Minute Observations on Catbirds. 



79 



ing to the utmost limit their transparent red necks display the yellow target of the open 

 mouth as they tsil ! tsit ! to the approaching mother, who sounds her well-known call. 



On one occasion I saw the female deliver a black dragon-fly, and afterwards take 

 from the bill of the male, who was standing near, a carrion beetle, and pass it to the young. 

 Then keenly eying her brood, she 

 deliberately bent over, and as the 

 body of one was raised took from it 

 a small white package and flew away. 

 Many of the photographs show the 

 birds performing this sanitary act, a 

 practice common to many other spe- 

 cies. During her first visits the female 

 ate the excreta, but thereafter it was 

 invariably removed from the nest. 



The food served to these young 

 Catbirds consisted of dragon-flies, 

 which were brought to the nest thir- 

 teen times, insect larvae, beetles, 

 moth millers, and a great variety of 

 smaller insects, varied with liberal 

 courses of strawberries. At first the 

 old birds approached quietly, fed 

 their young hurriedly from the farth- 

 er side, and were off in a few seconds, 

 but as confidence in their surround- 

 ings was gradually restored, they 

 would come to the nest-front, with 

 the camera but three feet away, re- 

 main there for a full minute, and after 

 assisting the young to dispose of their 

 harder subjects, inspect everything 

 with the greatest care. 



When this nest was visited two 

 days later the young looked bright 



and hearty. They were now in full feather, and about ready for flight. When the tent had 

 been cautiously set up, I noticed that a number of leaves cast undesirable shadows on 

 the nest. Though knowing well what to expect, I decided to take the risk, and reached 

 out to cut them off. This was the fatal spark which fires the train of gunpowder, for all 

 went off in an instant in a panic of fear, and the game was up, for Catbirds when well 

 out of their nest at this stage are out for good. 



Kig. 68. Female Catbird cleaning the nest. 



