38 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS 
dle of a thick bush and so is not seen, and partly 
because he does not smg so loud. There is a 
great charm in the catbird’s song. 
The catbird is a charming fellow aside from 
his music. He is as knowing as the mocking- 
bird, and not much afraid of people. He will 
come near to houses to nest, and if not fright- 
ened or disturbed, he will be very familiar. 
Like many other birds, the catbird is kind to 
others in trouble. A pair had a nest near that 
of a pair of robins. One day the robins disap- 
peared — killed, no doubt—and the young in the 
nest began to cry. When one of the catbirds 
came with food for its own nestlings, the robin 
babies would cry to be fed too. Pretty soon the 
catbirds began to feed them. And at night, 
when bird babies need to be covered up by the 
warm feather-bed of their mother’s breast, one 
of the friendly catbirds filled her place, and 
kept them warm all night. So it went on till 
both families were grown up and could fly. 
One writer says: “ All day long the catbird 
watches over the fruit-trees, and kills the insects 
that would destroy them or the fruit. Of course 
he takes his share, especially of cherries, but for 
every one he takes, he eats thousands of insects. 
Where there are no small birds, there will be no 
fruit.” Thirty grasshoppers have been found in 
