66 FOOD OF WEST VIRGINIA BIRDS 



CHAPTER XI. 

 THRASHERS, WRENS, KINGLETS, NUTHATCHES AND TITMICE. 



A Complex Group. 



In this motley array and somewhat conglomerate group of birds we 

 have species of five different families as indicated in the caption of this 

 chapter. In this part of the country these five families are represented 

 by but few species and they can not be described in separate chapters. 

 The first of these families includes the Mockingbird, Catbird and Brown 

 Thrashers; the second family is made up of five species, the Carolina 

 Wren, Bewick's Wren, House Wren, Winter Wren and Long-billed Marsh 

 Wren; the third family includes three very diminutive species, the Golden- 

 crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher; the 

 fourth family has only two members that are found in our State, the 

 White-brested Nuthatch and the Red-breasted Nuthatch, while the last 

 family includes the three Titmice, Tufted Titmouse, Chickadee, and 

 Carolina Chickadee. Perhaps there should also be included in this group 

 the lone representative of the Creeper family, the Brown Creeper, and a 

 few other rare species scarcely ever occurring within our State. As may 

 be learned by observation or by the reading of this chapter, these birds 

 differ greatly in the appearance, songs, food, nesting, and general con- 

 duct. In the following paragraphs a short account of these families will 

 be given. 



Mockingbird, Catbird and Thrasher. 



The first family includes the Mockingbird, Catbird and Brown Thrasher. 

 The Mockingbird is found in the summer time in the southern part of 

 the State and in the valleys east of the mountains. In no place in West 

 Virginia is this famous bird very common, and in many sections it is 

 not found at all. Last summer I found a little family of Mockingbirds at 

 Lewisburg and was told by Mr. Charles O. Handley that they are occasion- 

 ally seen in that section at almost any season of the year. I was greatly 

 interested in seeing them feed on the berries of an early-ripe species of 

 holly that is found in great abundance in the frequent depressions in 

 the lime-stone plateaus of that section. The food of the Mockingbird is 

 made up of insects and fruit. 



The most common member of this family is the well-known Catbird. 

 Its onomatopoetic notes may be heard almost anywhere from the lowest 

 valley to the highest mountain from the last week in April to the first 

 week in October. Its distribution is general throughout the State and its 

 presence adds much to the pleasure of out-door life. Our Catbird is a 

 near relative of the true southern Mockingbird just mentioned. So 

 well do all our teachers, farmers and boys and girls know this bird that 

 no description of its appearance is needed. Its food-habits, however, 

 should be studied carefully. In some places the Catbird is a serious 

 annoyance to fruit growers. About one-half of the food of the Catbird 

 consists of insects, many of them being of destructive species, while 



