370 DIVISION I. VERTEBRAL ANIMALS. — CLASS II. AVES. 



tratcs a brier thicket, to tlie detriment of liis clotlies ami skin, only to find 

 tlmt tlie supposed kitten is nothing hut a bird wliich has imposed upon him. 

 Now, " as the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined ; " as the impressions 

 made on us when children are always the most permanent and stronti-, the 

 discovery of the imposition on the schoolboy is tlie seed from wliicli grows 

 the prejudice of the man ; and we can trace tlie impulse wliich prompts 

 many a countryman to tlirow a stone "at a hateful cat bird" wliich happens 

 to cross his path, to a di>likc wliicli he took to it in his younger davs. 



Early in tlie morning and late in tlie afternoon, and during cloudy and 

 foggy days, seem to lie the favorite times for song ; but tlie cat bird's notes 

 are heard in our pastures, woods, and fields at almost all hours of the day, 

 from the time of tlie bird's arrival until early August. 



The alarm note is different from that of all our other birds. It is com- 

 posed of several syllables, like " tnd — tat — tat ■ — tat,'' uttered very quick- 

 ly, sounding like the breaking of several twigs, or small sticks, in quick 

 succession. This alarm is given at the appearance of danger ; and when it 

 is heard, every bird witliin licaring di\es into the tiiickct, away from sight. 

 The birds commence building about tlie 2(Jth of May to tlie first week of 

 June. Tlie nest is usually i)laccd in shrubs and low trees, seldom more 

 than four or five feet from tlie ground. The location is as often in tlie deep 

 woods as in tlie pastures and more open neigliborlioods. The structure is 

 made of first a layer of twig.s and sticks, on which is liuilt the body of the 

 nest, which is composed of strips of grape-vine bark, fine twigs, leaves, and 

 straws. It is pretty well hollowed, and is lined with fibrous roots and hairs, 

 and sometimes fine grass. The eggs arc usually fair in number, sometimes 

 five. Their color is a bright, deep emerald green, and their average size 

 about nine tentlis of an inch in length by about seven tenths of an inch in 

 breadtli. Two broods are often reared in a season. Perhaps none of our 

 birds show a greater solicitude for the safety of its own, or its neighbor's 

 young, than this. If we pass near its nest, the old birds fly before us with 

 many remonstrances and cries of alarm ; and jieace is not restored in the 

 thicket until we have taken our departure. 



We have often, when wandering in the woods, imitated the cry of young 

 birds by pressing our lips to a jiiece of glass, or tlie back of our hand, and 

 forcibly drawing in tlie air. The cat birds were always the first to make 

 their appearance ; and flying in our face, they scolded and fumed in no gen- 

 tle manner. They seemed almost crazy with emotion, and we could not 

 continue their distress. 



Tlie food of tliis bird consists of seeds, worms, various insects which it 

 captures on or near the ground, and different berries and small fruits. We 

 have seen one chasing a flying insect, but it met with poor success. 



