very straight for a moment. But he adds to
this familiar performance a peculiar and beautiful movement, the object
of which I have been unable to discover. At the end of a run he lifts
his wings, opening them wide, displaying their whole breadth, which
makes him look like a gigantic butterfly, then instantly lowers his head
and runs again, generally picking up something as he stops. A
correspondent in South Carolina, familiar with the ways of the bird,
suggests that his object is to startle the grasshoppers, or, as he
expresses it, to "flush his game." I watched very closely and could not
fix upon any theory more plausible, though it seemed to be weakened by
the fact that the nestlings, as mentioned above, did the same thing
before they thought of looking for food. The custom is not invariable;
sometimes it is done, and sometimes not.

The mocking-bird cannot be said to possess a gentle disposition,
especially during the time of nesting. He does not seem malicious, but
rather mischievous, and his actions resemble the naughty though not
wicked pranks of an active child. At that time he does, it must be
admitted, lay claim to a rather large territory, considering his size,
and enforces his rights with many a hot chase and noisy dispute, as
remarked above. Any mocking-bird who dares to flirt a feather over the
border of the ground he chooses to consider his own has to battle with
him. A quarrel is a curious operation, usually a chase, and the war-cry
is so peculiar and apparently so incongruous that it is fairly
laughable. It is a rough breathing, like the "huff" of an angry cat, and
a serious dispute between the birds reminds one of nothing but a
disagreement in the feline family. If the stranger does not take the
hint, and retire at the first huff, he is chased, over and under trees
and through branches, so violently that leaves rustle and twigs are
thrust aside, as long as the patience or wind holds out. On one occasion
the defender of his homestead kept up a lively singing all through the
furious flight, which lasted six or eight minutes,--a remarkable thing.

To others than his own kind the mocker seems usually indifferent, with
the single exception of the crow. So long as this bird kept over the
salt marsh, or flew quite high, or even held his mouth shut, he was not
noticed; but let him fly low over the lawn, and above all let him "caw,"
and the hot-headed owner of the place was upon him. He did not seem to
have an