CAT BIRDS AND MOCK-THRUSHES. 



so powerful or so plaintive, but it really is beautiful 

 when he makes up his mind to sit down to it." 



My bird began to sing properly on March 27th, 1895, 

 and from that time forward he was one of the greatest 

 attractions of my collection. His song was a continuous 

 musical entertainment, consisting of parts of the songs 

 and calls of the Song Thrush, Blackbird, Virginian 

 Cardinal, Linnet, Tientsin Lark, Oxeye Tit, and even 

 the distant cawing of the Rook, so charmingly com- 

 mingled that the whole had a meet pleasing effect upon 

 the listener. 



I was unfortunate enough to lose my first bird about 

 1896, and for three or four years 1 was without a 

 specimen of this prince of songsters ; then a lady wrote 

 from Paris, saying that she was about to travel and 

 wished to find a home for her pet Mocking-bird and a 

 pied Blackbird, the former an old friend, and asking 

 if I would have them. Of course, I gratefully accepted, 

 as I had two large cages vacant. The Blackbird did 

 not live long, but the Mocking-bird is still in full song, 

 though evidently now a very old bird with terribly 

 crippled claws ; he was by no means a young bird when 

 he came into my hands, and six or seven years make a 

 difference when a bird is on the down-grade. This bird 

 is a fine singer, but does not approach his predecessor 

 for variety of execution, nor does he mimic so accurately 

 the songs of the birds around him, but the Thrush and 

 Blackbird are well represented in his performance, i 

 fancy the Thrush-like commencement of a Mocking- 

 bird's song must be natural to it. The species was 

 bred by Mr. Farrar in 1901. 



SATURNINE MOCKING-BIRD (Mimus saturmnus). 



Upper surface brownish-grey, with fawn-whitish lores 

 and eyebrow stripe ; ear-coverts blackish ; feathers of 

 back with darker centres and pale margins ; bend ol 

 wing white ; all the wing-coverts with yellowish ashy 

 borders; flights clear grey below; outermost tail 

 feathers white tipped ; whole under surface yellowish 

 ash, the throat whiter; flank feathers with dark shaft 

 streaks ; bill brownish horn grey ; eyes brown ; feet 

 greyish brown. According to Burmeister the male 

 may 'be distinguished by a noticeable rusty yellowish 

 tint, especially on the under surface, and much 

 narrower, more pointed tail feathers with longer white 

 tips. The ground colour of the female is greyer, and 

 the form of the tail feathers more obtuse. The young 

 bird, according to von Pelzeln, shows broad pale red- 

 dish 'borders to the feathers of the middle 

 and lower back, pale rust-coloured borders to 

 the wing-coverts, and strongly-spotted under sur- 

 face. The egg is greenish, with rust-red spots, 

 mast dense at the small end, according to Burmeister. 

 Habitat, Campos of Inner Brazil, not rare at Lagoa 

 Santa. According to Burmeister, this species runs 

 much on the earth, and thereby acquires quite a red- 

 dish yellow abdomen, due to the loamy dust adhering 

 to it; the tail feathers also are usually dirty and worn. 

 The nest is built in bushes on the Campos, and contains 

 four to five eggs. 



Fockelmann, of Hamburg, says that there are some 

 admirable songsters among these Campos Mocking 

 Birds, and therefore, as Dr. Rutss says, it is the more 

 to be regretted that they are so rare in the mairket. 

 The present species has appeared twice in the list of our 

 Zoological Society, but has not yet reached the 

 Amsterdam Gardens. At a great exhibition of the 

 Natural History Society at St. Gallen, in 1878, a single 

 specimen was offered at the price of sixty francs.* 



* iiuss describes the Leaden-grey Mocking-bird (Mimus lividus) 

 from Brazil, and says that it has only been brought home twice : by 

 Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria on his return from Brazil ; and one 

 example came also to the Amsterdam Gardens. 



CAT BIRDS (Galeoscoptes). 



AMERICAN CAT BIRD (Galeoscoptes carolinensis). 



Upper surface slate grey ; crown and nape brownish 

 to deep black ; wing coverts iblack brown with leaden 

 grey borders, a large white patch on the wings ; tail 

 feathers black, the two outermost white-bordered at the 

 tips or Avholly white, the second pair usually white- 

 spotted on both sides ; body below clear ash grey, the 

 feathers of the sides tipped with leaden grey ; throat 

 clear grey or whitish ; under tail coverts bright chest- 

 nut brown ; bill black ; eyes dark brown to yellow ; 

 feet greenish to blackish brown. Female rather 

 smaller, the white patch on the underside of the wing 

 fawaller and duller, and the white on the outer tail 

 feathers more restricted. Young distinctly brown grey 

 above, below with dark spots. Habitat, Northern 

 States of North America, from the Atlantic to the 

 Pacific, but commonest in the Eastern States ; it ranges 

 northwards into Canada and south -west wards to Texas. 



In his work on tlhe "Land Birds of California" (1870), 

 speaking of this species as common on the Columbia 

 river, J. G. Cooper says: "There, as elsewhere, it 

 inhabits low thickets or detached bushes, making its 

 nest of strips of bark, twigs, roots, and such odd scraps, 

 as bits of rag, snake skin, newspaper, etc. The eggs 

 are four or five, and of a deep emerald green, without 

 spots. Their food consists of insects, worms, fruits, 

 and berries. The ordinary call note resembles the mew 

 of a cat, but it has a very agreeable song, in some 

 respects imitating the notes of other birds." 



Dr. Russ fills pagte after page with descriptions of this 

 bird and its song, but the above gives all necessary 

 information as to its wild life. 



Ir< The Avicultural Magazine, 1st series, Vol. 8, 

 pp. 226-8 and 285-7, the Rev. C. D. Farrar has given an 

 account of hdis success in breeding Cat Birds in cap- 

 tivity: '"An olid Blackbird's nest was pulled to 

 pieces, and with tlh'ese materials the hen built in a 

 bush. The nest was 'beautifully constructed in three 

 days, and three eggs were laid (which Mr. Farrar 

 describes as exactly resembling those of the Hedge 

 Sparrow in colour); the eggs began to hatch in 

 about twelve days, but the young of that nest all died. 

 About a week later the hen repaired the nest, and 

 was soon laying again ; three eggs were deposited, of 

 which two were hatched and were successfully reared. 

 They left the nest when about thirteen days' old full 

 fledged, excepting for the lack of tails." Mr. Fanrar 

 say a they can only be reared upon living insect food ; he 

 does not say whefther he tried the parents with earth- 

 woims; but judging from my experience of the various 

 Thrushes, both wild and in captivity. I should imagine 

 that thase would have been acceptable. 



MOCK=THRUSHES. 



BROWN MOCK-THRUSH (Harporhynchus rufus). 



Male above yellowish to clear brownish red ; head and 

 sides of neck clear reddish yellow ; lores and eyebrow- 

 stripe deeper yellowish red ; a moustachial stripe from 

 the lower mandible formed of the characteristic Thrush- 

 like triangular spots ; wings rust-red, with one darker 

 and two lighter transverse bands ; flights brown, with 

 darker margins to the inner webs ; middle and greater 

 coverts with the outer portions brownish black, and a 

 terminal yellowish white spot (forming the two pale 

 bands) ; under wing-coverts reddish brown ; tail-feathers 

 washed with the same colour, but tipped with whitish ; 



