26 SOME CANADIAN BIRDa 



man, too, and inducen hin mnte to nelect for thoir home some cogy 

 corner in a garden or orchard, or in thu underbrush un the margin 

 of a grove. 



But, while the parents Roem to enjoy the prosonco of man near 

 their home, they say " hands off" in most emphatic tones when any 

 bohl hud boy comes too near their [>roci()Us nest. 8uch a rating as 

 that boy rocoivea ; such downright, oHrnost scolding, is not often 

 matched. There is no other such termagant among the whole 

 feathered race as an enraged catbird. 



The male has a fashion of singing to himself, soft and low, but 

 very sweetly, when down amid the shrubbery, as if rehearsing for 

 a public performance. When the desire to display his vocal power 

 comes upon him, and it comes quite often between early morning 

 and late evening, he mounts to a high position. At such times he 

 dearly loves an audience, and if you will whistle to him and show 

 by your attention an appreciation of his music, he will give you of 

 his very best, and give it in almost unlimited quantities. He is a 

 bit too proud of his talent for mimicry, and is apt to tire a listener 

 by his efforts to produce quaint and humorous effects. For while 

 these display the wide compass and rich quality of his voice, and at 

 the same time give him a grand opportunity to show his wonderful 

 talent for technical execution, they are not so pleasing for frequent 

 repetition as is his own natural song. No one will dispute his right 

 to high rank in our sylvan choir, though it is probable that few 

 will yield to him the first place. To my ear he sings a better song 

 than the thrasher, though the latter's voice is the finer of the two. 



The catbirds are not among the first arrivals in the spring, yet 

 they are not loiterers, for they reach this country before May-day, 

 and the most enterprising couples have built their nests and deposited 

 the sets of eggs, four or five in each, before May has ended. 



The nest is a bulky affair, ill-made and inartistic — a huge hand- 

 ful of twigs, leaves and bark-strips, with such stray bits of string as 

 may happen in the way of the builders, loosely arranged in a saucer- 

 like form. It is usually placed on a bush or small tree, a few feet 

 from the ground. 



The eggs are of a rich bluish-green color and unspotted, measuring 

 about an inch in length and nearly three-quarters of an inch in 

 breadth. 



