156 HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



He has the habit of flitting from bush to bush, where you 

 cannot easily observe him, but where he can the better 

 observe you. If you come too near his nest, he utters a 

 long-drawn-out zeay, zeay, which has sounded to some peo- 

 ple like the low mew of a cat and has given him the name 

 catbird. If you are careful, you can approach him close 

 enough to distinguish his black tail and crown from the 

 dark slate back. If you sit down and observe him perched 

 above you, you can see that he is dark ashy gray below and 

 marked with a distinct rust-red spot under the tail. 



The catbirds arrive in the last week of April, and begin 

 to sing and build their nests as soon as the days become 

 warm and spring-like. Early, before sunrise, perched on 

 a sapling or concealed in a thicket, they pour forth their 

 melody, which I shall not attempt to describe, but shall 

 simply ask you to go and listen to it. 



The nest is made in a tangle of Virginia creeper or wild 

 grapevine, or in some thick bush seldom more than six or 

 seven feet from the ground. Let us see what the catbird 

 uses for house-building. First a foundation is laid of 

 sticks and twigs, and on this the bulky nest is constructed 

 of straws, leaves, and grass ; the inside is lined with hairs, 

 fine roots, and other soft material. Soon four or five deep 

 greenish-blue eggs are laid, and then incubation begins. 

 The young are hatched after about two weeks, and from 

 then on, until they are able to take care of themselves, both 

 of the old birds are very busy to procure food for their 

 hungry little ones and for themselves. 



What they eat. It is by no means easy in most cases to 

 know just what a bird picks up on the field. But if you are 

 sharp and fortunate observers, you may see our friend glean 



Observations. Watch the growth of Indian corn, wheat, rye, barley, 

 potatoes. 



