THE FLY-CATCHER — CAT-BIRD. 371 



Delight of Columbia!* her woods, unto thee, 

 For ever be hallowed that home of the free, 

 Which the Spirit of Britain for ever pervades — 

 Her hills and her vallies and far distant shades.f 



The A'edon is rusty-brown, beneath yellowish-white ; size of 

 the reed-thrush, and sings delightfully in the night; inhabits 

 Dauria. The Rubicollis, orPuRPLE-THROATED-FLY-CATCHER, 

 is black ; chin and throat with a large purple-red spot ; twelve 

 inches long ; gregarious; often associates with the toucan ; 

 inhabits South America. The Flabellifera, or Fan-taileo- 

 Fly-Catcher, is above olive, beneath ferruginous; length six 

 and a half inches ; flies with its tail expanded like a fan ; is 

 easily tamed, and will sit on the shoulders and pick off flies as 

 they appear. 



The Carolinensisf Cat-Fly-Catcher, or Cat-bird, (the Turdus 

 lividus of Wilson,) is nine inches long ; very common and very 

 numerous in the United States; colour a deep slate; notes 

 more remarkable for singularity than for melody ; mews like a 

 cat, or rather, according to Wilson, like a young kitten ; it 

 also imitates the notes of other birds ; attacks snakes. To the 

 stories told of the fascination of snakes, Wilson gives no credit. 



* For one song of the Mocking-Bird, see the Song of the 

 Manakin, and page 405; for the Mocking-Bird's Night Song, 

 see the conclusion of the second Part. 



f The reflection that the pervading mind of the United States 

 of America is essentially British — liberal, intelligent, is pecu- 

 liarly gratifying to a native of the United Kingdom. May 

 nothing, for the future, occur to disturb the harmony now sub- 

 sisting between us and our kindred of the west ! 



