The mocking-bird selects the place for his nest according to the region
in which he resides. A solitary thorn bush, an almost impenetrable
thicket, an orange or cedar-tree, or a holly bush, are favorite spots;
and sometimes he will select a low apple or pear-tree. The nest is
composed of dry twigs, straw, wool, and tow, and lined with fine
fibrous roots. During the time when the female is sitting, neither cat,
dog, animal, or man, can approach the nest without being attacked.
But the chief vengeance of the bird is directed against his mortal
enemy, the black snake. Whenever this reptile is discovered, the male
darts upon it with the rapidity of an arrow, dexterously eluding its
bite, and striking it violently and incessantly upon the head. The
snake soon seeks to escape; but the intrepid bird redoubles his
exertions; and as the serpent's strength begins to flag, he seizes it,
and lifts it up from the ground, beating it with his wings; and when
the business is completed, he returns to his nest, mounts the summit of
the bush, and pours out a torrent of song, in token of victory.
His strong, musical voice is capable of every modulation. His matin
notes are bold and full, consisting of short expressions of two, three,
or five and six syllables, generally interspersed with imitations, all
of them uttered with great emphasis and rapidity. His expanded wings,
and tail glistening with white, and the buoyant gayety of his action,
arrest the eye as his song does the ear.
The mocking-bird loses little of the power and energy of his music by
confinement. When he commences his career of song, it is impossible to
stand by uninterested. He whistles for the dog; Caesar starts up, wags
his tail, and runs to meet his master. He squeaks out like a hurt
chicken, and the hen hurries about with hanging wings and bristling
feathers, clucking to protect her injured brood. The barking of the
dog, the mewing of the cat, the creaking of the passing wheelbarrow,
follow with great truth and rapidity. He repeats the tune taught him by
his master, though of considerable length, fully and faithfully. He
runs over the quiverings of the canary, and the clear whistlings of the
red-bird, with such superior execution and effect, that the mortified
songsters feel their own inferiority, while he seems to triumph in
their defeat by redoubling his exertions.