and the shrieks of the Martin with the curses of the House-Sparrow, the twink, twink of the Chaffinch, and its own care-for-naught chatters, the most practiced ear would not detect the difference.  After being silent for awhile, it often begins with the chue, chue of the House-Sparrow, so exactly imitated in every respect that were it not for what follows, no one would suppose it to be any other bird.  It is called a Mocking-Bird here, and it well deserves the name, for it is a real scoffer at the sorrows of other birds, which it laughs to scorn and turns into ridicule by parodying them so exactly.  I never heard it attempt to imitate any of the Larks or Thrushes, although I have listened to it for hours.

This bird was very plentifully met with in Wharfdale ten years ago, and is also found in this neighbourhood, but I am not aware that anybody in either of these districts ever attempted to keep one in confinement, although from their powers of imitation, I think the experiment well worth trying; probably the idea that it would be difficult to supply them with proper food has prevented the experiment being made. (May 2nd, 1832.)

I am surprised that no other writer on Natural History has noticed the wonderful imitative power of this bird.  So far is the above notice from overstating this bird’s powers of imitation, that I have scarcely enumerated half the notes which it hits off with such wonderful exactness.

In listening to one the other day for about a quarter of an hour, I heard it give three notes of the Swallow, two of the Martin, and two of the Spring-Wagtail; and in addition, notes of the House-Sparrow, Whinchat, Starling, Chaffinch, Whitethroat, Greenfinch, Little Redpole, and Whin-Linnet, besides the notes of half-a-dozen birds which I did not know; at least, a reasoning from analogy would induce me to think them imitations, and I have no right to suppose they were not because I did not happen to recognize them.  I am not strictly correct when I say that it only imitates the alarm-notes (called here fretting-notes) of other birds, for although this is generally the case, it is not invariably so.  For instance, in addition to the alarm-note of the Swallow, chizzic, chizzic, it also had the whit, whit, which the Swallow uses when flying about, and the chatter of self-satisfaction (not the song) which one often hears in a barn when two Swallows are arranging their plan of operations in the spring.  Again, in addition to the shriek of the Martin, there was the note which it utters when on the wing in pursuit of its food.  There was also the chirrup of the Greenfinch, and the whee, whee, whee which is the climax of the Linnet’s song, by which it is so irresistible as a call-bird, and which appears to bring down the flock in spite of themselves.