280 
The Catbird 
As a matter of fact, however, fruit does not constitute a very large pro- j 
portion of the Catbird’s yearly food. The reports of the Department ofij 
Agriculture show that 44 per cent, of its food consists of insects, and; 
three-fourths of this are made up of ants, beetles, caterpillars, and grass- ; 
hoppers. Of the 56 per cent, of vegetable food, only one-third consists | 
of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, and many of these are the ^ 
wild varieties. The other two-thirds are made up of berries of the dog- 
wood, wild cherry, sour gum, elder, greenbrier, spicewood, black alder, ; 
sumac, and poison ivy — plants of the shady swamps and fence-rows ; 
where the Catbird so frequently makes his home. 
We see, therefore, that the Catbird is of enormous value to the farmer 
as an insect-destroyer, while the charges against him as I 
^ fruit-thief dwindle in the light of scientific investiga-i' 
tion, and can be largely dismissed by a little care in pro- ij 
viding some of his favorite wild food. To quote Doctor Judd : i 
“By killing the birds, their services as insect-destroyers would be lost , 
forever, so the problem for us is to keep both the bird and the fruit. 1 
We need have no hesitancy in placing the Catbird fairly in the class of> 
beneficial birds. When we see him searching about the ground in hisii 
favorite thicket, we know that he is seeking out the many harmful insects! 
that lurk there, and we need not begrudge him an occasional berry from^ 
the garden; since, if he should become a nuisance, we* know how to drawvi 
him away from mischief. Considering the amount of food that a farmer *1 
provides for his crops in the form of fertilizer and manure, it seems i 
strange if a little food cannot be provided for the birds, without whose ii 
constant guardianship crops of all kinds would be utterly wiped outi 
by the insect-hordes.” j 
Classification and Distribution | 
The Catbird belongs to the Order Passeres, and the Family MimidcB. Its | 
scientific name is Dumetella carolinensis. It is found in summer from the southern i| 
Provinces of Canada southward to northeastern Oregon, northern Utah, eastern i 
Texas and northern Florida ; and it winters from the Southern States southward to 
Cuba and Panama. 
This and other Educational Leaflets are for sale, at 5 cents each, by the National Association of 
Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City. Lists given on request. 
