CATBIRD. 195 



CATBIRD. 



Galeoscoptes carolinensis. 



Char. General color dark slate, paler beneath ; top of head and tail 

 black ; under tail-coverts chestnut. Length 8 to 9X inches. 



Nest. In thicket or orchard ; bulky, and rudely constructed of twigs, 

 leaves, and grass, lined with grass or fine roots. 



Eggs. 4-6 ; deep bluish green ; 0.95 X 0.70. 



This quaint and familiar songster passes the winter in the 

 southern extremities of the United States and along the coast 

 of Mexico, whence as early as February it arrives in Geor- 

 gia. About the middle of April it is first seen in Penn- 

 sylvania, and at length leisurely approaches this part of New 

 England by the close of the first or beginning of the second 

 week in May. These birds continue their migration also to 

 Canada, where they proceed into the fur-countries as far as 

 the 45 th parallel, arriving on the banks of the Saskatchewan 

 about the close of May. Throughout this extent and to the 

 territory of the Mississippi they likewise pass the period of in- 

 cubation and rearing their young. They remain in New Eng- 

 land till about the middle of October, at which time the young 

 feed principally upon wild berries. 



The Catbird often tunes his cheerful song before the break 

 of day, hopping from bush to bush with great agility after his 

 insect prey, while yet scarcely distinguishable amidst the dusky 

 shadows of the dawn. The notes of different individuals vary 

 considerably, so that sometimes his song in sweetness and 

 compass is scarcely at all inferior to that of the Ferruginous 

 Thrush. A quaintness, however, prevails in all his efforts, and 

 his song is frequently made up of short and blended imitations 

 of other birds, — given, however, with great emphasis, melody, 

 and variety of tone, and, like the Nightingale, invading the 

 hours of repose. In the late twilight of a summer's evening, 

 when scarce another note is heard but the hum of the drowsy 

 beetle, his music attains its full effect, and often rises and falls 

 with all the swell and studied cadence of finished harmony. 



