136 DAVET^S PRIMER 



THE CATBIRD. 



The catbird, like the thrasher, is a lover of swamps, 

 and delights to make its home in a tangle of wild grape- 

 vines, greenbriers, and shrubs, where it is safe from at- 

 tack and can find its favorite food in abundance. It is 

 found throughout the United States west to the Rocky 

 Mountains, and occurs also in Washington, Idaho, and 

 Utah, and extends northward into the British provinces. 

 It winters in the Southern States, Cuba, Mexico, and 

 Central America. 



Reports from the Mississippi Valley indicate that 

 the catbird is sometimes a serious annoyance to fruit 

 growers. The reason for such reports may possibly be 

 found in the fact that on the prairies fruit-bearing 

 shrubs, which afford so large a part of this bird's 

 food, are conspicuously absent. With the settlement 

 of this region comes an extensive planting of orchards, 

 vineyards, and small fruit-gardens, which furnish 

 shelter and nesting sites for the catbird, as well as for 

 other species. There is in consequence a large increase 

 in the numbers of the birds, but no corresponding gain 

 in the supply of native fruits upon which they were 

 accustomed to feed. 



The stomachs of 213 catbirds were examined and 

 found to contain 44 per cent of animal (insect) and 56 

 per cent of vegetable food. Ants, beetles, caterpillars, 

 and grasshoppers constitute three-fourths of the animal 

 food, the remainder being made up of bugs, miscellane- 

 ous insects and spiders. One-third of the vegetable 



