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by the Western Mockingbird. The Mockingbird is an abundant resident in 
Georgia and Louisiana. Thomas D. Burleigh and George H. Lowery, Jr., 
who have written, respectively, on the birds of these two states, in their 
books dwell emphatically upon the Mockingbird’s powers of mimicry. 
The Mockingbird sexes are similar; they are plainly garbed, largely gray 
above and white below. In addition to white wing-bars they have large 
white patches on the wings and white banner marks in the long tails. In 
the spring the Mockingbird sings all day and often at night. He has a 
great variety of phrases, each of which he repeats several times before go- 
ing on to the next. He likes a lofty perch from which to give his repertoire, 
and in bubbling enthusiasm he sometimes springs a few feet into the air 
while singing. He gives the impression of unwearied vitality. Often he is 
so ebullient that song alone does not satisfy him and with head lifted, tail 
down, mouth open, and throat quivering, he turns flip-flops, fluttering up- 
ward for a somersault and coming down with wings and tail wide-spread, 
without missing a syllable. 
Courtship performances of the Mockingbird are unique. In spring the 
male sometimes pauses a moment in his song and stretches his wings high 
above his head, exposing large white wing patches. This act may be re- 
peated two or three times. In their prenuptial dance the pair face one an- 
other about a foot apart with heads held high and tails cocked up. They 
hop up and down, moving gradually to one side and then back again. After 
this dance the birds fly off, usually in opposite directions. 
This songster prefers more or less open places. He avoids the thick woods, 
but clearings and slashings that follow logging operations soon attract one 
or more pairs. He haunts thickets and underbrush, and is found in both 
town and country. 
The nest of the Eastern Mockingbird is usually in a bush or sapling, a 
stretch of underbrush, or sometimes in a tangle of wild vines three to ten 
feet from the ground. The nest is bulky, built of rootlets, weed stems, 
grasses, and dead leaves, and lined with fine rootlets and horsehair. Often 
the nest is so covered over with leaves that it is not readily noticed. Mock- 
ingbirds raise several broods annually, occasionally beginning as early as 
February. The clutch consists of three to five greenish-blue eggs, spotted 
or blotched with cinnamon or rufous. The nest is seldom located far from 
a human dwelling. 
The Eastern Mockingbird is resident from central Nebraska, southern 
Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Maryland south to eastern Texas and the 
Gulf coast of Florida. It penetrates occasionally to the Great Lakes, New 
York, and Massachusetts. The Western Mockingbird breeds from central 
Colorado to Oregon (rare), and southern Wyoming south to Mexico. It is 
a larger, paler, more buffy edition of the eastern bird. Throughout its range 
the western bird exhibits the same traits as its relative of the east. 
The Mockingbird insists on being monarch of all he surveys. At winter 
feeding stations most of the other birds leave when this truculent bird 
arrives. Most of them are pugnacious, at least in the breeding season, and 
do not hesitate to attack any cat or bird that disturbs them. Only the King- 
bird overcomes a Mockingbird. 
The Mockingbird is beneficial, as it feeds largely upon insects such as 
ants, flies, wasps, bugs, caterpillars, beetles (including curculios), and 
spiders. In late summer and autumn it feeds chiefly on wild fruit. 
929 Brummell Street, Hvanston, Illinois 
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