OCR Text |
Show THE MOCKING BIRD BEATS ORIGINAL IN ITS OWN SONG By L. M. BENNINGTON. The newcomer in the south Is likely to be surprised some morning by hearing hear-ing a number of birds, not usually on the best of terms, confabbing comfortably com-fortably together in some nearby tree top. Interested in this sudden burying of the hatchet, he will search out the friendly group, only to find it made up of a solitary individual; this one, however, as much in earnest about things in general as though he were the whole anticipated dozen. The mocking bird's powers of imitation imi-tation have been much commented upon, but can hardly be exaggerated. One has been observed to mimic fourteen four-teen different birds in the course of half an hour, each so perfectly that it was hard to believe the medley of sounds proceeded from a single throat. The only perceptible difference in the real song and the imitation is that the mocking bird's note is usually more full and round than the original. It is perfect in inflection, however, and for that express purpose. Again and again the robin began, only to be interrupted in-terrupted after the first few notes by the saucy usurper, who finished the whole song each time, ending with a little triumphant flourish, as much as to say: "You see I can beat you at your own tune!" The annoyed red-breast, astonished and resentful, at length flew a little farther away, and began again. This time, however, he brought down upon himself a torrent of musical revenge, including nearly every bird song in the catalogue, and ending up with a series of derisive cackles, like nothing so much a the cries of a disturbed sitting sit-ting hen. Thoroughly disgusted by this outpouring, Mr. Robin gave it up as a bad job and flew away. The mocking bird is one of the boldest bold-est of the feathered tribe. Even the impudent sparrow has a wholesome fear of him, and is pretty careful about building where he is in the -: W; I ft? U?4&v "Way Down South in the Land of Cotton." even in the little "quips and turns" that characterize the mimicked tones. The bird's own song is one of the richest rich-est and roundest possible, and is not much improved by being interrupted, as it often is, by the unmusical squawk of the jay, or the complaining whine of the catbird. An odd little musical duel was observed ob-served one day between a mocking bird and a robin. The robin, perched in a rose bush, had hardly begun his rich, full-throated solo when the notes were literally "taken out of his mouth" by the mocking-bird, which had alighted alight-ed in a cherry tree near by, apparently habit of making his own nest. During Dur-ing the brooding season he is unusually unusu-ally aggressive. A dog, which was caught sniffing about unwarily under a tree where a mocking bird's family was being reared, was put to sudden and ignominious rout by the onslaught of the angry male bird. Prowling cats find it better to keep at a safe distance, and there are few winged depredators that would enjoy a bout with an enraged mocking bird. As a consequence the nests are found quite near the ground, the bird trusting to its own prowess for protection. |