AMERIOAN ORNITHOLOGY. 43 



my certain knowledge^ silently inspecting the depths of the heavy boughed 

 tree which contains his^ the Robin's domicile. Another grievance^ apparent- 

 ly^ of the Robin^ is the Catbird's manner of using his vocal talents. It is 

 doubtless trying to a bird like the Robin^ who to all appearances^ regards 

 himself as a sort of feathered Sankey in the woodland choir, to have brought 

 into unwilling notice, the unseemly and erratic manner in which the wearer 

 of the Quaker-like gray frequently renders his part in the spring time 

 chorus. 



He, the Catbird, may be frequently heard at any hour of the day, and not 

 seldom at night, engaged in making a combination of sounds, not suggestive, 

 like that the Thrush will favor his hearers with, of a poetical appreciation 

 of the times and season, nor even to be tolerated for the sake of the feeling 

 promjDting it, like the tuneless gush of small notes constituting the songs, so 

 called, of some of the weaker minded among the Warblers, but just appar- 

 ently a line of experiments on the ever interesting subject of his own vocal 

 capacity. Here it may be said that the Robin never objects to the presence 

 of the Brown Thrasher that renders a solo from the top of the biggest tree 

 in the avenue, every June evening. That is possibly partly on account of 

 the claims of near relationship, and partly because the school of singing to 

 which the Thrasher belongs is one from which the Robin has obtained all 

 his own requirements in the vocal line, though in a lesser degree than his 

 speckled breasted cousin with the finished education. 



In the Thrasher recitals he has a free demonstration of the methods 

 practiced by that gifted family, and from this brown bird with the dreamy 

 yellow eyes, he may frequently get "points" on effective tone coloring. 



The Catbird is possibly not less impressed than his neighbors with the 

 performance of the chief songster of the place, but the use he makes of any 

 idea he may get is in an entirely diiferent line from the Robin's efforts at 

 psalmody, — hence another point of variance. The Robin has not, to all 

 appearances, a very high opinion of his neighbor's abilities as a vocalist. 



Some of his shortcomings, from the Robin's standpoint, have been de- 

 scribed already, but yet another productive of much ill-feeling has been the 

 Catbird's habit of practicing his vocal exercises at the least suitable times 

 and seasons. Not only is he given to making his iintiring effort at voice 

 culture extend through the long hours of the June days, but he quite often 

 keeps it up through the limited time allowed for sleep during the short sum- 

 mer nights. Whatever may be said of the Robin's faults, his capacity for 

 hard work is unquestioned, and when at the end of a hard day's toil in the 

 interests of a young family, the toiler closes his eyes for a brief respite from 

 carking care ere the coming of the early daylight, it is not a thing that tends; 

 to soothe a natural irritability of temperament, to find his neighbor has taken 



