70 BIRD PARADISE 



it has levied tribute upon trees and brook, shrubs 

 and flowers — all the wealth of the gorge. It has 

 multiplied itself a hundred times, and I bow to 

 the wizard bird that fills me with the inspiration 

 of the song of songs. 



On the Sauquoit road, half a mile from our vil- 

 lage, is the crossing between the two swamps. 

 Logs are found here which tradition says were 

 put in place by a division of Sullivan's army 

 during his celebrated march through the Iroquois 

 country. Among the willows at the roadside a 

 pair of catbirds build their nest every season. 

 To look at, the same birds, the same nest, the 

 same song make up the household aud its work 

 each year. The catbird gets his name from one 

 of the calls he uses, which sounds at a little dis- 

 tance like the mewing of a half-grown kitten. 

 Their success in nest construction is only a partial 

 one, although it serves all the needs of the birds. 

 As a singer the catbird ranks high. His penchant 

 for trilling the songs of other birds is well known. 

 He gives what seem to be almost the precise notes 

 of several of his fellow birds. I wonder some- 

 times whether it be a song adopted by the bird 

 or his own in a special manner, none of it bor- 



