338 BULLETIN 195, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



The catbird during courtship sings a song that differs from the territory song 

 chiefly in intensity. It is low and soft and almost in a whisper and is usually 

 sung with the bill closed. One must be near the singer to hear the song. The 

 bird closes its bill and sings the familiar carol so softly that it is audible only a 

 short distance ; at times the catbird accompanying them with a grotesque dis- 

 play, spreading the wings and tail and fluffing out the feathers. 



It is not always certain, however, that peculiar songs at the height of the mat- 

 ing season are stimulated by the presence of the female. At times they may be 

 due to the presence of a rival male, for bird song is used in battle as well as in 

 courtship. It is not uncommon to see birds fighting in the season of courtship 

 and mating. Whether the battle be over mates, or over territory it is often 

 accomplished by song. 



During the summer of 1910 the catbirds were abundant about Fairy- 

 land Place, Bermuda Islands. A pair of them had built their nest in 

 a cedar tree about 4 feet above ground and just outside my window. 

 The song of unusually high musical quality, pleasing and indescrib- 

 ably beautiful, was sung frequently throughout the day and sometimes 

 well into the night. One of this pair was seen and heard to sing 

 while on the nest, a curious behavior, which would seem to advertise 

 the location of the nest to possible enemies lurking in the neighbor- 

 hood. This trait is not peculiar to the Bermuda catbird residents, 

 for O. W. Knight (1908) writes: "I have known the male bird to 

 engage in song while on the nest and to keep it up for some minutes 

 at a time." Several observers have seen the female catbird singing 

 while on the nest. Helen G. Whittle (1923) writes: "One day as I 

 sat close to the window, within 3 or 4 feet of her, I was amazed and 

 delighted to hear her, while sitting on the nest, take up the strain her 

 lord was singing. She followed it in all of its intricacies, perfectly 

 and beautifully, but in a 'whisper' voice. On a later day she did a 

 similar thing, though in briefer, less brilliant fashion." 



On June 28, 1907, 1 was camping on the Ohio River near Shelterville, 

 southern Illinois. About midnight I was awakened by a chorus of 

 bird voices. It was a gorgeous, clear, moonlit night, so bright that 

 it was almost like day. When I strolled outside the camp I heard 

 the songs of the yellow-breasted chat, the mockingbird, the Carolina 

 wren, and the catbird, in this unusual medley of moonlight serenaders. 

 They all seemed at their best, but had it not been for the fact that I 

 could see the singers it would have been difficult to identify some of the 

 performers. Both the mockingbird and catbird were giving a full 

 series of imitations and at times were carrying the parts of the chat 

 and wren of this musical quartet. 



In correspondence received from Francis H. Allen he writes : "On 

 May 19, 1923, nearly 2 hours before sunrise, I heard the nocturnal 

 song from a catbird. He sang for some time very sweetly but slowly, 

 the phrases coming much farther apart than in the usual daytime 

 singing." Mrs. Marie A. Commons (1930) has beautifully and 



