MOCKING BIRD. 
95 
partiality, which, as a faithful biographer, I am anxious 
to avoid. I shall, therefore, present the reader with 
the opinion of a distinguished English naturalist, and 
curious observer, on this subject, the Honourable Haines 
Barrington, who, at the time he made the communica- 
tion, was vice-president of the Royal Society, to which 
it was addressed.* 
c< It may not be improper here,” says this gentleman, 
“ to consider whether the nightingale may not have a 
tery formidable competitor in the American mocking 
bird, though almost all travellers agree, that the concert 
in the European woods is superior to that of the other 
parts of the globe.” “ I have happened, however, to 
hear the American mocking bird, in great perfection, at 
Messrs Vogels and Scotts, in Love Lane, Eastcheap. 
This bird is believed to be still living, and hath been in 
England these six years. During the space of a minute, 
he imitated the woodlark, chaffinch, blackbird, thrush, 
and sparrow ; I w r as told also that he w ould bark like 
a dog ; so that the bird seems to have no choice in his 
imitations, though his pipe comes nearest to our night- 
ingale of any bird I have yet met with. With regard 
to the original notes, however, of this bird, we are still 
at a loss, as this can only be know n by those who are 
accurately acquainted with the song of the other Ameri- 
can birds. Kahn indeed informs us, that the natural 
song is excellent j j- but this traveller seems not to have 
been long enough in America to have distinguished 
what were the genuine notes : with us, mimics do not 
often succeed but in imitations. I have little doubt, 
however, but that this bird would be fully equal to the 
song of the nightingale in its whole compass ; but then, 
from the attention which the mocker pays to any other 
sort of disagreeable noise, these capital notes would be 
always debased by a bad mixture.” 
On this extract I shall make a few remarks. If, as 
is here conceded, the mocking bird be fully equal to 
* Philosophical Transactions } vol. lxii, part ii, p. 284. 
f Travels , vol. i, p. 219. 
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