292 MOCKING BIRD, |

which he exquisitely manages, are mingled with the
screaming of swallows, or the cackling of hens. Amidst
the simple melody of the robin, one is suddenly sur-
prised by the shrill reiterations of the whip-poor-will;
while the notes of the kill-deer, blue jay, martin, baltimore,
and twenty others, succeed, with such imposing reality,
that the auditors look round for the originals, and with
astonishment discover that the sole performer in_ this
singular concert is the admirable bird now before us.

- During this exhibition of his powers, he spreads his
‘wings, expands his tail, and throws himself around the
cage in all the ecstasies of enthusiasm, seeming not only
to sing but to dance, keeping time to the measure of
his own masic. Both in his native and domesticated
state during the stillness of the night, as soon as the
moon rises, he begins his delightful solo, making. the
whole néighbourhood resound with his imitable medley.”