BIRDS WITH UNMUSICAL VOICES. 127 



ated exactly this way in a certain wooded lot near 

 the road which led down to one of the most beauti- 

 ful sheets of water in Putnam County, N". Y. Lake 

 Mahopac. 



We are aware of the proximity of a catbird by 

 the sudden note of uneasiness which we hear. The 

 sound is certainly very catlike, but harsh and hoarse ! 

 The catbird's notes are devoid of sonorous quality; 

 one is a snappy trut-tut-tut-tut-tut^ and another is 

 a flat and nasal inew which starts loud and suddenly 

 and finishes with a diminuendo, thus : 



sf. ............ dim. 



. a- 

 B ja ~ a ~ a -aa."* 



However similar this may be to the cat's mee-ow, I do 

 not think it is nearly as much like it as the screech of 

 the peacock, who really does say 



" Mee- ow-w- w 



with unmistakable distinctness, and double fortissimo 

 too ! Truth to tell, the peacock can out-yowl the cat 

 on all occasions. 



The catbird, however, is not unmusical ; his mew 

 is perhaps his only rasping note, for when he chooses 

 to sing at the time of nesting, more particularly in 



* The a as in jasper. 



