The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-12-16
THE MOCXING BIRD.
A Charming Description of Ramble
Among the IIaunts of the Ecstatic
NOcalZer.

Near the mouth of the st. Mark
river, as lay under small tree,
mocking-bird came and lit on the top
of ncighboring bush, and sang for me
its rarest and most wonderful combi-
nation, called by the negroes the
dropping song" Whoever has close
" observed the bird has noted its
amounting song" very frequent per-
Torrance, wherein the sOngster begins
on the lowest branch of the tree and
appears literally to mount TO its music,
from bough to ugh, until the high
est spray of the top is reached, where
it will sit for many minutes, ilinging
upon the air an ecstatic stream OF al
most infinitely varied vocalization.
But he who has never heard the drop
ping song has not discovered the last
possibility Of the mocking-bird's voice.
have never found any note Of this
extremely interesting habit by any or
nithologi t, a habit, which is, | sus-
pect, occasional, and connected with
the most tender part of the mating
season. 1t is, in measure, the reverse
OF the mounting song" beginning
where The latter leaves off. | have
heard it but four times, when | was
sure of it, during all my rambIes and
patient observations in the chosen
haunts Of the bird; once in North Geor-
gia, twice in the immediate vicinity of
Tallahassee, Florida, and once near
the st. Mark River, as above men,
toned. have at several other times
heard the song, as | thought, but not
being able TO see the bird, or clearly
distinguish the peculiar notes, | can
not 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 a burst Of strangely rhap-
Sodc music rang from u haw thicket
near our cNtemporzcd camp, "Lis'n,
mars, ism, dar he's a-droppin', he's
a-droppin', Sho's yo' bonn, could
not see the bird, and before could get
my attention rightly fixed upon the
song it had ended.
Something OF the rare aroma, so to
speak, OF the curlously modulated trills
| and quavers fingered in my memory,
| however, along with Uncle Jos graphic
description of the birds actions. After
that | was on the lookout for an oppor-
tunity to verify the negro's statements.
| have not exactly kept the day 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, We're 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 a mocking-bird that was
singing in a snatchy, broken way, as it
tluttered about in thick-topped crab
apple tree thirty yards distant from
me. Suddenly the bird, q fine Speci-
men, leaped like flash to the highest
spray of the tree and began to tlutter
in trembling, peculiar way, with its
wings half-spread and its feathers puff
ed out Almost Immediately there came
q strange, gurgling series OF notes, liq-
uid and sweet, that seemed to express
utter rapture. Then the bird dropped
with u backward motion, from the
spray, and began to fall slowly and
spiralIy down through the bloom-cov.
cred boughs. Its progress was quite
like that OF bird wounded to death by
shot, clnging here and there to q
twig, quiyerng, and weakly strikio 9
with its wings as it fell, but all tn,
time it was pouring forth the most eX
quisite guShes and trillS Of song, not a,
all like It's usual medley Of improvisec
limitations, but striking, almost start
ingly, individual and unique, The birc
appeared to be dying of an ecstasy o
musical inspiration. The lower ii fel
the louder and more rapturouS became
its voice, until the song ended on tn,
ground in burst Of incompatible yo
cal power, 1t remained for Il shor
time, after its song was ended, crouch
Ing where it had fallen, with its wing
oLtspread, and quivcring and pantn!
as if utterly exhausted; then it leapcC
boldly into the air and flew away int
an adjacent thicket Since then, as
have said, three other oppoltunitic
have been afforded me Of watching thi
curiously pleasing exhibition Of bird
acting. can half imagine what an
other ode Keats might have write
had his eyes seen and his ears hear
that strange, fascinating, dramaticall
rendered song. Or it might better hay
suited Shelley powers Of expression
1t is said that the grandcst bursts c
oratory are those which contain stron
trace OF reserve of power This ma
be true; but is not the best song tina
wherein the voice sweeps, with the las
expression of ccstacy, from wave t
wave OF music until with supreme cI
fort it wreaks its fullest power, thu
ending in victory over the final oil
stacIc, as if with its utmost reach? b
this as it may, whoever may be fortr
nate enough to hear the mocking-bird
dropping song" and at the sam
, iitnt fla, l,,rI'.