24 Bird Life Stories 



such times, with little apparent cause, the agitation of the bird 

 is excessive; she hurries backward and forward with hanging 

 wings and open mouth, mewing and screaming in a paroxysm 

 of scolding anger, and alighting almost to peck the very hand 

 that offers the insult. To touch a twig or branch in any part 

 of the garden or wood is often amply sufficient to call down 

 the amusing termagant. 



The flight of the Catbird is laborious, and usually continued 

 only from bush to bush; his progress, however, is very wily, 

 and his attitudes and jerks amusingly capricious. He appears 

 to have very little fear of enemies, often descends to the 

 ground in quest of insects, and though almost familiar is very 

 quick in his retreat from real danger. 



This common and abundant species begins to construct its 

 nest some time in the month of May. The situation in which 

 he delights to dwell is commonly a dark thicket in the woods, 

 or a close brush in some secluded part of the garden, at the 

 distance of five or ten feet from the ground. The materials 

 are coarse but substantial; the external part is commonly 

 made of small interlaced twigs, old grass and dry leaves; to 

 these succeed thin strips of bark, often of the red cedar, 

 somewhat agglutinated. The inside is lined and bedded with 

 black root fibers of ferns. The eggs are four or five, of a 

 bright and deep emerald green, and without spots. 



The food of the Catbird is similar to that of the Brown 

 Thrasher, being insects and worms, particularly beetles, and 

 various garden fruits. The young are often fed on cherries 

 and various kinds of berries late in the season. Sometimes 

 these Catbirds have been observed to attack snakes when they 

 approach the vicinity of the nest, and they commonly succeed 

 in driving off the enemy. 



