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Catbird
Adult--Upper parts dark slaty gray; crown and tail dull black; under parts slaty gray; under tail coverts bright chestnut. Length--8.95.
Breeding Range--Throughout the Eastern States.
The nest is ragged but well made of sticks, leaves, fine roots, weeds, grass, strips of bark, and lined chiefly with fine roots. It is placed in briers or low bushes, usually not more than about seven feet from the ground. The eggs, 3 to 5 in number, are rather dark greenish blue. Size--.95 x .70.
These well-named and well-known birds rank high in the list of our songsters; their song, which, though small in volume, is full of sweetness, may be heard at almost any time of day and in almost any thicket. When the nest is threatened, the owners call together all the other catbirds in that particular thicket, and each one tries to outdo the other in vocal remonstrance.
Knowing them to be highly intelligent, I decided to rear one, thinking, of course, that he would make a delightful pet, but I never succeeded in determining whether the bird was extremely clever or entirely lacking in sense of any sort. His behaviour from the very beginning was a cause of surprise; not a sound did he utter, even when hungry, and that was most unusual, as young birds are not renowned for their quietness. Then he was very late in learning to feed himself, far later than any of my other birds. But his most peculiar conduct was when he was taken out of his cage to fly about in the large wire enclosure; instead of taking advantage of this freedom, he instantly flew to the topmost part, and there sat by the hour immovable, looking much like an awkwardly mounted bird. During the two months I had him there was no change in his behaviour, and seeing nothing to be gained by keeping so uninteresting a pet, I set him free; immediately his whole manner changed, and he resembled a real live catbird. With tail erect in proper catbird fashion, he commenced searching for insects, which previously he had never even noticed, so I decided after all that he was exceeding clever.
The breeding season commences about the middle of May, and two broods are frequently reared.