"Out of the mocking-bird's throat, the musical shuttle"

Gray Catbird

Whitman's "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" relates a boy's discovery of a mockingbird nest and the perceived sorrow of the male partner upon losing his mate. Here is what the Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior says about the breeding habits of the mimid family of birds, to which the mockingbird belongs:

"All North American mimids are essentially monogamous; the few reports of polygyny [one male with multiple partners] are mainly limited to the Northern Mockingbird.  Pair-bonding usually occurs at the onset of the breeding season, especially in migrant species such as the Gray Catbird, but can occur at any season in some of the resident [nonmigratory] thrashers. In some species, particularly Le Conte's and Curve-billed Thrashers, pairs can bond for several years."

The poem, like many of the others in Leaves of Grass, show Whitman's long and abiding connection to the natural world.

Photo by Matthew Petroff ( http://www.mpetroff.net/archives/2012/06/11/cats-and-catbirds).