THE CATBIRD 



By WITMER STONE 



THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUDUBON SOCIETIES 

 Educational Leaflet No. 70 



Most of our familiar American birds were named by the early settlers 

 after well-known birds of the Old World to which they seemed to bear 

 some resemblance. The Catbird, however, stood forth as a distinctive 

 character of the New World, with no counterpart in the lands across 

 the sea ; and, as in many cases of bird-christening, they named him after 

 the character of his voice, which recalled to them the mewing of a cat. 



Even in America, the Catbird stands apart in a class by himself, so 



A. CATBIRD AT HOME IN A MAPLE-BUSH 



far a> characteristics and color are concerned. We have learned, of 

 course, that he is related to the Mockingbird and Thrashers, but perhaps 

 not so very closely after all. His drab plumage, black cap and tail, and 

 rusty under tail-coverts form a combination of colors not found, at any 

 rate, among other "mockers," nor, indeed, in any other North Ameri- 

 can bird, while the deep blue eggs of the Catbird differ entirely from 

 those of the Mockers and Thrashers, and recall those of the Thrushes, 

 to which family, indeed, it would seem that the Catbird has some kinship. 



