THE CAT BIRD. 



Synonymes. 



Tardus felivox, Of Ornithologists. 



Gobe-mouche brun de Vir- 



ginie, Moucherolle de Vir- V Of the French. 



ginie, Tourd miaulant, ) 



Miauendrosscl, Of the Germans. 



Tordo de maullido, Of the Spaniards. 



Tordo miante, Of the Portuguese. 



Tordo miagolare, Of the Italians. 



Cat Bird, < Of the British and 



{ Anglo-Americans. 



N E of the most remarkable propensities of this quaint 

 and familiar songster, which inhabits almost every 

 part of North America from Mexico to Canada, and 

 even Kamtschatka, is the unpleasant, loud, grating, and 

 grimalkin-like mew, ("pay,) that it often utters, on being 

 offended or approached ; and thus coupled with the name of a 

 " wizzard animal," so much disliked by many, this delightful 

 vocalist, which seeks out the very society of man, and 

 reposes an unmerited confidence in his protection, is generally 

 treated with undeserved obloquy and contempt. 



" The cat bird," says Nuttall, " often tunes his cheerful song 

 before the break of day, hopping from bush to bush, with great 

 agility, after his insect prey, while yet scarcely distinguish- 

 able amidst the dusky shadows of the dawn. The notes of 

 different individuals vary considerably, so that sometimes his 

 song, in sweetness and compass, is scarcely at all inferior to 



