BIRDS OF NEW YORK 



475 



green color, and average .95 by .70 inches in size. They are laid from 

 the 15th to the 30th of May, and second sets are often observed as late 

 as the first week in August, evidently two broods often being reared in 

 a season in our latitude. 



This bird is undoubtedly a beneficial species. The greater part of its 

 food during the spring and summer consists of injurious insects. It kills 



Catbird's nest and eggs 



Photo by Ralph S. Paddock 



quite a number of ground beetles and other predaceous insects, however, 

 and as soon as cultivated cherries and berries are ripe it takes a considerable 

 toll of these fruits. Furthermore, he occasionally destroys the eggs of 

 other birds, a habit which, in justice, we must say is not characteristic of 

 this species. I suspect that, like the House wren, he dislikes near neighbors 

 because his food range about the nest is rather circumscribed, and finds 



