Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-11
WAYS OF HOOKING BIRDS
Their Queer Notions Of Territorial Rights
and Their Defense of Them
Areas in Texas Where the Sweet
sOngsters AbOund-LOokfngO Out
for Fenthered Invaders.

From the New Orleans Times Democrat
The most remarkable thing about mock
| ing pird Is Its way of laying out range
| In the autumn 1t goes south and establishes
! itself for the winter on a patch Of ground
| that will yield berries and other food enough
| to last until the following spring. The tract
| Is determined respecting boundaries with as
much accuracy as mining prospector
would use in stalking out claim. Perhaps
1t may be only fifty yards square, or it may
| have length and breadth of as much as
| 100 yards. The space depends mainly upon
the food supply in sight; but the mocking
| bird Is great glutton and wants ten times
| the quantity that would be necessary to
keep him alive. Having laid out his range
| the owner will defend it with his life and
| no other fruft-eating bird is allowed to en-
| ter it.
In this manner vast areas in southwest
Texas are thickly occupied by hooking
birds, each of them holding his range against
| intrusion by neighbors whose tracts Inn
mediately adjoin his. Perhaps a boundary
| line will run through the middle of bush,
| and, II 1t is disputed, You will see the pug
| nacious proprietors trying to settle the
| question after the style of the duello
When very young. after leaving the nest
| the hooking birds keep together in punches,
| feeding along the river courses. At that
stdSe OF their career tney nave Speckled,
| breast feathers. which they shed after a
while. When they are old enough to look
out for themselves they are driven of the
home range. After shedding they separate,
and each one attends exclusively to his own
affairs. Their most important business is
to locate claims of their own. The tramps
are usually young birds looking for home
steads. During most of the year the males
| and females have nothing to do with each
other. The latter seek the woods while the
former browse on the cactus-covered plains.
In the breeding season the hen birds come
to the ranges of the males, but after the
young are reared the cock parts with his
mate. He will not have her on his range,
because he would have to divide the food.
Winter EmpIoymenfs.
In winter the hooking bird doesn't DO
anything but eat and look out for tramps.
Once in while an interlorer will steal into
| the range urobserved ana feed under the
cactus, keeping as still as death The
chosen food of the species consists chiefly
of the fruit of the cactus. mistletoe mes
quite and poison Ivy. The mistietoe is q
parasitic plant that grows on trees, and 1t
| is propagated by the BIRDS which eat the
little white berries and drop the seeds upon
the branches of the trees. Thus they may
be said to plant their own farms The
country describe is very dry, and you will
md mocking birds fifty miles or more from
any water; but what they need in the way
Of moisture is obtained from the cactus and
other juicy fruits.
hooking birds are very fond of water
After rain one may see them pecking the
drops from twigs with avidity. But If far
away from stream-say, more than half q
mile or so-they will never go to it, because
they are afraid to leave their claims even
for few moments lest they be occupied by
intruders. If the stream is not far off the
mocking bird will risk the trip occasionally
He does so with every precaution, first
rising perpendcularly to a great height
in the air. As he passes over the ranges
that lie between his own and the stream
every bird is eager to attack him, but in no
limits of its farm Having obtained the
coveted drink, the hooking bird returns in
the same manner.
Naturally. inasmuch as the available ter
ritory is crowded, each knocking bird holds
his own against continual pressure on every
side. His business is to retain as much
ground as he is able to defend. They are
like human beings in many respects. and
some OF them are much more Intelligent
than others. Certain individuals I have
known year after year, and ] make no at
tempt to trap them, because I know that 1t
is useless. They know too much. Season
after season they occupy the same ranges
and l can point out the very twig upon
which each of these slick fellows finds his
natural perch. Try to catch them with bird
lene! Not much! 1t is a performance I'M
worthy of a skilled trapper: and, besides
1t would ruin the feathers.
Where They Arc Found.
The biggest and best-markei mocking
birds are found within a belt fifty miles
north and fifty miles south of San Antonio
These birds seem to be migrating further
north and further south every year. They
are very prolific. and are steadily increasing
in numbers, apparently. If this is true II
follows that they would be obliged to go
further for 70 I'd. They have their summer
ranges in the north and their winter ranges
in the south. / am not sure that my theory
is correct but 1 have a notion that along
certain narrow line of latitude the mock
year round ard do not migrate at all. Those
a little outside of this belt fly over the
heads of those which are stationary hav-
ing thus a very short migration. This goes
on until you find the hooking birds that are
furthest to the north in summer going fur
thest south in winter. This they are obliged
to do, in order to avoid contest,ng claims Of
territory with the intermediate birds.
Some knocking birds are taken from the
nests but ordinarily they are captured by
means of traps and decoys. For decoy
confined in a cage. The cage has trap at
tachment, 1 put the cage anywhere in the
range of a hooking bird He regards the
decoy bird an intruder and marches
around the cage until he finds an entrance.
He walks in for the purpose of attacking
the captive bird, and the trap closes behind
him. I come along at my leisure, take out
one of the birds and set the cage in the
next range. 1t is very easy. The birds
catch are males; a female knocking bird is
of no use, inasmuch it does not sing.
Necessary PrecautiOn.