Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1884-10-30
Gales and Sketehrs.
In the Haunts of the Mocking-BIrd.
By MAURICE THOMPSON.

! Near the mouth of the ST. Marks River
as lay under small tree, a hooking
| bird came and lit on the top of a neighbor
ing bush, and sang for me its rarest ant
most wonderful combination, called bl
the negroes the dropping song" Who
ever has closely observed the bird ha.
noted its mounting song" very fire.
quent performance. wherein the songstel
begins on the lowest branch of tree anc
appears literally 10 mount on its music
from bOugh to Dough. until the highest
spray of the top is reached, where it will
cit for many minutes fiinging upon the air
an ecstatic stream OF almost Infinitely
varied vocalization. But he who has
never heard the dropping song has not
discovered the last possibility Of the mock
ing birds voice. have never found any
note of this extremely interesting habit o!
the bird by any ornithologist, habit
which is, | suspect. occasional, and con-
nected with the most tender part of the
mating season. 1t is, in a measure, the
reverse Of the mounting song" begin
ming where the latter leaves off. | have
heard it but tour times. when | was sure
of it, during all my rambles and patient
observations in the chosen haunts of the
bird: once in North Georgia, twice in the
immediate vicinity of Tallahassee. Fla.
and once near the St. Marks River, as
above mentioned. have at several other
times heard the song. as thought, but
not being able to see the bird, or clearly
distinguish the secular notes, / cannot
register these as certainly correct.
My attention was first called to
this interesting performance by an
aged negro man, who. being with me on
an egg hunting expedition. cried out one
morning, as burst of strangely raphso-
die music rang from a haw thicket near
our extemporized camp, ''Lis'n, mars.
lis'n, dar, he's droppin', he's droppin'
sho's yo' bon" | could not see the
bird, and before could get my attention
rightly fixed upon tie song, it had ended.
Something of the rare aroma, so to
speak, of the curiously modulated trills
and quavers fingered in my memory how
ever, along with Uncle Joe's graphic
description of the birds actions. After
that was on the lookout for an opportu-
nifty to verify the negro's statements.
have not exactly kept the date of my first
actual observation, but it was late in April
or very early in May; for the crab-apple
trees. growing wild in the Georgian hills,
were in full bloom, and spring had come
to stay, | had been out since the first
sparkle of daylight. The sun was rising,
and | had been standing quite still for
some minutes, watching Il hooking bird
that was singing in a snatchy, broken way
as it huttered about in a thick topped crab
apple tree thirty yards distant from me.
Suddenly the bird, a fine specimen, leaped
like a flash to the highest spray of the
tree, and began to flutter in Il trembling,
peculiar way, with its wings half spread
and its feathers pulled out. Almost i'm
mediately there came strange, gurgling
series of notes, liquid and sweet, that
seemed to express utter rapture. Then
the bird dropped with backward motion,
from the spray. and began to fall slowly
and somewhat spirally down through the
blossom covered boughs. Its progress
was quite like that of a bird
wounded to death by shot, cingine
here and there to twig, quivering, and
weakly striking with its wings as it fell
but all the time it was pouring forth the
most exquisite gushes and trills of song
not at all like its usual medley of impro
vised limitations. but strikinglS, almost
startlngly. individual and unique. The
bird appeared to be dying of an ecstasy o
musical inspiration. The lower it fel
the louder and more raptuous became it:
voice, until the song ended on the grounC
in a burst of Incompatible vocal power
1t remained for a short time, after its song
was ended. crouching where it had fallen
with its wings outspread, and quiverinG
and painting as If utterly exhausted; ther
it leaped boldly into the air and flew away
into an adjacent thicket. Since then. as
have said, three other opportunities have
been afforded me of Witnessing this curl
ously pleasing exhibition of bird acting
| can half imagine what another ode
Keats might have written had his eve
seen and his ears heard that strange, fas
cinating. dramatically rendered song. O
it might better have suited Shelley's pow
ers of expression. 1t is said that thu
grandest bursts of oratory are those whicl
contain strong trace of a reserve O
power. This NAV be true; but is not tn
best song that wherein the voice sweeps
with the last expression of ecstasy, from
wave to wave of music until with su
preme effort it wreaks its fullest power
thus ending in victory over the final oh
stacle, as if with its utmost reach B
this as it may, whoever may be fortunat
enough to hear the mocking-bird's ''drop
ping song" and at the same time see tn
birds action, will at once have the ide
of genius. pure and simple, suggested t
him-N0renaber atlantic.