THRUSHES. 43 



in a bush, thicket, or briar, and is composed outwardly of 

 sticks (and sometimes one or two rags intermixed), being 

 lined with strips of bark from the grape-vine or cedar, dead 

 leaves, rootlets, and other things of the same sort. The eggs 

 of each set are 3-5, usually four, of a fine dark green, bluish- 

 tinted, and measure about .95 X .70 of an inch. Two broods 

 are sometimes raised in the summer. 



c. The Catbirds are in summer very common in the old 

 Bay State, and are familiar to many of its inhabitants, usu- 

 ally appearing in their haunts here in the first week of May, 

 some returning to the South in September, others waiting 

 until the middle of October. Though very numerous in the 

 cultivated districts of Massachusetts, they are rather rare in 

 the northern parts of New England ; and yet " they have been 

 met with in arctic countries," as have Robins also. They for 

 the most part prefer the neighborhood of man and of culti- 

 vated soil, though one may often find their nests in wild spots, 

 far from any house, since they roam over all the open country. 

 Though never properly gregarious, individuals do the work of 

 a host in destroying injurious insects ; eating the caterpillars, 

 which they find in orchards, shrubbery, bushes, and thickets, 

 and feeding upon " cut- worms," which they obtain in ploughed 

 lands. This fare they vary by occasionally catching winged 

 insects, as they fly through the air, but more often by eating 

 berries of various kinds, chiefly such as grow in swamps. 



From the nature of their usual employment, they rarely have 

 occasion to perch very far above the ground, or to take other 

 than short flights, since they pass most of their time in shrub- 

 bery, when frightened, generally taking refuge in a thicket, 

 or a clump of bushes, so as to be effectually lost to sight. 

 Though not habitually bold, they are often brave, in resenting 

 intrusions on their nests, giving a warm reception to cats, 

 driving away or killing snakes, and occasionally flying at 

 men. Two things are easily observable in the habits of these 

 Thrushes, namely : When on the ground, they can move about 

 with agility, and when perched, they often flirt their tails, or, 

 when singing, depress them in a peculiar manner which renders 

 their attitude rather ludicrous. In autumn, before their de- 



