76 BIRD WORLD. 



parts, and black for a crown, and a tail that the owner 

 is continually jerking, — you may surprise yourself 

 by discovering the bird some day, for he is by no 

 means unfamiliar with the thickets around village 

 homes. If you should think you had done so, make 

 quite sure by looking for a reddish patch on the 

 under side of the tail, and a black bill. 



It is said that a cat is fonder of places than of 

 persons. Not so our little Catbird, as a story told by 

 Miss Merriam has shown us. It is of a gentle old 

 lady, who lived in a cottage behind an old-fashioned 

 garden, whose rose-covered trellises, lilacs, and other 

 shrubs and trees made it a happy spot for a resting 

 place or a summer home both for birds and people. 



The Catbird was the " comrade and favorite " of the 

 owner of the cottage, who loved all birds and flowers. 

 The bird would call for her in the morning, till she 

 came to answer him with a whistle ; then he would 

 be satisfied, and would find a perch and pour out his 

 morning song. This w^ould be repeated many times 

 a day in the little rests he took from his domestic 

 duties. 



It was plain that the bird was fond of her society, 

 for when it happened one summer that the lady was 

 away from home when he came north, and the place 

 looked deserted, he found another place in which 

 to build his nest. When the old lady returned, she 



