Gbe Marbler 



The Catbird 



{Galeoscoptcs carolinensis) 



95 



THE Catbird is a most delightful species, and while more essentially a 

 resident of meadows and woodlands, particularly along water-courses 

 and the borders of lakes and ponds where a dense growth of brush may be 

 found, he nevertheless comes freely to settled localities and nests in the 

 vines or shrubbery about our dwellings and upon our lawns. 



The bird is not uncommon in all the New York City suburbs, and I 

 believe its habit of nesting near human habitation is one that he is rapidly 

 acquiring. As a boy I never knew one to nest anywhere but in a wild place 

 remote from dwellings and near water. At Floral Park several pairs nest 

 annually on the lawn, though there is no natural water within three miles. 

 They seem tame and unsuspicious and sing constantly at our very doors and 

 windows. Their nests are always adroitly concealed in some dense clump 

 or hedge of shrubbery and it takes a sharp eye and a careful search to locate 

 one. They do not in the least molest our garden fruits but seem fond of 

 mulberries which they devour with avidity. 



NEST AND EGGS OF THE CATEIRD 



With rare exceptions the eggs are four in number, a deep, greenish blue 

 without spots. The nests are made of twigs and bark and lined with fine 

 rootlets, some examples being very beautiful and models of ingenuity in 



