THE O. & O. SEMI-ANNUAL. T3 
among the feathered race, as well as small animals, and is often 
robbed of its contemplated family. -To its nest and eggs the 
Mewing Bird is strongly attached, and the affectionate regard 
manifested by both parents towards their young is not surpassed 
by any other member of the feathered family. They are very 
diligent and careful in supplying their offspring with food, and 
should they be exposed to danger, will, in trying to defend them, 
encounter hazards to their own personal safety, seeming almost 
strangers to fear, and exercise all their arts in order to drive off 
the intruder. 
The vocal powers of the male of this species are varied and 
wonderful; the notes of the Blackbird, the Wood Thrush, the 
Robin, the Grosbeak and the Goldfinch, the call of the Sand- 
piper, as well as the warbling and solos of various other field and 
forest birds, and even the cries of some small animals are all suc- 
cessfully imitated, intermingled with other notes peculiarly its 
own. It not only sings and imitates with deceptive exactness, but 
often performs a kind of dance at the same time, hopping from 
branch to branch as if keeping time to the music of its own voice. 
It often deceives persons by imitating the mewing of a kitten in 
distress or pain, and as soon as it is approached it either darts off 
through the brushwood or begins to warble some other notes, ap- 
parently pleased at thus deceiving the human ear. It also seems 
to take pleasure in teasing other birds by imitating their love calls, 
or notes of distress ; and as soon as they approach its perch, terri- 
fies thera by the scream of some hawk or other bird of prey. 
While hay-making is in progress it will often visit the meadows 
in the vicinity of its haunts, for the purpose of securing a supply 
of insect food for its young, and often startles or amuses the hay- 
maker by its cat-like calls and other peculiar notes. But no per- 
sons are more annoyed by the ‘‘mewings” of the Catbird than 
the village berry-pickers, who, when in search of wild raspberries 
often invade its haunts, and while thus engaged are frequently 
affrighted of what they suppose to be the near approach of a wild- 
cat. 
This species, though tolerably abundant, is rather solitary in its 
personal habits, and seldom is more than one pair found in the 
same vicinity. It is quick in its movements; its flight is’ usually 
short, but rapid, and it feeds on various species of insects and 
