The Catbird 121 



there. On my return home at night I found that they had car- 

 ried away every bit of my material and used it in building 

 their nest in a bush near by in my neighbor's yard. They re- 

 mained about our home all summer, and as I sat in the yard, 



I could 



"Listen to his rondel, 



To his lay romantical, 



To his sacred canticle, 



Hear him lilting! 



See him tilting 



His saucy head and tail, fluttering 



While uttering 



All the difficult operas under the sun 



Just for fun." 



Towards the last of September I noticed that one of my 

 catbirds had gone. Then I wondered if it was the male, for 

 it is said that he comes first in the spring. The other bird re- 

 mained until about the middle of October. About four o'clock 

 each morning I could hear it near by mewing. I felt sorry 

 for it in its loneliness. One evening I heard it making the 

 same noise, and in searching for it, found it in a woodbine on 

 my neighbor's house, just next to where I sleep, eating the 

 fruit of the vine. No doubt this was what it was doing when 

 I heard it in the morning. The next spring my catbirds came 

 back and built their nest in the very crotch in the syringa 

 where I had placed the material for them the year before, and 

 they have returned to me year after year since then. In 1904 

 they commenced building their nest May 15th and the last 

 I saw of them was the 4th of October. To-day as I write this 

 chapter I look out of the window and see their nest filled with 

 snow, and I wonder where my catbirds are. Probably in 

 Panama basking in the sunshine and having a really good time 

 at least, I hope so. I shall confidently expect them again 

 when the springtime comes. 



Much has been written fn commendation and condemna- 

 tion of the song of the catbird. The cat mew of the bird, per- 

 haps, more than anything else has been the cause of bringing 

 his song into disrepute. As we have seen, he is a member of 

 the sub-family miminse, and a cousin of the mocking bird, who 

 he resembles, not only in his ability to mimic the songs of 



