The Burgess Bird Book for Children 



old friend of whom he is very fond, Kitty the Cat- 

 bird. In contrast with Glory, Kitty seemed a reg- 

 ular little Quaker, for he was dressed almost wholly 

 in gray, a rather dark, slaty-gray. The top of 

 his head and tail were black, and right at the base 

 of his tail was a patch of chestnut color. He was 

 a little smaller than Welcome Robin. There was 

 no danger of mistaking him for anybody else, for 

 there is no one dressed at all like him. 



Peter forgot all about Glory in his pleasure at 

 discovering the returned Kitty and hurried over to 

 welcome him. Kitty had disappeared among the 

 bushes along the old stone wall, but Peter had no 

 trouble in finding him by the queer cries he was 

 uttering, which were very like the meow of Black 

 Pussy the Cat. They were very harsh and un- 

 pleasant and Peter understood perfectly why their 

 maker is called the Catbird. He did not hurry in 

 among the bushes at once but waited expectantly. 

 In a few minutes the harsh cries ceased and then 

 there came from the very same place a song which 

 seemed to be made up of parts of the songs of all 

 the other birds of the Old Orchard. It was not 

 loud, but it was charming. It contained the 

 clear whistle of Glory, and there was even the tinkle 

 of Little Friend the Song Sparrow. The notes of 

 other friends were in that song, and with them were 

 notes of southern birds whose songs Kitty had 

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