crest on the head, and the body covered with feathers brownish-black in color; the other kinds were very much smaller, with the head tinted green, red, or yellow, and with the plumage of the body curiously varied with black, white, gray, and brown spots.[1] By far the most remarkable of the birds discovered in Virginia, and recognized as such in the beginning, was the mocking-bird. It was an object of wonder and admiration to the early adventurers, and it continued to excite the same emotions in later generations as the jester and comedian among birds. The mocking-bird has always shown a strong disposition to build its nest near dwellings, haunting the surrounding trees and shrubbery, and it doubtless exhibited the same preference for the vicinity of the Indian wigwams before the arrival of the English colonists. There were two varieties, the larger being less attractive in its notes, less impulsive in its actions, but more striking in appearance, with its reddish-brown back and wings, and white breast spotted with brown.[2]
The fact was commented upon by Spelman, who had innumerable opportunities, as a captive among the Indians, of studying the different physical characteristics of Virginia when the first settlement was made, that in its territory every bird was found with which Englishmen were familiar at home, excepting the peacock and
- ↑ “There is a tradition among the Virginians,” Clayton wrote in 1688, “that the tongue of the woodpecker dryed will make the teeth drop out if picked therewith, and cure the tooth ach (tho’ I believe little of it, but look on it ridiculous), yet I thought fit to hint as much that others may try, for sometimes such old stories refer to some peculiar virtues.” Clayton’s Virginia, p. 29, Force’s Historical Tracts, vol. III.
- ↑ Clayton’s Virginia, p. 32, Force’s Historical Tracts, vol. III. Clayton comments upon the fact, which had been observed even in that age, that the mocking-bird languished when removed from its native country. “With much difficulty are any of them brought to live in England.”
