MERULID,E. 193 



Osnaboyna, on the Red River, where the ground is now cultivated by several hun- 

 dred settlers ; and it would be highly interesting were any resident there to note 

 the arrival of birds known to have a predilection for the vicinity of man, and pre- 

 viously strangers in that quarter. 



The Cat-bird builds its nest in a bush or low thicket, forming the outside with 

 small twigs, grass, and dry leaves, and lining it with black fibrous roots. The 

 eggs are a little more than an inch long, and have a peculiar deep tint, intermediate 

 between bluish-green and verdigris-green. In Pennsylvania two or three broods 

 are raised in a season. Wilson, with his usual felicity, has drawn a vivid picture 

 of the anxiety which this bird displays for the safety of its young. Its distress, 

 when it supposes them to be in danger, is evinced by the most expressive gestures 

 and loud cries. The same author tells us, that the male is one of the earliest 

 of the Pennsylvanian songsters, beginning generally before the break of day, and 

 hovering from bush to bush with great sprightliness, when there is scarcely light 

 to distinguish him. His notes are more remarkable for singularity than for 

 melody, and consist of short imitations of other birds and other sounds ; but, his 

 pipe being deficient in clearness and strength of tone, his imitations fail where 

 these are requisite. He feeds principally on fruits. — R 



We place this species in the present genus, under the belief that it is an aber- 

 rant example ; but its precise relations still require much study. We are at a 

 loss to know why it should have the curious distinctions of bright rufous under 

 tail coverts, an unspotted plumage, and a black head. It may, however, be 

 remarked, that as the genus Orpheus, beyond all question, is one of the pre- 

 eminent types of the whole family, so it is natural to expect it would contain repre- 

 sentations of every other division or sub-family, even in the narrow confines of its 

 own generic circle. That this suspicion has some foundation, we may observe, 

 that our Orpheus longirostris typifies one of the sub-families ; and we suspect that 

 0. feliviox represents the Bracliypodince ; for it is only in that group we find birds 

 which are particularly marked by the bright colours of their under tail coverts. 

 Many of these species, like the Cat-bird, throw themselves into the most violent 

 and unusual agitations ; their plumage, also, is never spotted. We have, 

 moreover, in our Museum, a Brachypus, from Sumatra, apparently undescribed, 

 which, with the exception of the rufous feathers, is clothed in the same coloured 

 plumage as 0. felivox, the whole bird being slate-grey, with the crown and tail 

 black. — Sw. 



2 c 



