The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-12
ABOUT MOCKING BIRDS.
They Divide the Country Into Pro-.
prietnry Tracts, Which They De
feud FferceIy.

pfAetarE Iractss Ahich Ihey DC
fend FierceIy.
From the New Orleans Times Democrat
The most remarkable thing about a
hooking bird is it's way Of laying out a
range In the autumn it goes south and es-
tablishes 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 respect
ing boundaries with.as. much accuracy as
mining prospector would use In stalking
out a claim Perhaps ii may be only nifty
yards square, or II 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 glut-
ton and wants ten times the quantity that
would be necessary to keep him alive,
Having laid out his range, the owner VIII
defend It with his life. and no other fruit
eating bird is permitted to enter ii.
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 Immediately, aljoin. ,his, Perhaps q
boundary line wilLrun throN gh thf middle
of bush and, il it is disputed, you will
see the pugnacious proprie tors trying 10
settle question by a conflict after the
style of the duello.
When very young after leaving the nest,
the hooking birds keep together in bunch
es, feeding along the river courses. At
that stage of their career they have speck-
led breast feathers, which they shed after
a while When they are old enough TO look
out for themselves, they are driven off OF
the home range. After shedding they sep
arate, 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 look
ing for homesteads.. During most of the
year the males and females have nothing
to do with eachsother. The latter seek the
woods while the former browse on the
cactus-covered plains In the breeding
season the hen birds come to the range
of the males, but, after the young are
reared, the cock parts with his mate. lie
viii not have her on his range in winter,
because he would have to divide the food.
In winter the mocking bird doesn't do
anything but eat and look out for tramps.
Once in a while an interloper Will steal
into the range unobserved and feed udrr
the cactus, keeping as still as death. the
chosen food of the species consists chiehy
of the fruit of the cactus, mistletoe, mes
quite and poison ivy. The mistletoe is q
parasitic plant that grows on trees, and ii
is propa gated 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 | described is very dry, and
you will find hooking 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.
Mocking birds are very fond Of water.
After rain one may see them pecking the
drops from twigs with avidity. But If far
away from a stream-say, more than half
~, .rfsl1 f1rxx m, 70 he
cause they are afraid to leave their claims
even for a few moments lest they be oc-
cupied by intruders. If the stream is not
far off the hooking bird will risk the trip
occasionally He does so with every pre-
caution, first rising perpendieularly TO
great hight 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 case will any bird pursue
him beyond the limits of it's farm. Hav-
ing obtained the coveted drink. the mock
ing bird returns in the same manner.
Naturally, inasmueh as the available ter
ritory is crowded, each mocking bird holds
his own against continual pressure on ev-
cry side His business is TO retain as
much ground as he is able 10 defend. They
are like human beings in many respects.
and some of them are much more intelli-
gent than others. Certain individuals
have known year after year. and | make
no attempt to trap them, because l know
that il is useless. They know too much.
Season after season they occupy the same
ranges, and 1 can point out the very twig
upon which each of these slick fellows
fnds his natural perch Try to catch
them with bird lime? Not much 1t is
performance unworthy Of a skilled trap.
per; and, besides. 1t would ruin the feath-
ers.
The biggest and best-marked hooking
birds are found within belt fifty miles
north and fifty miles south Of San An
tonic. These birds seem to be migrating
further north and further south every
year They are very prolific and are
steadily increasing IN numbers, apparent
". If this is true, it follows that they
would be obliged 10 go further for food.
They have their summer ranges IN the
north and their winter ranges In the south.
I am not sure that my theory Is correct,
but ] have a notion that along a certain
narrow line of latitude the mocking birds
stay on the same ranges all the year
around and 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 md the hooking birds
that are fIrthest 20 the north IA summer
going furthest 20 the south IN winter. This