23 



have gone ? That is not so easy to answer, but that they still exist in undimin- 

 ished numbers I am able to state positively, for so late as last March (189«) I saw 

 many thousands passing over Toronto from west to east. The flight lasted from 

 dayliulit to nine or ten o'clock every fine morning for about a week. I have seen 

 tills same movement every spring for years. My opinion is that the birds have 

 gone back to the new set tlciiiciits, where they can still find snake fences and 

 pastures in which the oM stiiinps .ue standing — our modern barbed wire which 

 which has taken the place of tlic old stake and rider fence having deprived them 

 of a favorite nesting place. The up-to-date fruit grower, too, no longer allows 

 liis apple trees to go untrimmed and full of holes, but cuts out the old trees and 

 replaces them with young ones. This has removed many of the old nesting sites, 

 and the birds have spread out over the large area of new country now being 

 brought under cultivation. They introduced themselves to the Province of Mani- 

 toba about 1884, and have since become quite common there, having evidently 

 followed the settlers, as they were quite unknown in that country before it was 

 brought under general cultivation. The utility of this bird as an insect destroyer 

 is beyond question. It eats neither grain nor fruit ; occasionally in stormy 

 weather, in early spring when insect food is hard to obtain, it will eat the 

 berries of the sumach, but that is the only vegetable substance I have ever known 

 it to take. The beauty of its plumage, its sprightly spring song, and even the 

 rather melancholy farewell notes in which it bade us good-bye, as it drifted 

 southward in the last days of October, made it a great favorite everywhere, and 

 every lover of nature would be glad to see it return and take its old place about 

 the farm once more. 



Gat bird. Neither this nor the succeeding species belong to the Thrush 

 family, but there is a sufficient similarity in their food habits to warrant our con- 

 sidering theiu here. They are closely allied to the famous Mocking Bird of the 

 south, and their musical powers are not very much inferior to that splendid 

 songster. They do not, however, so frequently exercise their power of mimicry. 

 The peculiar mewing note uttered by the Cat bird has caused a certain amount 

 of prejudice to exist against it, and has made it subject to persecution at the 

 hands of most boys ; but apart from this unpleasant note, the Cat bird is one of 

 the most accomplished musicians we have, and it is moi-e to be admired because 

 it does not retire into solitude to pour out its joyous songs, but leather seeks the 

 society of mankind, and in the morning and evening will sing its clear notes from 

 the top of some tree in elo.se proximity to the dwelling house. Its food in the 

 early part of the season consi.sts almost entirely of caterpillars and beetles, which 

 it obtains generally fi-om the branches and leaves of trees, though sometimes 

 after rain it seeks for cut worms and other grubs from the ground. Later in the 

 year it feeds largely upon cMiTlxTrics ami other small wild fruits, and does occas- 



sionally levy some slight toll IV tln' g.irden ; but for all the cultivated fruit it 



lakes it has amply repaid tlie gardener Iry its efforts in the destruction of the 

 insect tribe. 



Brown, Thrush or Tlirddu'r. All that I have said of the Cat Bird applies to 

 this species, but it is not i|uite,so familiar and contiding in its habits. It displays 

 a decided preference for thick shrubbery at some little distance from the house 

 Here it remains in seclusii m tor the greater part of the day, but in the early morn- 

 ing and evening the male bird mounts to the top of some tall tree near its haunt, 

 and for an hour or so will sing his beautiful song, which is much louder, though 

 less varied, than that of the Cat bird. 



Wjto.s. This is a most interesting and useful family of very small birds. Four 

 -species of them are found in this Province in the summer. Two of them, the 



