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CATBIRD 



CATBIRD. 



Catbird: Galcosco^tcs caroliiwiisis. 



Length abciut 9 inches. 



General color .slaty-gray; cap and tail black. 

 Chestnut-red patcli under base of tail. 



Resident from April 20 to October; winters in the South- 

 ern States, Cuba, and Central America. 



The Catbird is one of the best known of our sum- 

 mer residents, l^eing a tenant of most thickets, gar- 

 dens and lawns in the country, and also of the shrub- 

 bery in our city parks. He is easily recognized by 

 the mewing" cry which gives him his name, and by a 

 nervous jerking" of the tail when perching. 



His song is varied, and often exceedingly sweet, 

 but he is a bird of surprises and we never know just 

 what to expect from him. He has the family gift 

 of mimicry (shared with the Mockingbird and 



