OF THE UNITED STATES 349 



was only two-thirds successful in so far as the fledglings were 

 concerned, for one of their number made good its escape in the 

 high grass near by. Both the others, however, were promptly 

 secured in safety, and together with the fork containing the nest, 

 were shortly afterward carried to my home. Here in due course, 

 sun, wind, and time permitting, I made two or three wonderfully 

 successful photographic pictures of my little prisoners and the 

 nest in which they had been bred and reared. 



Two of the best of these results are reproduced in the present 

 connection, and are confidently offered to the reader as fine fac- 

 similes of the originals. Beneath these pictures their legends 

 give nearly all the information that is required in regard to them. 

 In fact they speak for themselves. When we come to take into 

 consideration the fact that a brood of birds had been reared in 

 it, the nest was a wonderfully clean and compact affair, and this 

 is usually the case in this species. Internally this nest was lined 

 with fine black rootlets of some plant, and of a kind, apparently, 

 that is invariably chosen for this purpose by the Catbird. The 

 middle layer of this nest is more or less firm and compact, being 

 composed of a fine grass, good big bits of newspaper and brown 

 paper, of a few pine needles, leaves, and strippings of the fibrous 

 bark of the grapevine. Externally, numerous twigs of various 

 lengths, and from various plants and trees, loosely woven to- 

 gether, complete the structure. 



Having secured a photograph to my liking, the inmates were 

 next induced to stand together upon a rather slenderish pine 

 twig, when, by an absolutely instantaneous snap, I secured a life- 

 size picture of the pair at my first trial. (See Fig. 86.) 



With care, young Catbirds are easily reared from the nestling 

 stage, and soon become accustomed to a commodious cage. They 

 are good bathers, drink plenty of water, and thrive well upon 

 prepared food, berries in season, and meal worms. One of the 

 best cage pets I ever saw among birds was an individual of this 

 species, raised from the nest, and most assuredly he was a very 

 charming songster. How well Wilson describes what has been 

 the experience of many an ornithologist when he writes : 



" In passing through the woods in summer, I have sometimes 

 amused myself with imitating the violent chirping or squeaking 

 of young birds, in order to observe what different species were 

 around me; for such sounds at such a season, in the woods, are 

 no less alarming to the feathered tenants of the bushes than the 



