 
of these birds chanting near the door of a cottage, and 
37 
