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THE MOCKING BIRD.
TURD US POL YGLOTTUS, L I N N.
P L A T E X X I . MALE AXD FEMALE.
I T is where the Great Magnolia shoots up its majestic trunk, crowned
with evergreen leaves, and decorated with a thousand beautiful flowers,
that perfume the air around; where the forests and fields are adorned
with blossoms of every hue; where the golden Orange ornaments the gardens
and groves ; where Bignonias of various kinds interlace their climbing
stems around the White-flowered Stuartia, and mounting still higher,
cover the summits of the lofty trees around, accompanied with innumerable
Vines, that here and there festoon the dense foliage of the magnificent
woods, lending to the vernal breeze a slight portion of the perfume
of their clustered flowers; where a genial warmth seldom forsakes the atmosphere
; where berries and fruits of all descriptions are met with at
every step;—in a word, kind reader, it is where Nature seems to have
paused, as she passed over the Earth, and opening her stores, to have
strewed with unsparing hand the diversified seeds from which have
sprung all the beautiful and splendid forms which I should in vain attempt
to describe, that the Mocking Bird should have fixed its abode,
there only that its wondrous song should be heard.
But where is that favoured land ?—It is in that great continent to
whose distant shores Europe has sent forth her adventurous sons, to
wrest for themselves a habitation from the wild inhabitants of the forest,
and to convert the neglected soil into fields of exuberant fertility. It is,
reader, in Louisiana that these bounties of nature are in the greatest perfection.
It is there that you should listen to the love-song of the Mocking
Bird, as I at this moment do. See how he flies round his mate, with
motions as light as those of the butterfly ! His tail is widely expanded,
he mounts in the air to a small distance, describes a circle, and, again
alighting, approaches his beloved one, his eyes gleaming with delight,
for she has already promised to be his and his only. His beautiful wings
are gently raised, he bows to his love, and again bouncing upwards, opens
his bill, and pours forth his melody, full of exultation at the conquest
which he has made.
MOCKING BIRD. 109
They are not the soft sounds of the flute or of the hautboy that I
hear, but the sweeter notes of Nature's own music. The mellowness of
the song, the varied modulations and gradations, the extent of its compass,
the great brilliancy of execution, are unrivalled. There is probably
no bird in the world that possesses all the musical qualifications of
this king of song, who has derived all from Nature's self. Yes, reader,
all!
No sooner has he again alighted, and the conjugal contract has been
sealed, than, as if his breast was about to be rent with delight, he again
pours forth his notes with more softness and richness than before. He
now soars higher, glancing around with a vigilant eye, to assure himself
that none has witnessed his bliss. When these love-scenes, visible only
to the ardent lover of nature, are over, he dances through the air, full of
animation and delight, and, as if to convince his lovely mate that to enrich
her hopes he has much more love in store, he that moment begins
anew, and imitates all the notes which nature has imparted to the other
songsters of the grove.
For a while, each long day and pleasant night are thus spent; but
at a peculiar note of the female he ceases his song, and attends to her
wishes. A nest is to be prepared, and the choice of a place in which to
lay it is to become a matter of mutual consideration. The Orange, the
Fig, the Pear-tree of the gardens are inspected ; the thick briar patches
are also visited. They appear all so well suited for the purpose in view,
and so well does the bird know that man is not his most dangerous
enemy, that instead of retiring from him, they at length fix their abode
in his vicinity, perhaps in the nearest tree to his window. Dried twigs,
leaves, grasses, cotton, flax, and other substances, are picked up, carried
to a forked branch, and there arranged. The female has laid an egg,
and the male redoubles his caresses. Five eggs are deposited in due
time, when the male having little more to do than to sing his mate to repose,
attunes his pipe anew. Every now and then he spies an insect on
the ground, the taste of which he is sure*will please his beloved one. He
drops upon it, takes it in his bill, beats it against the earth, and flies
to the nest to feed and receive the warm thanks of his devoted female.
When a fortnight has elapsed, the young brood demand all their
care and attention. No cat, no vile snake, no dreaded hawk, is likely to
visit their habitation. Indeed the inmates of the next house have by this
time become quite attached to the lovely pair of Mocking Birds, and