MOCKING BIRD. 
17 
OBSERVATIONS. 
There are no others with which this species can be confounded, excepting perhaps some of the West India forms. 
Specimens vary much in amount of white on the tail; one, from Key West, has all the feathers of the tail tipped with 
it. Specimens from this place, evidently constant residents upon the Key, are generally of much smaller size than 
those from further north. They are, however, not darker than those taken about Jacksonville. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Average measurements of thirty-seven specimens from Florida.—Length, 9-77; stretch, 13-32; wing, 4-16; tail, 
5-53; bill, -72; tarsus, 1-19. Longest specimen, 10-20; greatest extent of wings, 14-25; greatest length of wing, 
4-60; of tail, 5-66; of bill, -81; of tarsus, 1-65. Shortest specimen, 9-00; smallest stretch of wings, 12-80; shortest 
wing, 3-20; of tail, 3 - 50; of bill, -60; of tarsus, 1-00. 
DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 
Nests, composed outwardly of twigs and weeds; lined with fibrous roots. One which I now have before me, 
that was collected at Dunn’s Lake, by Mr. Burton, is composed outwardly of dried everlasting ( Antennaria ), and 
smoothly lined with horse hair, fibrous roots, and cotton. There is also a piece of blue cotton cord woven into the 
structure. It is rather shallow. Dimensions.— External diameter, 6 inches; internal, 3-50 inches. External depth, 
2 inches; internal, 1-50 inches. 
Eggs, usually five in number; pale greenish-blue, spotted and blotched irregularly with umber, of varying shades, 
and pale lilac. These spots are usually accumulated more thickly at the larger end, and sometimes cover it 
completely. Dimensions, from -94x-73 to l-00x-74. 
HABITS. 
The Mocking Bird, like the Robin, seems to have acquired a love for the habitations of man. 
This peculiarity is perhaps due in a measure to the protection which such localities afford against 
various natural enemies. Not only because hawks, wild cats, opossums and other animals are 
apt to avoid the presence of mankind, but as the country is open about plantations it enables the 
birds to perceive more readily the approach of any intending disturber of their peace. I think 
it probable that before the land was inhabited they avoided the thickly wooded sections, for the 
few that are found in the wilds of Florida live in little isolated hummocks and clumps of bushes 
that grow in the open pine barrens. The security afforded them by civilization must have 
tended to concentrate them, or has caused them to increase rapidly, for they are very abuudant 
in the vicinity of plantations and towns, and comparatively few are found away from them. For 
example, there were hundreds on the inhabited section of Key West, while but few were to be 
seen on the other portions of the island, or on keys which were not settled. 
One reason for their abundance at Key West may have been owing to the plentiful supply 
of the edible fruit of a species of prickly pear ( Opuntia ficus Indicus) on which they feed. This 
plant grows abundantly all over the richer portions of the Key, but in one section there was a v 
space containing several acres, which had been cleared from trees and bushes, which was so 
completely covered with them that it was impossible for any large animal to pass through it. 
Some of the cacti in this field were of an immense size, being over ten feet in height, and nearly 
all the flat leaf-like stalks bore several of the pear-shaped fruit, from which this cactus derives 
its name. These are ripe during the latter part of November, when they become bright scarlet; 
they are then very juicy, and of an agreeable acid flavor. The outer skin must be carefully 
removed, however, before attempting to eat them, as it is nearly covered with long, slender spines 
that grow in bunches, and which readily enter the flesh when brought in contact with it. They 
are barbed, and therefore exceedingly difficult to remove when once fixed. The Mocking Birds 
visit this place in large numbers, when the fruit becomes dead ripe, and avoiding the spines by 
pecking a hole in the upper end, which is free from them, greedily devour the contents. The juice 
is bright vermilion, and not only stains their bills, heads, and throats, but those which I dissected, 
that had been feeding on the pears, had the stomachs and intestines completely dyed by it. 
BIRDS OF FLORIDA. 
