time and began incubatinti; on July 7, another proof of how perfectly the environment of the birds is suited to their habits. When in the morninj^is, the old monarch of the flock struts back and forth on the fallen tree near the entrance of the enclosure, pompously swelling out his breast, and with trailing wings utters his mellow, "gobble- gobble-gobble," he makes a beautiful picture, the sun reflecting iridescent hues from each copper- and bronze-tinted feather. No ordinary barnyard Thanksgiving reminder, this, but a true native of American forests, who with wolves and panthers has been driven or exterminated from all except the more inaccessible corners of the country. May his descendants increase and live long to enjoy the security and admiration which their quarters in the New York Zoological Park assures them. Mockingbird Notes BY MRS. LUCY GOULD BALDWIN Illustrated by A. Radci.vi-kk Dugmore A PAIR of Mockingbirds passed last winter in my flower garden, at Baldwin. Louisiana. They were fed daily on the porch and be- came so tame that they wouKl pick up crumbs when we were only a few feet from them. Earlier than usual, as the weather was warm and pleasant, they began preparations for housekeeping. A low trellis with a tangle of vines was chosen as the site of their loosely constructed nest of sticks lined with hair, and on March 25 it contained four eggs. April 5 three of the eggs had hatched, the remaining one proving unfertile, and ten days later the three young birds left the nest. About ALay i we missed the female, and the male alone fed the fledg- lings. However, he frequently pecked them and soon drove them viciously out of the garden. May 5 the same nest contained five eggs, which were evidently the prop- erty of the birds that had already raised one brood in it, and on May 17 four of the eggs hatched, the period of incubation, therefore, being about twelve days. On May 29, or, when 12 days old, two of the young left the nest, having been in it two days longer than the first brood. One of the four fell a victim to some enemy in the early morning. On June 7 and 8 the female was seen occasionally, but was indifferent to her young, who were fed by the male early and late. On June 10 and ii these observations were repeated. By the i6th they required less active care and on the 19th came to pick up crumbs from the 'side-board' we had placed on the piazza for the old birds. June 20 the young disappeared and the old birds were seen carrying sticks and Spanish ' moss ' into a ' sweet
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