OUR FAMILIAR BIRDS. 31 



not content until she was driven out, which he assisted 

 in doing, following her up with his mewing cry until 

 she passed through the gate, when he returned to his 

 place with a very complacent air. 



The catbird has ever been a favorite with all good 

 observers and lovers of birds. Audubon says of this 

 species; "No sooner has the catbird made its appear- 

 ance in the country of its choice than its song is heard 

 from the topmost branches of the trees around in the 

 dawn of the morning. This song is a compound of 

 many of the gentle trills and sweet modulations of 

 our various woodland choristers, delivered with apparent 

 caution, and with all the attention and softness neces- 

 sary to enable the performer to please the ear of his 

 mate. Each cadence passes on without faltering; and 

 if you are acquainted with the songs of the birds he so 

 sweetly imitates, you are sure to recognize the manner 

 of the different species. When the warmth of his lov- 

 ing bosom engages him to make choice of the notes of 

 our best songsters, he brings forth sounds as mellow and 

 as powerful as those of the thrasher and mocking-bird. 

 These medleys, when heard in the calm and balmy hours 

 of retiring day, always seem to possess a double power 

 to delight the listener. 



"The manners of this species are lively and gro- 

 tesque. It is extremely sensitive, and will follow an 

 intruder to a considerable distance, wailing and mewing 

 as it. passes from one tree to another, its tail now 

 jerked and thrown from side to side, its wings droop- 



