12 THE O. & O. SEMI-ANNUAL. 
THE CATBIRD. 
Galeoscoptes Carolinensis. 
BY WM. L. KELLS, LISTOWEL, CANADA. 
The vocal imitative powers of the mocking birds, have long 
been a theme for the poet, and the admiration of the naturalist. 
Different species of these birds are found in various parts of North 
America, but the 
species most com- 
monly found in 
Ontario, and the 
other divisions of 
Canada is the Cat 
or Mewing Bird. 
This species is 
about ten inches 
in length. The 
plumage is sooty 
black, the wings 
ree and tail being of 
en a darker hue than 
S: the “rest ota 
body. The bill, 
THE CATBIRD. feet and eyes are 
also. black, the 
tail being remarkably long. It frequents shrubberies, vineyards, 
old orchards, beaver meadows, the willow-grown margins of the 
creeks, and wherever there is the thick shade of low underwood, 
and in such places the female builds her nest, usually near the 
ground, among the thickest bushes or evergreen shrubs, where it 
is well concealed from observation. This is composed of small 
brambles, stalks of dry weeds, dry leaves, plastered inside with 
mud and lined with rootlets and some fine, dry grass. 
The set of eggs, generally four in number, sometimes five, are 
of a deep greenish hue and measure .95x.71 inches. Two broods 
are generally raised in the season, but the bird has many enemies 
