The OoLOGiST. 



VOL. XVIII. NO. 10. ALBION, N. Y., OCTOBER, 1901. Whole No. 181 



The Oologist. 



A MontMy Publication Devoted to 



OOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY AND 

 TAXIDERMY. 



FRANK H. LATTIN, Editor and Publisher, 

 ALBION, N. Y, 



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The Food Supply of the Catbird. 

 By C. C. Purdum, M D. 



The Catbird {Oaleosooptes carolinen- 

 sis), breeds in the greater part of North 

 America. Its range extending from 

 the Atlantic Seaboard to British Colum- 



bia, and from the British Provinces, 

 southward to the southern , boundry of 

 the United States. It is found most 

 plentifully in the Transition and Upper 

 Astral Zones of the eastern United 

 States and generalUy rears two broods 

 in a season throughout the most of its 

 range. 



Although fond of the society of man, 

 in many places it is not appreciated, 

 and is subject to persecution, through 

 the mistakea idea that it is a fruit 

 stealer, as well as for its plaintive feline 

 call. However, examinations of the 

 contents of the stomachs of these birds, 

 show that at least one half of the fruit 

 that it eats, is wild, and that fully a 

 third of the entire food is coaiposed of 

 insects which are more or less detri- 

 mental to the farmers' interest, and 

 which yearly cause heavy losses to the 

 country. The good accomplished in 

 this manner fully counterbalances what 

 harm it does by appropriating a few 

 cherries and strawberries. The reports 

 received from observers in the central 

 states, show that the damage done by 

 catbirds in that locality is much great- 

 er than along the seaboard, but when 

 we take into consideration the fact, 

 that in the central part of the United 

 States, wild fruits are much more 

 scarce, than along the seaboard, the 

 reason is perfectly apparent. This 

 would perhaps account for the differ- 

 ence of opinion in regard to the use- 

 fulness of this bird, between the west- 

 ern and eastern observers. Experi- 

 ments to establish facts in connection 

 with the controversy, have been con- 

 ducted by the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, and show conclusively 

 that catbirds prefer mulberries to 

 strawberries and cherries, and in those 

 localities where the latter are abun- 



