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Range (Breeds from the Bahamas)

Breeds from the Bahamas and Mexico to southern Illinois and northern New Jersey, and rarely to Massachusetts; winters from Virginia southward.

Washington, uncommon P. K., less numerous in winter. Cambridge, rare S. R., Mch. to Nov.

Nest, of coarse twigs, weed stalks, etc., lined with rootlets, cotton, etc., in thickets, orange trees, etc. Eggs, four to six, pale greenish blue or bluish white, sometimes with a brownish tinge, rather heavily spotted and blotched, chiefly at the larger end, with cinnamon- or rufous-brown, 1.00 x 72. The Mockingbird might be called our national song-bird; his remarkable vocal powers have made him famous the world over, while our more retiring Thrushes are scarcely to be found mentioned outside the literature of ornithology. He is a good citizen, and courting rather than shunning public life, shows an evident interest in the affairs of the day. He lives in our gardens, parks, and squares, and even in the streets of the town, and is always alert and on the qui vive; a selfappointed guardian, whose sharp alarm note is passed from bird to bird like the signals of watchmen.

In Florida, Mockingbirds begin to sing in February, and by March 1 the air rings with music. The heat of midday is insufficient to quell their ardor, and on moonlight nights many birds sing throughout the night.

It is customary to consider the Mockingbird a musician possessed of marvelous technique, but with comparatively little depth of feeling. He is said to create intense admiration without reaching the soul. But listen to him when the world is hushed, when the air is heavy with the rich fragrance of orange blossoms and the dewy leaves glisten in the moonlight, and if his song does not thrill you then confess yourself deaf to Nature's voices. Writers have compared the Mockingbird's song with that of other THRASHERS, WRENS, ETC. renowned songsters-the Nightingale, for instance-but Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, writing in Prof. Newton's Dictionary of Birds, puts it very nicely when he says: "I believe, were he successfully introduced into those countries where the Nightingale flourishes, that princely performer might some day wince as he was obliged to listen to his own most powerful strains poured forth with all their native purity by this king of feathered mockers. ... دو Nevertheless, it must not be supposed that every Mockingbird is a mocker; there is much variation in their imitative gifts. Mr. L. M. Loomis tells me of a Mockingbird he once heard singing in South Carolina who imitated the notes of no less than thirty-two different species of birds found in the same locality, and this during ten minutes' continuous singing! This was a phenomenal performance, one I have never heard approached, for in my experience many Mockingbirds have no notes besides their own, and good mockers are exceptional. 704. Galeoscoptes carolinensis (Linn.). CATBIRD. (See Fig. 55, b.) Ad. Crown and tail black; under tail-coverts chestnut, sometimes spotted with slaty, and rarely largely slaty; rest of the plumage slaty gray. L. , 8.94; W., 3·54; T., 3.65; B., 60.

Range.-North America; breeds in the eastern United States from the Gulf States to New Brunswick and northwestward to the Saskatchewan and States to New Brunswick and northwestward to the Saskatchewan and British Columbia; winters from Florida southward.

Washington, abundant S. R., Apl. 20 to Oct.; occasionally winters. Sing Sing, common S. R., Apl. 28 to Oct. 25. Cambridge, abundant S. R., May 6 , common S. R., Apl. 28 to Oct. 25. Cambridge, abundant S. R., May 6 to Sept. to Sept. 30.

Nest, of twigs, grasses, and leaves, lined with rootlets, in thickets or densely foliaged trees. Eggs, three to five, rich greenish blue, 94 x 67. The Catbird is one of the most intelligent birds in North America. He is inclined to be very friendly to man, and where he is well treated and his confidence won he likes to nest near our homes, showing himself delightfully familiar, coming around the door steps, answering one's calls and talk, and singing by the hour for our entertainment. In the garden and orchard he is as useful as he is enchanting, for he is an untiring devourer of insects, and his value in preserving our fruits can hardly be overrated. In this way he earns his full share of the fruit protected, and it should not be grudged to him when he proceeds to take it, as he surely will. It is not generally known that the Catbird is a charming singer, for the reason, probably, that his song is rarely loud, and is preferably given from the depths of the thickest shrub he can find. One more often hears than sees him sing, and will miss even the hearing unless quite near, and gifted with a listening ear, ever open to bird notes. The Catbird mother is one of the most anxious and devoted. If THRASHERS, WRENS, ETC. her nest is discovered, she exhibits so much distress that one sympathetic to bird griefs has no heart to pursue investigations. The Catbird is generous and helpful to others of his kind in trouble of any sort, feeding and caring for deserted or orphaned young ones of any species, and always ready to aid distracted parents in the defense of their home and little ones. He is of a lively and restless temperament, entirely lacking the serene repose of his near relatives, the Thrushes. He is always tossing upward or spreading his tail, jerking his lithe body about, now crouching like a cat ready to spring, then straightening himself up very tall; one moment puffing his feathers out till he looks like a ball, and the next holding them closely against his body. He is very playful, full of droll pranks and quaint performances. I know of no bird better worth cherishing and cultivating than the Catbird. OLIVE THORNE MILLER. 705. Harporhynchus rufus (Linn.). BROWN THRASHER; BROWN