BIRDS OF PENNSYL VANIA. 305 



trees, hedge-rows, etc. The eggs, usually five in number, are pale green- 

 ish-blue, spotted and blotched with different shades of brown. These 

 birds feed largely on coleopterous insects, larvae and other insects, and 

 they also eat various kinds of small berries. 



GENUS GALEOSCOPTES CABANIS. 

 Galeoscoptes carolinensis (LiNN.). 



Catbird. 



DESCRIPTION (Plate 72}. 



Length about 9 ; extent about 11 inches; bill and feet black; iris brown; pre- 

 vailing color dark slate, somewhat lighter beneath ; top of head and tail black ; 

 under tail-coverts chestnut. The adult female is rather smaller than the male, and 

 the young are duller in color, with little or no black on crown ; under parts paler ; 

 under tail-coverts dull reddish. 



Habitat. Eastern United States and British provinces, west to and including the 

 Kocky mountains ; occasional on the Pacific coast. Winters in the Southern States, 

 Cuba and middle America to Panama ; accidental in Europe. 



This well-known bird is a common summer resident from the last 

 week in April to about November 1. The Catbird frequents all locali- 

 ties, but is probably most numerous in briery thickets and tangled un- 

 dergrowth near streams and ponds. Its bulky nest, constructed of 

 dead twigs, roots, to which are often added dried leaves or grasses, is 

 built mostly in bushes. The eggs, usually four, are deep greenish-blue 

 and unspotted. They measure a little less than an inch long, and a 

 trifle under three-quarters wide. These birds, like some other members 

 of the family, subsist largely on different kinds of small fruits and ber- 

 ries. In the early summer the Catbird feeds on cherries and strawber- 

 ries ; later in the season, mulberries, blackberries and raspberries. Late 

 in the summer and in the autumn he subsists mainly on berries of the 

 spicewood and poke-plant, and also different varieties of both cultivated 

 and wild grapes. This species, in the spring, especially in May, and 

 also when breeding, feeds to a considerable extent on various " worms," 

 beetles, flies, spiders, etc. The Catbird, so called because its sharp and 

 petulant cry which is not unlike the mewing of a cat, is one of our most 

 gifted and delightful songsters. 



GENUS HARPORHYNCHUS CABANIS. 

 Harporh.ynch.us rufus (LiNN.). 



Brown Thrasher ; Brown Thrush. 



DESCRIPTION (Plate 44). 



Length about 11^ inches ; extent about 13 inches ; tail 5 or 6 inches ; bill black with 

 base of lower mandible yellow ; legs pale brown ; iris of adult yellow ; iris of young 



20 BIRDS. 



