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S54 95. 
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Birds of Massachusetts. 127 
strain he has begun. Latham says, that in a do- 
mesticated state, the catbird has been taught to 
imitate the strains of instrumental music ; and that 
he will counterfeit the cry of young chickens iu 
distress, so as completely to deceive the parent hen. 
His attempts to mock the notes of other birds can be 
easily detected in listening to his song, and blended 
in with his own original strains, form an anthem so 
singular, that no one who has the least portion of 
taste or fancy, can hear it without delight. 
The catbird remains with us from May to October, 
constantly employed in picking off wasps, worms, 
grubs, and various insects, and, at the season of 
fruit, it ventures to claim some little reward for its 
labors; not so much however, as would have been 
consumed by the wasps alone, which it has de- 
stroyed. It seems surprising, considering how they 
are treated, and how sensitive they appear to be, 
that they have not long ago deserted us. But the 
nervous anxiety which they betray in their voice 
and motions, is not really owing to anxiety for them- 
selves, so much as to aífection for their young. 
They are quite discriminating in their apprehen- 
sions ; the sight of a dog does not disturb them, but 
a cat throws them into a fever of dread; and while 
they are wretched the moment an idle boy enters 
the garden, they will permit some men to handle 
the eggs in their nest. 
The nest is in a-bush or a vine, composed of 
twigs, strips of bark, old grass and dry leaves, with 
a lining of root fibres. ‘The eggs are four or five, 
of a deep green. It is not easy to make them give 
